Mangwon-dong Japanese restaurant with scissor-cut futomaki: Padong
In short
Padong is a Japanese restaurant on the basement level in Mangwon-dong, Mapo, Seoul, a 3-5 minute walk from Mangwon Station Exit 2. Arriving at 12:30pm on a Saturday for the salmon donburi, the writer found it sold out and ordered futomaki (₩16,000), steak donburi (₩13,000), cold soba (₩13,000) and a bottle of Asahi to share between two. The futomaki at Padong was too big for one bite and had to be cut with scissors, and all three dishes came in generous portions.
Good to know
- Location
- B1, 47 World Cup-ro 17-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, 3-5 min walk from Mangwon Station Exit 2
- Hours
- Daily 11:30-21:00 (last order 20:30)
- Break time
- Weekdays 15:00-17:00, weekends 16:00-17:00
- Futomaki
- ₩16,000
- Steak donburi
- ₩13,000
- Cold soba
- ₩13,000
- Asahi bottled beer
- ₩6,000
- Seating
- 4-5 tables, mostly for two / bar seats facing the open kitchen
- Parking
- No dedicated lot; use Mangwon 1-2 public parking lot at Mangwon 1-dong Community Center
- Price reference
- ₩16,000 ≈ $11.5 · ₩13,000 ≈ $9.5 · ₩6,000 ≈ $4.4 (2026-09-22)
as written by the visitor on Sep 23, 2026
Both my boyfriend and I love Japanese food, so we end up going to Japanese restaurants together pretty often.
For this date, he said he wanted salmon donburi, so I looked up donburi spots near Mangwon-dong and we ended up at Padong.
Where Padong is in Mangwon-dong: hours and parking
Padong is a restaurant in the basement level at 47 World Cup-ro 17-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul. It's about a 3-5 minute walk from Mangwon Station Exit 2, so the spot is perfect for browsing the market and then swinging by for a Mangwon-dong lunch!
It's open daily from 11:30 to 21:00, with last order at 20:30. Break time differs between weekdays and weekends — weekdays 15:00-17:00, weekends 16:00-17:00.
There's no dedicated parking, so you'll need to use the Mangwon 1-2 public parking lot near the Mangwon 1-dong Community Center nearby.
What does Padong look like inside?
Inside, Padong has about 4-5 tables, and like other Mangwon-dong eateries, it's not a huge space.
Most tables were for two, though you could push tables together depending on your group size.
There were also bar seats in front of the open kitchen, but when we visited, they looked more like a spot for storing items than seating for guests.
The wood-toned furniture and open kitchen gave it that Japanese-restaurant feel, and on one side there were character figurines including Minions along with a Marshall speaker, adding a casual touch.
We came in around Saturday lunch, 12:30ish?, and got seated right away without waiting. But not long after we started eating, a line started forming. Given the size of the place, you might have to wait a bit for weekend lunch.
Padong's menu and our order: the salmon donburi was sold out
The whole reason we came to Padong, a Japanese restaurant in Mangwon-dong, was for the salmon donburi. But when we tried to order it, we were told the ingredients had run out, so we picked other dishes instead.
We went with three dishes: futomaki (₩16,000), which my boyfriend loves, steak donburi (₩13,000), which I love, and cold soba (₩13,000), which we both love.
For reference, the main dishes here are mazesoba, basil soba, and donburi rice bowls! When eating Japanese food in Mangwon-dong, I like pairing it with beer, so we also ordered one Asahi bottled beer for ₩6,000.
Oh, and the basic side dishes were pickled green chili peppers and ginger.
Padong's giant futomaki, too big for one bite
The moment Padong's futomaki (₩16,000) arrived, I genuinely wondered whether that thing could even fit in one bite — it was that big.
Each piece was packed full — thick tuna and salmon, crispy fried shrimp, moist Japanese-style rolled egg, and cucumber, all stuffed inside.
It was too big for me, so my boyfriend asked for scissors and cut mine up. He tried eating his in one bite — he managed to get it in, but his mouth was so full he couldn't talk for a while lol
Between the soft tuna and salmon, the crispy fried shrimp and crunchy cucumber worked together better than I expected!
And of course, an Asahi in between~~
Padong's steak donburi and its generous portion of beef
Padong's steak donburi (₩13,000) uses skirt steak, and it came piled generously on top of the rice.
Green onion, wasabi, and an egg yolk are placed on top of the rice, and you mix it all together before eating. The meat had no gamey smell and had a decent amount of chew to it.
The rice was soaked in a salty, savory sauce, so it wasn't bland at all.
One bowl was filling enough on its own — this could be a solid pick for guys eating alone at a Mangwon-dong restaurant!
Cold soba at Padong, topped with fried shrimp
Padong's cold soba (₩13,000) came with one large piece of fried shrimp on top, along with grated radish, wasabi, green onion, seaweed flakes, and lemon.
On a hot day, nothing beats cold soba. The tangy flavor was great for refreshing your palate between bites!
The noodle portion was pretty generous too. Padong seems to give solid portions across the board 👍
Sharing the futomaki, steak donburi, and cold soba between the two of us left us pretty full. We properly cleaned out this Mangwon-dong Japanese food spot,, it was a bit disappointing we couldn't get the salmon donburi, but we still got to eat well with the other dishes haha
Where it is
47 World Cup-ro 17-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, B1, South Korea서울특별시 마포구 월드컵로17길 47 지하1층
