Duck BBQ lunch with Mom in Gwacheon, minari refilled twice: Deo Chadol

Deo Chadol (더차돌) in Gwacheon is a great spot for a family get-together near Seoul Land.

Right by Seonbawi Station and close to Seoul Land and the racecourse, this big restaurant works for a family lunch or dinner, and that's where I went today ♥️ Self-serve bar, private rooms, generous portions, good value and fresh meat. Let me introduce this duck place!

Where is Deo Chadol in Gwacheon, and is there parking?

Deo Chadol is about 150 m on foot from Seonbawi Station Exit 3, near a residential area. Keep walking and you'll see the big storefront entrance on your right : )

If you drive, the private lot is free, and on Sundays the public parking lot is free too ✔️

What kind of restaurant is Deo Chadol in Gwacheon?

The Gwacheon branch is the flagship, and duck brisket BBQ (oritchadol-gui) and seasoned fresh duck (jumulleok) are the signatures. Apparently lots of celebrities have been here, and it's aimed at families with generous portions and flavor, so it's been on TV a lot.

Deo Chadol, the Gwacheon spot celebrities supposedly raved about 🥹 There's a wait on weekdays and weekends alike, and you register through Tabling, but it was a good enough meal that I'd put up with all of that 💕

How long is the wait at Deo Chadol, and what is inside like?

Luckily I avoided peak mealtimes and got in after about 10 minutes 😃 There's a proper waiting area, so it was comfortable, and inside it's spacious and cool, with plenty of family group seating!

It's a duck restaurant in Gwacheon with rooms for group gatherings ☺️ There are baby chairs and a roomy main hall too, so it seemed perfect for a visit after playing around Seoul Land 😄

What comes in the Deo Chadol couple course?

I went with my mom and we ordered the couple course 💛 Instead of ordering separately, it comes like a full course: sulfur duck brisket, sulfur fresh duck jumulleok, plus doenjang stew (soybean paste stew) and fried rice, all set out.

They say Deo Chadol's duck recipe was passed down by a cook who learned from a chef at the Blue House. It's fresh duck, so there was no gamey smell, and the meat was tender yet firm.

First round: sulfur-fed duck brisket with stone minari

True to the name "course," two plates of duck come out one after another! First up is the sizzling duck brisket, the one you see on TV. Fresh duck is chilled and rolled up round like brisket (chadol) style, and it's served raw.

The minari (water dropwort) in the middle of the greens got more flavorful the more I chewed, and it went so well with the duck that I refilled it twice more. It was the key point that made this dish shine ✨

Eating it with the cleanly washed greens is part of the fun 💚 Duck goes better with perilla leaves than I expected, so I kept refilling the leaves at the self-serve bar 🤭

Are side dish refills free at Deo Chadol?

The sides were green onion kimchi, seasoned pickled greens, and cabbage with black sesame dressing. All the sides are refillable; among the vegetables, only the minari costs extra, ₩3,000 per refill, so just keep that in mind!

At other places, duck brisket was thinner than I expected, but the meat at Deo Chadol was thick. It had a great chew, almost like eating beef brisket 😌

On the side came a special meat sauce, pink salt and pepper. Deo Chadol's fresh duck has almost no gamey smell even on its own, so the seasonings are just extras, but enjoy them however you like ✨

Fried rice comes with the set, but I couldn't resist, so I got a bowl of black rice, plus the doenjang stew from the basic setting, and ate it with the duck brisket 🤍 Eating the first dish this way is cleaner, and I'd give it 100 for satisfaction!

If I have to show you the joy of eating with a photo, it's just this (?) Perilla leaf + garlic + Deo Chadol's secret sauce, or a dip in pink salt, and one bite gives you a subtle duck aroma, texture and juiciness all at once.

Second round: sulfur-fed fresh duck jumulleok

Once you finish the duck brisket, a staff member checks your table and puts the seasoned duck on right away. I was already pretty full from the brisket, and then another fresh two servings arrived, so the amount surprised me and the taste surprised me again 🧡

Wrapping it in perilla leaves was the truth of life with Deo Chadol's duck jumulleok. It was so good I wanted to order it again as a single dish, and since I wanted to eat it with minari once more, I reordered.

It's so good that reordering comes easily, but add drinks and my bank account would be wrecked,, still, it's so delicious I can't stop! It's pleasantly spicy but not very hot, so even people who can't handle spice should be fine.

Finishing with fried rice in the jumulleok sauce

The finale was fried rice: they clear away the jumulleok, leave a bit of the seasoning, and toss it with Deo Chadol's special sauce (●'◡'●) A duck course that left me stuffed. Next time I want to come for the jjamppong (spicy noodle soup) at lunch!

Deo Chadol in Gwacheon: the verdict in one line

Flavor, route and ingredients nobody will dislike.

• Address: 5 Dwitgol 2-ro, 1st floor, Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 11 am–9:30 pm
• Break time: 3–5 pm (none on Saturday and Sunday)