Other Table Dweller · 34 stories

The Second Table

I write about restaurant visits around Seoul. · Writes about: Restaurants · Bars · Stays · Cafés

PlaceGangnam, SeoulRestaurants

Gangnam Japanese eel restaurant: election-day hitsumabushi, Chisot

Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch (치솟 역삼본점) is a Japanese eel rice bowl restaurant near Yeoksam Station and GS Arts Center in Gangnam, Seoul, serving authentic Nagoya-style hitsumabushi (grilled eel over rice). On election day, after voting early, the writer chose Chisot to avoid grilling eel at the table on a hot day; the eel arrives fully grilled. The writer had two individual set meals with soup and chawanmushi and tried all three ways to eat hitsumabushi, with lunch specials from ₩16,000. Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch's eel is so solid that it tastes good however you eat it, making it a must-visit for Yeoksam Station office workers.

Written Jun 5, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulRestaurants

Sinnonhyeon Western restaurant, Earl Grey highball & steak: Brivit

Brivit Gangnam Station is a bright, beige-toned Western restaurant on Gangnam-daero 102-gil, near Exit 6 of Sinnonhyeon Station in Gangnam, Seoul. At a big window seat, the writer ordered the steak set for two, swapped the set drinks for a butter highball and an Earl Grey highball, and tried the Greek yogurt tomato salad, the spicy jambon risotto and the Brivit steak topped with a cheese waterfall. Pretty to look at and consistently tasty, Brivit Gangnam Station works for blind dates, dates and catch-ups with friends alike.

Written Jun 6, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeongnam, GyeonggiBars

Moran Station izakaya, 20-piece sashimi and clam pasta: Robata Sobeu

Robata Sobeu (로바타소브) is a robatayaki izakaya near Exit 3 of Moran Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi. Over a dinner-and-drinks evening, the writer had soda highballs, a 20-piece sashimi plate with vinegared rice, and sake-steamed clams with pasta noodles added, and especially loved the savory aged sashimi and the rich clam broth. Robata Sobeu suits a first round, a light second round or a date night near Moran Station.

Written Oct 19, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYongin, GyeonggiRestaurants

Giheung kalguksu spot with roe and milt, ₩4,000 soju: Deungchon

Deungchon Shabu Kalguksu Giheung Station Branch is a shabu-shabu and kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) restaurant on basement level 2 of ICT Valley Building B, the CGV Giheung building, in Giheung-gu, Yongin. Instead of the usual clear broth, the blogger ordered the spicy mushroom shabu with roe and milt added for a roe-stew feel, plus 1 extra portion of beef, then finished with kalguksu, fried rice and a self-serve yogurt drink. The big, tender roe and milt and the fluffy fried rice were the highlights, and with soju at ₩4,000, Deungchon Shabu Kalguksu Giheung Station Branch is a good place for a drink over hot broth.

Written Oct 22, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulRestaurants

Hitsumabushi restaurant in Yeoksam: weekend set lunch at Yangsando

Yangsando Yeoksam is a hitsumabushi (grilled eel over rice) restaurant on Nonhyeon-ro 85-gil near Yeoksam Station in Gangnam, Seoul, part of a chain that started in Busan. On a weekend lunch, the one-eel hitsumabushi set was eaten three ways: eel with rice, mixed together, and as ochazuke (rice in tea broth). The meal came with soba and chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) sides and a cold plum tea to finish. Yangsando Yeoksam is a clean spot with solo seats and an easy pick for a neat Japanese set meal.

Written Jun 16, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYongin, GyeonggiRestaurants

Group butcher BBQ in Yongin: Iberico jowl & hanwoo, Dongbaek Hanokjip

Dongbaek Hanokjip Charcoal Grill Butcher Restaurant is a butcher-counter charcoal BBQ restaurant in the Dongbaek district of Giheung-gu, Yongin. On a Friday evening, a minhwa (Korean folk painting) studio group came to celebrate graduate-school completions, grilled over 800g of hanwoo sirloin, pork belly, pork neck and Iberico pork jowl, and finished with buckwheat mul naengmyeon (cold noodles). With no table setting fee and plenty of parking, Dongbaek Hanokjip is a solid pick for group gatherings and company dinners.

Written Jun 15, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Sokcho dried pollack restaurant: two plump fish & pot rice, Yetgoeul

Yetgoeul Sundubu (옛고을순두부) is a Korean restaurant serving soft tofu (sundubu) and dried pollack on Wonamhaksapyeong-gil in Sokcho, Gangwon, and it opens at 7am. Arriving at 11:30am, the writer took one of the last three free tables and ordered the grilled dried pollack set, which starts at 2 servings. It arrived with two thick dried pollack, cast-iron pot rice and a table full of side dishes: grilled tofu, jeon (Korean pancakes) and sundubu. Yetgoeul Sundubu's grilled dried pollack set is mildly seasoned and filling, and worth returning to for a family meal or a meal on a Sokcho trip.

Written Oct 14, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulCafés

Gangnam Station bakery: millefeuille & lemon sand, Bakerist Brown

Bakerist Brown is a bakery café in a brick building with floors from basement 1 to the 3rd floor, behind the CGV between Gangnam Station and Sinnonhyeon Station in Seoul. The writer stopped by around 12:30 on a Sunday, right after lunch, for a Gangnam Sand set (6 signature cookies), a millefeuille, a black sesame latte and an iced Americano. The leftover Gangnam Sands went into the fridge at home for dessert that evening. With a bright, spacious interior and tasty bakes and drinks, Bakerist Brown is an easy café to recommend around Gangnam Station.

Written Jun 17, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonCafés

Sokcho café revisited: 3rd-floor Ulsanbawi relax chairs, Cafe Neorae

Cafe Neorae is an Ulsanbawi-view café in Haksapyeong village, Wonam, Sokcho (Gangwon). On a second visit after June, the writer sat in the 3rd-floor seats facing Ulsanbawi and went up to the rooftop viewing deck with a Signature Sseoda Einspänner (₩7,500), Golden Pear Sparkling (₩7,500) and Chodang sweet corn salt bread (₩5,000), though low clouds partly hid Ulsanbawi this time. Cafe Neorae offers the Ulsanbawi view and a quiet mood at fair prices for a tourist area, and is worth a return visit.

Written Oct 16, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSuwon, GyeonggiRestaurants

Yeongtong conveyor sushi for two, live flounder to order: Teukbyeolhan

Teukbyeolhan Chobap (특별한 초밥) is a conveyor belt sushi restaurant on the 2nd floor of the Yeongtong central shopping complex in Suwon, Gyeonggi, where you pick plates off the belt and order live fish sushi separately from the menu. After joining the CatchTable waitlist around 6 PM on a weekday, two people ate their fill of ₩1,890 salmon sushi topped with onion, live flounder and flounder engawa (fin muscle), big shrimp sushi and a melon dessert for about ₩30,000. Teukbyeolhan Chobap is a good-value Yeongtong sushi spot for students, friends and couples who want plenty of conveyor sushi on a light budget.

Written Jun 21, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Sokcho tofu restaurant near Hwaamsa, post-hike breakfast: Jinsol

Jinsol Halmeoni Sundubu (진솔할머니순두부) is a tofu restaurant in the Haksapyeong Kongkkot Village sundubu (soft tofu) street in Sokcho, Gangwon, that has been running for about 30 years. After a dawn hike up Sinseondae on Geumgangsan, the writer ate the Jinsol set (from 2 people) before 9 am: soft tofu, grilled dried pollack, block tofu, buckwheat crepe rolls, acorn jelly and grilled fish on one table, each served at the right temperature with mild, clean seasoning. Jinsol Halmeoni Sundubu is a solid pick for a hearty, protein-rich Sokcho breakfast or brunch after a hike.

Written Jun 30, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonCafés

Sokcho café after the Sinseondae hike at Hwaamsa: Cafe Neorae

Cafe Neorae (카페너래) is an Ulsanbawi-view café in Haksapyeong Sundubu Village, near Sokcho IC and Hanwha Resort in Sokcho, Gangwon. After hiking to Sinseondae from Hwaamsa Temple, the writer drove about 10 minutes to Cafe Neorae and sipped an iced Americano and the signature Sua Da Einspänner while gazing at Ulsanbawi through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Cafe Neorae suits anyone who wants a front-row view of Ulsanbawi without climbing the mountain.

Written Jul 1, 2026Sponsored