Nami Island family restaurant: salt-grilled dakgalbi at Anbanji

A charcoal-grilled dakgalbi (grilled chicken) spot the writer enjoyed with their kid before heading into Nami Island: Namiseom Anbanji Dakgalbi.

Let me introduce a dakgalbi place we loved on a family trip to Gapyeong with my kid. You can't talk about Gapyeong without talking about dakgalbi, right? Since Nami Island was on the itinerary this time, I looked for a good dakgalbi spot near Nami Island that would fit the route, and ended up at Anbanji Dakgalbi, right at the entrance to the island. It's been running for 35 years across three generations, and it was also selected for the 2026 Blue Ribbon Survey, so it's well known among people looking for a Gapyeong Blue Ribbon restaurant.

Where is Anbanji Dakgalbi, and how does the 6-hour free parking work?

Anbanji Dakgalbi sits right at the entrance to Nami Island. Best of all, diners can use the Kakao T Anbanji parking lot across the street for free for 6 hours, which took a lot of the parking stress off my mind.

After the meal, we didn't need to move the car again — we just left it parked and went straight on to sightsee at Nami Island. The Nami Island ferry dock is only about 250m away, roughly a 2-minute walk, which was easy to manage with a kid in tow. It's also across from the Nami Island Starbucks, so it wasn't hard to find even on a first visit.

Weekend lunch wait and the painting-lined waiting room

We visited Anbanji Dakgalbi during weekend lunch peak time, so we put our name in via Tabling and waited a bit in the waiting room.

While we waited, my kid spotted the Mona Lisa on the wall. The waiting room is decorated like a mini art gallery, so it was fun looking through the Mona Lisa and other famous paintings one by one. Thanks to that, the waiting time went by less boring than expected with a kid.

Since it was weekend lunchtime, the inside was packed with customers. It was busy but had a lively atmosphere, and the seating spacing was comfortable enough that it didn't feel stressful for a family meal with a kid.

What we ordered at Anbanji Dakgalbi and what it cost

You order directly at your table, and our family ordered the following:

• Original salt-grilled dakgalbi ₩17,000 × 2 servings
• Buckwheat mak-guksu ₩11,000
• Cheese fondue ₩5,000

Since we were eating with our kid, we chose the mild original salt-grilled dakgalbi instead of the spicy version.

Charcoal salt-grilled dakgalbi: flip it every 15 seconds

Not long after ordering, the side dishes came out quickly and they set up the charcoal grill for us. Once the charcoal was in, I was itching to start grilling right away haha.

The staff placed the raw dakgalbi directly onto the heated grill for us.

They also gave us a grilling tip: flip the meat about every 15 seconds at first so it doesn't stick to the grill or burn.

Once it started browning nicely over the charcoal, it looked delicious just to watch. Once it was cooked enough, they cut it into bite-sized pieces and kept cooking it perfectly to the end.

Buckwheat mak-guksu with salt-grilled dakgalbi

By the time the meat was almost fully cooked, the mak-guksu noodles we'd also ordered arrived. With the generously portioned noodles on the table, the meal really felt complete.

You really can't have dakgalbi without mak-guksu, can you? The tangy sauce with the chewy noodles kept my chopsticks going back for more. Taking a bite of mak-guksu in between bites of charcoal dakgalbi cleansed the palate nicely — a great pairing.

The well-cooked salt-grilled dakgalbi was mild and tasty on its own, but it was also fun to dip it in the mustard sauce and cheongyang chili seasoning that came with it. If I hadn't had my kid with me, I probably would have ordered the spicy seasoned dakgalbi instead — but with a kid, going with the salt version and letting the adults add the spicy cheongyang chili seasoning ourselves worked out just right.

How to eat the 5,000-won cheese fondue

The cheese fondue we ordered melted down nicely and smoothly. Adding rich, savory cheese to the mild salt-grilled dakgalbi worked really well for eating with a kid too.

Dipping the meat straight into the cheese was good, but I actually preferred lifting the cheese with my chopsticks and swirling it generously over the dakgalbi.

We wrapped the dakgalbi in lettuce, and also piled the meat on top of the mak-guksu — the flavor changed depending on the combination, so it stayed delicious right to the end.

My kid even wrapped a piece of the salt-grilled dakgalbi in a lettuce wrap by themselves, took a bite, and gave a thumbs-up saying it was delicious haha.

Self-serve side dishes and dongchimi

If you run low on side dishes while eating, you can easily grab more at the self-serve corner. There's also dongchimi (radish water kimchi) available self-serve, and my kid really loves dongchimi broth. They happily added rice to the cool dongchimi broth and finished it all off neatly.

Is Anbanji Dakgalbi worth it with kids?

Anbanji Dakgalbi is a Gapyeong Blue Ribbon restaurant located right in front of Nami Island, and with 6 hours of free parking available, it was easy to combine with a Nami Island trip.

The mild, savory original salt-grilled dakgalbi, browned nicely over charcoal, was great to eat with my kid since it wasn't spicy, and the adults could enjoy it their way by adding the spicy sauce. Adding the mak-guksu and cheese fondue on top made for a satisfying, filling meal. If you're planning a Gapyeong trip with kids and looking for somewhere to eat near Nami Island, or searching for a Nami Island dakgalbi restaurant the whole family can enjoy comfortably, I'd recommend Anbanji Dakgalbi.