Chuseok family lunch, 6-person tilefish set in Cheongju: Jeju Badang

For Chuseok, we headed out yesterday for a family lunch to Jeju Badang in Gagyeong-dong, Cheongju haha. Everyone loved the grilled fish on our last family trip, so I was hunting for a good grilled fish place nearby and got completely won over by photos of their boneless hairtail stew..! From the food quality to the friendliness to the variety at the self bar, this was such a satisfying visit.

Where Jeju Badang is and where to park

When you're looking for a place for a family meal, plenty of parking really matters — and Jeju Badang has a big lot on the ground floor, so we didn't have to worry about it at all! Park, take the elevator up, and you're at the 2nd-floor restaurant ✨

Chuseok holiday hours and booking a table

A precious find that stays open through the whole Chuseok holiday 💕 We showed up fairly early, around 11am, and almost every table was already reserved! If we hadn't booked ahead we might have had to turn back.

The Naver Reservation feature is really convenient, so I'd recommend booking ahead before you go!

Is Jeju Badang good with kids? The play room

Another great reason to come here for a family gathering with kids — there's a play room!

The entrance to the play room is a glass wall, so you can keep half an eye on the kids while you eat haha.

Books, a slide, and even a drawing corner that kids would love — you can feel the thoughtfulness at Jeju Badang. Baby chairs are available too, of course!

Jeju Badang's menu and why we picked the 6-person tilefish set

The menu lineup was fantastic too! Jeju hairtail stew, grilled Jeju hairtail, grilled Jeju red snapper, plus mackerel, Atka mackerel and more — so many fish options! I really love grilled fish but rarely make it at home because of the smell, so it's such a treat to have it eating out haha.

If you're torn between grilled and braised, I recommend the set menu that lets you try both! ㅎㅅㅎ We came as a group of five, and since a 2-person set plus a 3-person set costs the same as the 6-person set, we ordered the 6-person red snapper set! It came with large braised Jeju boneless hairtail + giant grilled black red snapper + 6 pot rice bowls + salad bar.

What banchan comes with the set?

The basic side dishes were set out right after we ordered. Usually when there are a lot of banchan, the taste tends to be so-so or underwhelming, but Jeju Badang's banchan totally exceeded expectations!! Sauteed eggplant, bracken fern, sauteed mushrooms — full of the kind of tasty banchan you'd want to make bibimbap with haha.

They clearly put care into how the banchan were plated too — everything came out clean and neat.

They even included seaweed soup and stir-fried pork as basic banchan..

And they said refills are available if you finish and want more!

The seaweed soup had such a rich, deep flavor, it was so good ㅠ Honestly you could finish a whole bowl of rice on just these basic banchan alone..

The unlimited self bar, down to freshly fried boneless chicken

The basic banchan were already excellent, but I can't resist a self bar.

There was even more variety of fresh lettuce wraps and banchan that aren't part of the basic table setting!

Boneless fried chicken, being fried fresh continuously in real time — so good! And the japchae was kept nice and warm too! There was even seasoning sauce set out for it. Having banchan this delicious as unlimited refills — such a generous setup I've never seen in Seoul.. 🥹

And for dessert after the meal there's plum tea, iced tea, and rice puffs ready to go too. No wonder customers keep coming back!

We tried the self-bar chicken first, and wow ㅠ freshly fried, crispy outside and juicy inside, exactly what you want. The seasoning sauce for the chicken wasn't spicy at all, more sweet, so it was great for the kids too! The japchae was seasoned just right and loaded with vegetables, really delicious.

The 6-person tilefish set as it arrives at the table

It didn't take long before our ordered dishes were laid out, and the spread looked so generous and mouthwatering!

True to a 6-person set, the portion was plenty to fill everyone up!

My first time eating grilled red snapper. It doesn't fully fit in the photo, but it was seriously!!!!!! huge.

If you're torn between braised and grilled fish, I highly recommend the set menu.. 🥹

It was nice that they gave us a separate bowl for scooping out the pot rice and a separate plate for portioning out the fish.

How the Jeju boneless hairtail stew tastes

Premium Jeju hairtail.. ✨ Since it's boneless, there's no hassle of picking out bones — so easy to just scoop up with a spoon!

Not just the boneless hairtail, but the bottom of the pot was full of thick-cut radish soaked in sauce — a total rice thief.. 💕 Just the right amount of spicy-savory and slightly sweet, perfectly to our taste! The hairtail had zero fishy taste, such a nice soft texture, and above all the portion was so generous that all of us kept scooping more and there was still leftovers.. A place with great taste, big portions, and friendly service — love it!

The giant grilled black tilefish and its texture

Next up was the grilled Jeju red snapper. I was curious about the texture since it was my first time — soft with a slightly chewy finish, and seasoned just right, a flavor that both kids and adults could enjoy haha.

Pot rice, scorched rice and plum tea to finish

Scoop the pot rice into a bowl first, then finish off with scorched rice as a palate cleanser after the meal.

Fitting for a K-dessert, it was perfect after the meal! Put grilled fish over the scorched rice and it resets your palate, so you go back for more rice, then more scorched rice, on repeat lol. Full but hating to waste the leftover food, so you overeat anyway — such a great restaurant :)

We finished with a cool plum tea for dessert — no need for a café after the meal, palate cleanse complete ㅎㅅㅎ

Final verdict on Jeju Badang

We found this place in a rush over Chuseok, but every single staff member was so kind, and from the main dishes to the self bar to dessert, there wasn't a single letdown — a genuinely great meal! If we gather in Cheongju again, I'd absolutely come back haha. If you're still looking for a family restaurant for the rest of Chuseok, I highly recommend Jeju Badang!