Cod chili sweet-and-sour 7-dish lunch in Seongbuk-dong: Seochon Nugak

Seochon Nugak: a relaxed Korean set-meal restaurant in Seongbuk-dong

If you miss a table filled with carefully made dishes, Seochon Nugak is the place. I'm close to Seongbuk-dong so I visit often, but there aren't that many restaurants there where you can eat comfortably. Some famous spots have painfully long waits, and there just aren't many easygoing rice restaurants around. So I wanted to share the pleasant meal I had at Seochon Nugak this time. After visiting, I want to recommend it far and wide as a great Korean restaurant to take your parents to.

It's across from Seonjamdanji in Seongbuk-dong, so it's easy to find. Rows of green, refreshing plants welcome you at the entrance.

This place centers on healthy Korean home-style meals, so it's perfect for anyone craving Korean food.

It was full when we came in so I couldn't take photos then, but as lunch service was wrapping up I managed to photograph the interior too. We got excited hearing the busy clatter of dishware.

Seochon Nugak menu and the 22,000-won 7-dish set meal price

We ordered the 7-dish set meal (chiljeop bansang) at ₩22,000 per person. It's made up of raw vegetable salad, cooked vegetable salad, cold salad, tofu-kimchi stir-fry, acorn jelly salad, monkfish chili sweet-and-sour, braised lotus root, kimchi, and salted seafood.

At first I thought, will all these greens really fill me up? But I ended up sooo full. You never have to worry about running out of food. And they kept checking if we needed more of any banchan (side dish), so even if something ran low, there's nothing to worry about.

Beyond that there are rice sets and hot pots too — eosuri herb rice, beef brisket minari rice bowl, tteokgalbi rice bowl, pork belly rice bowl, pine mushroom rice topped with octopus and shrimp, cuttlefish rice, and Jeju tot bap topped with abalone and scallop, plus white pollock roe hot pot (available in a single portion) and Korean braised pork ribs, and à la carte options like pollock sashimi salad, beef yukjeon, and shiitake and plump shrimp gangjeong.

There didn't seem to be a single dish to skip. The menu really brings out the freshness and character of the ingredients, so I'll definitely try more next time.

How many people can sit together at Seochon Nugak?

Seochon Nugak has seating ranging from tables good for 2–4 people up to seating for 5 or 6, so it can cover various group sizes. Groups of 2 and 3–4 seemed most common. There were a lot of guests around my mom's age, so I could tell — this really is a parents' favorite spot.

Every dish in the 7-dish set meal, one by one

First, braised lotus root. I love that it comes out portioned exactly per person! Because if it's tasty but leftover because you're busy eating other things, that's such a shame.

Mustard leaf kimchi.

Salted pollock roe. Put a little on different side dishes and the savoriness doubles.

Blanched broccoli. I make this often at home too, but this one had a bit more seasoning, which went well with rice.

And one of my husband Jjarong's soul foods — the red stuff! The tofu-kimchi stir-fry was clean and delicious too. Good savoriness that kept me reaching back for more.

The acorn jelly salad with a mild, smooth sauce and no chili flakes was tasty too.

The savory pancake with bean sprouts added had a nice crunchy texture.

Radish salad, and the five-color chicken breast cold salad. This was Jjarong's pick too. It gathered plain ingredients and finished cleanly and lightly — a really refreshing dish.

It felt like something you could eat while dieting and still stay healthy.

The Jeju tot bap (seaweed rice) topped with octopus was also a real treat among the rice dishes, though it had a bit of seasoning already mixed in, so if you like things a little more bland like me, I'd recommend adding extra plain rice. The crunchy pop of the seaweed was appealing.

Midway through, they also brought out a warm spoonful of seaweed soup.

And the sweet, crispy monkfish chili sweet-and-sour that I loved so much! It also had shiitake, scallop, and shrimp in it, so it was fun tasting different flavors in each bite. I don't drink, but I feel like this would make an amazing drinking snack too. Recommended if you like sweet flavors!

Why Seochon Nugak is worth a second visit with your parents

It really was a table filled to the brim. Receiving a spread laid out this generously made me so happy! We just kept cleaning our plates, having a great time.

Since it was daytime we couldn't have a drink together, but next time I'm planning to bring my parents, who love a drink with their meal, and visit again.

Another good, happy meal today~!