Gangnam Korean restaurant for a late-night hangover cure: Geumnyeong

It was one of those hours after an all-nighter when you're too exhausted to notice daylight, let alone hunger. My friend called me out for gukbap (soup with rice), and off we went for a bowl of gomtang.

Geumnyeong Gomtang Yeoksam Branch: location and hours

• 📍 1 Bongeunsa-ro 4-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (Yeoksam-dong 601-16)
• 🚇 88m from Exit 4 of Sinnonhyeon Station (Line 9, Sinbundang Line)
• 🕒 Mon–Fri 10:30–22:00 (break 15:00–17:00, last order 21:30)
• 🕒 Sat 10:30–20:00 (break 15:00–17:00, last order 19:30)
• Closed Sundays / ※ Closed 9/25 for Chuseok
• 🧾 Group seating, takeout, delivery, reservations, separate men's/women's restrooms, kids' facilities

Usually after pulling an all-nighter I have zero appetite and no idea what to eat. But the moment my friend said "let's get gukbap," I was suddenly starving.

Lunchtime atmosphere: fine solo or with a group

Where we met for lunch was Geumnyeong Gomtang Yeoksam Branch, close to Sinnonhyeon Station.

The place was bigger and cleaner than I expected, making it a comfortable spot for a lunchtime meal.

There were solo diners too, and the tables had enough space that chatting with a friend over the meal felt easy. There's also a room-like private area, which seems handy for all kinds of visits.

Geumnyeong Gomtang opened this Yeoksam-dong location following its original branch in Wangsimni, and it's known for using 1++ grade Korean beef, the highest grade available.

Another feature here is the tonic broth, simmered daily with medicinal herbs.

What we ordered: two large gomtang bowls

After sitting down, we ordered right away — two large (특) gomtang bowls.

The menu isn't just gomtang — there's also rice noodle soup, pollock salad, and boiled pork slices, so there's something to pick depending on your mood. Craving hot broth? Get gomtang. Want something else? Go for the noodle soup or pork.

What's on the self-serve banchan bar

While getting ready for side dishes, I spotted the self-serve bar!

A staff member told us to help ourselves to whatever banchan (side dishes) we wanted, and there were way more options than I expected. From perilla leaves to cucumber peppers, there was plenty to choose from, so I loaded up a good amount.

The kimchi comes out in a jar at the table — we scooped and cut it ourselves, and with that, the meal setup was complete.

From radish strips to pickled peppers, pickled garlic, cucumber peppers, and perilla leaf soybean paste salad — the variety was bigger than I thought. Tasting each one, they were all good, so I kept reaching for more while waiting for the gomtang. The perilla leaf soybean paste salad and cucumber peppers were especially good — honestly, you could eat a whole bowl of rice with just these side dishes.

The gomtang: broth and meat

And finally, the gomtang arrived!

The broth was clear and clean, but from the very first spoonful I could taste a deep beefy aroma.

Being served piping hot made it taste even better.

Above all, the large size comes packed with a lot of meat.

With gukbap, sometimes the rice is still there but the meat's already gone — here, it felt like the meat just kept coming no matter how much I ate. It was also tender with no gamy smell,

and the broth itself was rich yet not heavy — clean-tasting, which I loved.

The rice comes prepared toreom-style (warmed by pouring hot broth over it), so the broth naturally soaks into every grain — eating it together with the soup worked really well.

With so many side dishes, it genuinely felt like a healthy, home-cooked meal from Mom.

Every single banchan was delicious.

And this place's gomtang, even though it's rich, never felt heavy or dull — it was quite clean-tasting.

Rather than a strong, punchy gukbap, this was a mild style where the deep flavor of the broth really shines through — light enough for lunch without feeling too heavy.

The broth itself isn't punchy, but the deep flavor of the stock really comes through — with every spoonful, I loved how clean yet rich the gomtang tasted.

Both the soup and the side dishes were so good, and the staff were really kind, so my friend and I said, "let's come here often to cure our hangovers," and finished every bit!

A Chupa Chups lollipop after the meal

After we finished eating, they even handed us a cute little dessert each — a Chupa Chups lollipop. Filling up on hot gomtang and then getting a candy on the way out just made me weirdly happy.