Itaewon Korean pub: aged kimchi gamjatang and somaek for two, Nuri

One of my favorite places when traveling around Seoul is Itaewon — there are way more foreign restaurants there than you'd expect. But if you're Korean, kimchi always wins in the end, haha. Instead of something exotic, I wanted something distinctly Korean. A spicy, tangy broth made me crave kimchi, but not jjigae (stew) — I wanted aged kimchi cooked up as a proper drinking dish. So I went to Nuri Maeul Gamjatang Itaewon Branch, a place any Korean would love, no exceptions.

How close is Nuri Maeul Gamjatang to Itaewon Station?

This Itaewon favorite, Nuri Maeul Gamjatang Itaewon Branch, sits right as you walk out of Exit 4 of Itaewon Station, so it's easy to find and super convenient whether you're catching the last train or heading here for a company dinner. And it's not just gamjatang — they also serve samgyetang, galbitang, gukbap, jeyuk bokkeum, and more.

What is the atmosphere like for a group dinner?

For a gamjatang place, Nuri Maeul Gamjatang Itaewon Branch felt surprisingly upscale and clean. The interior is huge, which makes it a really good spot for a group dinner!

There's also a self-serve bar where you can help yourself to more kimchi, kkakdugi, pickled onions, and ssamjang (seasoned dipping sauce).

Nuri Maeul Gamjatang menu and tablet ordering

The menu is genuinely huge, and you order through the tablet PC by the table. Beyond hangover soup, they've got bone jjim, galbitang, bulgogi, sundubu jjigae, naengmyeon, and even kongguksu (chilled soybean noodle soup) — it felt like they had everything. I loved that there was so much variety to choose from! But we went with the aged kimchi gamjatang to go with our drinks.

Kimchi and kkakdugi come out as basic side dishes — a Korean eating kimchi while ordering aged kimchi gamjatang, that's me, a total kimchi lover haha 🤣

Aged kimchi gamjatang portion: too much for two

Even though it was just the two of us, the aged kimchi gamjatang that came out was massive. It arrived in a pot the size of a cauldron, with a whole head of thoroughly braised aged kimchi piled on top — a dish no Korean could dislike, haha. It's amazing as a meal or as a drinking dish. We ordered it for two, but the portion was so generous it could easily feed 3-4 people.

It's delicious as is, but the broth gets richer and tastier if you simmer the mushrooms and vegetables down a bit more, so we let it boil longer, haha.

The aged kimchi was braised down so thoroughly it was practically melt-in-your-mouth soft — really the kind of aged kimchi that suits Korean tastebuds perfectly, haha. They cut it up into bite-sized pieces with scissors for us, and we let it simmer a bit more.

Is aged kimchi gamjatang good with somaek?

This mukeunji gamjatang is truly the kind of dish that devours rice — it has a bit of a kimchi-jjim vibe, but with big chunky pork bones in it, so the broth is genuinely rich ✔️ A bite of meat, a bite of aged kimchi, a sip of soju-beer, and summer heat is officially over!! Truly Korean soul food itself, lol.

The broth is spicy and piping hot, so you take a sip of your drink, eat a piece of meat, lol, then go back for another spoonful of broth, and somehow the drinks just keep flowing endlessly.

It's always a bit disappointing when the meat is tough, but here it was cooked so tender that the meat came off the bone with ease. The pork meat in the gamjatang wasn't dry either — it was soft, and paired with the aged kimchi it made a really great combination. Put a piece of meat on a bit of aged kimchi, scoop up a little broth, and eat it all together — that's a real delicacy 👍

Why Nuri Maeul Gamjatang works for an Itaewon group dinner

I'd highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a group dinner spot in Itaewon. The menu variety makes it great for eating with several people, and the generous portions of broth and meat make it ideal for a table full of people having drinks together. It's a stress-free menu for a loud, chatty group dinner, so it'll definitely come to mind when you're looking for an Itaewon get-together spot. It'd especially suit anyone looking for a place open late into the night.