Ansan Korean restaurant where under-3s eat free: Yeongwolae Gondre

Address: 33 Danggok-ro, Dangwon-gu, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea (2F, Gojan Praum City)

Hours: 11:00 ~ 21:00 (last order 20:10)

I've been craving Korean food like crazy lately, so I searched around and found this Ansan gem!!!! It was so good I'm already planning to go back soon.

Yeongwolae Gondre Ansan Branch — famous as one of the best Korean set-meal restaurants in Ansan!!

Visual spoiler!!!!

My mouth is watering just looking at it ㅠㅠ

Parking and entrance: finding Yeongwolae Gondre on the 2nd floor of Gojan Praum City

For Yeongwolae Gondre Ansan Branch, you park in the basement lot of the Gojan Praum City building and head up. The parking space was more generous than I expected, so driving there was super convenient.

Take the escalator up to the 2nd floor and you'll see Yeongwolae Gondre right in the middle of the hallway!!!

I was surprised how big the place looked, and in front of the entrance there's a long, neatly kept sofa for waiting.

The waiting area had a huge aquascape tank, which gave the whole place such a classy vibe. Right next to it there was also a spot where you can buy the restaurant's tasty banchan (side dishes) separately to take home.

There's a little sink for washing your hands right by the entrance — such a nice touch, because it means you can properly enjoy ssam (wrap) dishes!!!

Is Yeongwolae Gondre good for group gatherings? Rooms and seating

Yeongwolae Gondre Ansan Branch has a really wide range of seating — 2 to 4-person tables all the way up to big open seating for large groups. Once inside, the place felt way bigger and more comfortable than it looked from outside (I especially loved that there are well-set-up private rooms).

The whole interior has a warm wood-tone look, so it feels cozy and relaxed.

The floor-to-ceiling windows by the tables give you a refreshing view without feeling stuffy at all!!!!!!!!

Perfect for family meals, gatherings, or work dinners!!

Little tip: if you come with a baby, it's free!! Up to 36 months.

The menu: Yeongwol Muleungdowon set for two, 40,000 won

Looking over the menu, it was packed with all kinds of set meals — bulgogi, marinated crab, grilled mackerel, and southern-style saekkomak (blood cockle) muchim!!

I debated ordering an à la carte dish, but since I wanted to try a bit of everything, I went with the two-person set: the Yeongwol Muleungdowon set — ₩40,000.

They also deliver in lunchbox form — I tried it before, and it was just as good as eating in the restaurant!!

This is what the basic setup looks like — the utensils come individually wrapped, and the water isn't just plain water, which I really appreciated.

What's on the self-serve bar: gondre rice, banchan and sikhye

At the self-serve bar of Yeongwolae Gondre Ansan Branch, alongside the banchan, there were two rice options — plain white rice and fragrant gondre rice (dried gondre-herb rice). After we ordered, I went and checked out the self-serve bar, and the banchan were all kept so neat and tidy — super satisfying!!! You can't quite see it on the right, but there's a nice touch of having two rice options.

Loads of fresh vegetables too (totally my thing).

The dessert corner even had sweet sikhye (rice punch) and refreshing maesil (plum) tea, so dessert was well covered too!!

The Muleungdowon set for two: spicy pork, doenjang dip and grilled mackerel

By the time I got back from checking out the self-serve bar, the table was already packed with the full Yeongwol Muleungdowon set spread. From the mains to the basic side dishes, everything came out so generously — the portion for two people was massive!!!!!!!!!!

Spicy pork stir-fry, doenjang paste dip, and grilled mackerel all together in one set — the best-value combo ever!!!

And the best dish of the day was, no surprise, the spicy pork stir-fry. The sauce had a subtle sweet-and-spicy kick with a gentle char flavor baked right in — so good, and honestly I just love spicy pork stir-fry!!

The doenjang paste dip had this savory aroma and was just the right level of salty!! Total rice thief.

The mackerel wasn't fishy at all and was so delicious — piling the golden-brown mackerel flakes over the fragrant, nutty gondre rice made for an absolutely perfect combo of clean and savory.

I hadn't had much of an appetite lately, but eating this good rice with seaweed soup instantly brought my appetite back!!

The mustard salad had a sharp, tangy kick that woke up my palate — so good, but honestly everything here was good.

And how is the lotus root this delicious?!?!!

It's delicious on its own, but wrapping fresh lettuce around the pork, doenjang dip, and gondre rice made it absolute heaven.

Verdict: an Ansan Korean restaurant to book for parents and big groups

I emptied everything — from the gondre rice to every last banchan — hard to believe I was the same person who had no appetite earlier!! A genuinely healthy, satisfying meal.

The place is spacious with well-set-up private rooms, so it's somewhere I'd love to come back to with my parents someday.

If you want to enjoy a hearty, well-put-together Korean meal that makes you feel taken care of, I strongly recommend a visit.