Seoul Korean restaurant near Gwangjang Market for tteokgalbi: Gu Table

Gu Table Korean Restaurant near Jongno 5-ga: dried corvina and tteokgalbi near Gwangjang Market

I stopped by Gu Table Korean Restaurant in Jongno 5-ga a little after the lunch rush. It's close to Gwangjang Market, so I ended up walking in while passing through the area, and that day I ordered boribulgui (dried yellow corvina) and tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patties) for my meal.

Usually when I hear "hanjeongsik restaurant" I picture a traditional-style space first, but this place looked a little different from what I expected once I stepped inside.

Where is Gu Table? Between Jongno 5-ga Station and Gwangjang Market

Gu Table Korean Restaurant sits near Jongno 5-ga Station and Gwangjang Market. I visited a little after the lunch peak, and once I stepped inside, the interior looked different from the Korean restaurant image the exterior gave off.

The area around Jongno 5-ga and Gwangjang Market has plenty of old, traditional-feeling restaurants, but the atmosphere here felt a bit different from those places.

A Korean set-meal restaurant that looks like a café inside

The first thing I noticed walking into Gu Table was the café-like mood. When you think of a traditional hanjeongsik restaurant, you tend to imagine wood interiors or a hanok feel, but this space was decorated in a fairly modern style.

Before eating, I looked around at the table and seating layout. Since it was a bit past lunchtime, I had the chance to take in the surroundings while I ate.

Gu Table menu and prices

• Boribulgui set ₩40,000
• Mini boribulgui set ₩25,000
• Jeolla-do aged kimchi jjim set ₩15,000
• Secret broth mandu-guk set ₩14,000
• Mussel-heavy seaweed soup set ₩12,000
• Tteokgalbi (2 pieces) ₩15,000
• Stone minari pork belly butter bibimbap ₩17,000
• LA galbi bibimbap ₩20,000
• Eggplant rice bowl ₩15,000
• Cockle bibimbap ₩14,000
• Hanwoo beef tartare bibimbap ₩16,000
• Octopus rice bowl ₩14,000
• Aged flounder cold buckwheat noodles ₩16,000
• Hanwoo bulgogi cold buckwheat bibim noodles ₩16,000

What I ordered that day was boribulgui and tteokgalbi. Boribulgui is one of the signature Korean dishes eaten with rice, and I ordered tteokgalbi alongside it.

With the two dishes in front of me, I watched the food come out and looked over the side dishes that were prepared. Part of the fun of a hanjeongsik restaurant is checking out the spread that comes with the main dish, and that day too, I started the meal by going through everything on the table one by one.

Tasting the borigulbi set at Gu Table

Besides the set meals and bibimbap, Gu Table also had a separate menu of dishes meant as drinking snacks.

• Steamed clams / steamed hard clams ₩30,000
• Braised tail ₩70,000
• Grilled crab ₩70,000
• White whelk soup ₩38,000
• Squid sundae ₩30,000
• Braised squid with green onion ₩35,000
• Grilled eel ₩60,000
• Steamed monkfish ₩55,000
• Kimchi with handmade tofu ₩35,000
• Green onion and chicken pancake ₩28,000
• Today's sashimi plate ₩50,000
• Pollack roe and green onion pancake ₩25,000
• Extra oysters ₩6,000

I tried the boribulgui first. Since it's meant to be eaten with rice, I had a spoonful of rice with a bit of fish each time. The fish came broken into bite-sized pieces to eat alongside the rice, and I tried the side dishes one by one too. Since I'd ordered boribulgui that day, it was a good chance to see exactly how this hanjeongsik staple is served.

Tteokgalbi, two pieces, ordered on the side

The dish I ordered along with boribulgui was tteokgalbi. It's a familiar Korean dish, so I ordered it together with the boribulgui for the meal.

Having two dishes on the table instead of just one made the spread look different, and I kept alternating between boribulgui and tteokgalbi as I ate.

Since I visited a bit after lunchtime, I wasn't in a rush — I ate slowly, taking in the order the dishes came out in and the interior of the restaurant.

Gu Table location, hours and parking

• Name: Gu Table Korean Restaurant
• Address: 8-5 Jongno 31-gil, 1st floor, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 11:00–22:00
• Break time: 15:00–17:00
• Last order: 21:30
• Parking: Nearby paid parking lots

Gu Table Korean Restaurant, near Jongno 5-ga close to Gwangjang Market. I visited a bit after lunchtime and ordered boribulgui and tteokgalbi, taking in the interior and the food while I ate.

What stayed with me most from this visit was how different the actual space felt from the traditional atmosphere I'd expected from the name "hanjeongsik restaurant."