Sokcho makguksu restaurant where perilla kalguksu wins: Topgol

Today I'm introducing a makguksu (buckwheat cold noodle) spot in Sokcho! You know you have to eat makguksu in Sokcho, right??

Where is Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch, and is parking easy?

Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch sits right in front of Sokcho Eye, right by the beach, so accessibility was fantastic! Location and parking convenience get five stars.

It's a great stop after playing around Sokcho Beach, and just as good to visit before heading straight to the water after eating — perfect to slot into a travel itinerary.

A 3-minute walk from Sokcho Beach? Basically right next to it haha.

Here's what the exterior looks like! Clean and tidy, so it was easy to spot even while passing by. If you're looking for a restaurant near the Sokcho beach, this place was pretty satisfying just for the location.

Inside Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch: group tables and space

Walking in, the interior was clean and bigger than I expected. Lots of families were dining there, and overall the atmosphere felt comfortable for a meal.

Plenty of group tables too, so it seems good for family visits.

Self-serve bar: yagwanmun tea and a microwave for baby food

There was also a self-serve bar off to one side. It was nice to freely grab side dishes or tableware there, and what really caught my eye was the yagwanmun tea (a Korean herbal tea)! Being able to sip something warm while eating was subtly great.

Another nice touch — a microwave was set up! For families visiting with babies, there was a microwave ready for warming baby food. That kind of thoughtful detail makes it a good pick for family visits too.

Two kinds of kimchi came out as side dishes.

I snapped a photo of the menu too. We ordered a bit of everything that day! The first things I ordered were deulmemak and buckwheat makguksu.

How did the deulmemak and buckwheat makguksu taste?

First, the deulmemak! It was nutty with a mild, easy-to-eat seasoning. Above all, I loved the perilla leaf aroma. The nutty flavor combined with the subtle perilla leaf scent gave it a charm different from typical makguksu.

And the buckwheat makguksu is the style with red seasoning, and the seasoning balance was just right. Red-seasoned dishes can easily turn out too salty, but this wasn't salty at all — the seasoning was well balanced, so it was delicious. Most of all, they say the noodles are handmade, and the noodles were really good. You could taste the distinct nutty flavor of buckwheat, and the texture of the noodles themselves was great — makguksu lovers would be satisfied. So I thought I could call this place the holy land of Sokcho deulmemak haha.

Chewy, springy noodles...

The 17,000 won potato pancake: size and the pizza cutter

We also ordered the potato pancake, priced at 17,000 won! The moment it arrived, I was surprised by the size. It was way bigger than expected, with thick potato strands packed in, so it looked amazing visually.

It's really, really big...

What was fun was that they give you a pizza cutter to make slicing easier! You just cut it up like a pizza, which was convenient. Though we had so much more food coming that we couldn't finish the pancake and ended up boxing it haha.

The winner of the meal: buckwheat perilla kalguksu

And finally, the buckwheat perilla noodle soup that came out last! This was truly the real deal. Personally, it was number one among everything we ate that day. The broth was really rich, and the nutty perilla flavor really came through. If you like perilla, you'll really love this.

Plus, since it's a kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup), the buckwheat noodles are thicker than makguksu noodles, and the way these thick noodles blended with the rich perilla broth was so delicious. My mom and dad also said this dish was the tastiest, and even though they were already super full, they ended up eating almost all of it haha. In the end we were so full that the potato pancake got boxed to go.

If you want to enjoy the ocean and eat delicious makguksu in Sokcho, this is a place I'd recommend! Especially if you're looking for a Sokcho restaurant or Sokcho makguksu restaurant, it's worth a visit. Personally, the makguksu was delicious, but out of everything we ate that day, I'm 100% going back for the buckwheat perilla noodle soup :)