Ganghwa duck restaurant in Gilsang-myeon with tableside grilling

Deok Ori Jumulleok Ganghwa Main Branch — a recommended Ganghwa restaurant, a local duck spot near Jeondeungsa Temple.

121 Manisan-ro, Gilsang-myeon, Ganghwa-gun, Incheon, South Korea / Weekdays 11:00 - 20:30 (last order 19:30), Weekends 11:00 - 21:00 (last order 20:00) / Break time 15:00 - 17:00 / Closed every Monday

Today I want to introduce a duck restaurant worth visiting on Incheon's Ganghwa Island. From duck jumulleok (spicy stir-fried duck) with a spicy-sweet sauce soaked well into the meat, to a golden-crisp potato pancake and finishing cheese fried rice, the menu combo made the whole meal really satisfying. It's also fairly close to Jeondeungsa Temple, so it worked well as a light lunch stop during a Ganghwa trip — this is the local duck specialty spot, Deok Ori Jumulleok Ganghwa Main Branch.

How long is the drive from Jeondeungsa, and is there parking?

Deok Ori Jumulleok Ganghwa Main Branch is about 5 minutes by car from Jeondeungsa Temple, one of the most popular stops on a Ganghwa trip. Head from the Onsu-ri area of Gilsang-myeon toward Yeoubgogae and you'll find it quickly. I visited on a weekday for lunch.

For parking, there's a spacious dedicated lot right in front of the restaurant. It has plenty of room, so I didn't have to worry much about parking even at lunchtime. Let's head inside.

Inside Deok Ori Jumulleok: seating and atmosphere

The interior of Deok Ori Jumulleok Ganghwa Main Branch felt clean overall, with the natural, old-school charm of a long-running local spot. Rather than an over-decorated space, it felt more like a comfortable neighborhood duck restaurant you can sit down and eat at easily. There were plenty of tables all the way to the back, and I noticed a kids' chair off to one side. Best of all, the owner was really kind.

The menu and what a table of two ordered

The menu centers on several types of duck jumulleok and duck roast, with a solid lineup of sides like potato pancake and fried rice. You can choose between seasoned duck or the plainer roast depending on your taste, so it seemed easy to order even with a group. We went all in and ordered duck jumulleok (₩20,000) for two, potato pancake (₩12,000), and fried rice (₩3,000) with cheese added (₩2,000). By the way, there's an ongoing event where writing a receipt review gets you a free serving of fried rice, so if you're planning to finish with fried rice, it might be worth joining in.

Which side dishes come with the meal?

Soon after, along with the drinks we ordered, the basic side dishes were neatly laid out. Each side felt like it was homemade, which made trying them one by one fun. Personally, the candied sweet potato and braised potatoes suited my taste especially well. The candied sweet potato had a thin, sweet coating on the outside that kept me reaching for more like a snack, and the braised potatoes were savory and soft, pairing nicely with rice. Good stuff.

Potato pancake, 12,000 won

Next, the potato pancake we ordered as a side came out first. It was wide and round, golden-brown, and looked savory just from the sight of it. The outside was crisply cooked, with a slightly firm texture when picked up with chopsticks, while the inside kept the soft texture of potato — the contrast between outside and inside was pretty good. What I liked most was the subtle, savory flavor that came through more with each bite.

Duck jumulleok, 20,000 won: grilled at the table

Then came the main dish of this meal, the duck jumulleok. It came out already partly cooked from the kitchen, so we didn't have to wait long at the table before eating, and I liked it even more that the owner personally moved the parchment paper around while grilling to keep the meat from burning. At the end, she added plenty of perilla leaves and chives, which naturally brought out a fragrant aroma.

The duck jumulleok had a familiar sauce, a comfortable balance of spicy and sweet. It wasn't overly spicy or salty, so it went especially well with rice. The duck meat was tender rather than chewy, and there were plenty of potatoes and rice cakes mixed in too, which made picking through the dish fun.

Cheese fried rice: one serving is enough for two

After we'd eaten through most of the duck jumulleok, we ordered fried rice made with the leftover sauce. This too was cooked carefully by the owner right at our table. The fried rice was much more generous than I expected for a single serving — if two people have already eaten duck jumulleok and potato pancake, one order of fried rice is plenty. We added cheese, and the cheese melted softly over the fried rice, mellowing out the spiciness of the sauce nicely, which suited my taste even better. If you get the chance, I'd definitely recommend trying it.