Namhangjin makguksu restaurant in Gangneung: bibim then mul, Samgyori

Came to Gangneung for a short weekend trip. Ask anyone for Gangneung food recs and it's always makguksu here, sundubu there, hwangtae haejangguk somewhere else haha. Out of all of those, makguksu is the one I actually love, so I picked carefully and landed on a dongchimi makguksu place. Right near the beach with a great view too, and apparently plenty of celebrities have already stopped by — a real local favorite. Today's post: a Gangneung makguksu restaurant that's great to visit with kids, Samgyori Dongchimi Makguksu Namhangjin branch!

What is Samgyori Dongchimi Makguksu Namhangjin branch?

Samgyori Dongchimi Makguksu Namhangjin branch sits at Namhangjin, one of Gangneung's beaches. The original store is elsewhere, and this branch location is a clean, ocean-view Gangneung makguksu spot.

Hours and parking at Samgyori Namhangjin

• Hours: Tue-Sun 10:30-20:00 (break time 15:20-17:00, last order 19:20)
• Parking: Lot in front of the restaurant

Menu and interior: ocean-facing windows onto the windbreak forest

The menu at Samgyori Dongchimi is just plain makguksu, hoe-makguksu, boiled pork, buckwheat pancake, and buckwheat mandu — that's it! Simple, but it covers all of Gangneung's signature dishes, which weirdly makes you trust the place more.

They also sell small Gangneung souvenirs like coffee-flavored ppeongtwigi (puffed snack), coffee yakgwa (honey cookie), and postcards, and the walls are covered in celebrity autographs. Guess celebrities really do come to Gangneung a lot.

If you leave a receipt review, you get to do a no-miss prize draw haha. Even last place gets a dessert in the form of a random mini cookie.

The interior is a spacious, clean newly built space. One wall has a gorgeous floor-to-ceiling window with a wide view of the coastal windbreak forest. Comfortable enough for the whole family, so if you're looking for a place that's good to visit with kids in Gangneung, I recommend it!

Each table has the essential condiments laid out — vinegar, sugar, sesame oil — and crunchy pickled radish and yeolmu kimchi come as basic side dishes.

How to eat hoe-makguksu: mix it bibim-style first

The food comes out fast, but before it does, you really need to memorize the eating method posted here. I tried several combinations, and eating the hoe-makguksu the way it's written on this sign was hands down the tastiest, b.

The warm buckwheat pancake and hoe-makguksu show up quickly! And a stone bowl full of dongchimi with a thin layer of ice floating on top comes with it. This is the key point of Samgyori.

First, for the hoe-makguksu: add a ladle of the cool dongchimi broth, mix it well, and eat it nice and moist.

Just adding one small ladle of dongchimi already completes the flavor of Samgyori's hoe-makguksu! House-made buckwheat noodles meet dongchimi made in-house from radish aged at low temperature for over three months — nutty with a sweet-tart edge.

The noodles have a nice chew while still keeping buckwheat's nuttiness, springy and bouncy, and the soft pollack sashimi adds a bit of firmer texture alongside. The crunchy yeolmu kimchi pairs great with it too!

Following the guide, I mixed in the seasoning sauce and perilla oil, plus a bit of sugar and mustard to taste. This... is just insane.

There's a real reason they post an eating guide. Between the nutty, springy buckwheat noodles, this mild sweetness and gentle tang with deep savory notes builds up in layers that all fit together — it's intuitively delicious. And whatever sauce you add from the ones provided, it turns out delicious in a different way every time, honestly impressive. The owner really knows flavor.

Pour dongchimi over the leftover noodles for mul-makguksu

If eating it bibim-style only feels like it's not enough, just go ahead and pour in the rest of the dongchimi broth and you've got mul-makguksu. I preferred the bibim version, but B said the mul version was tastier, so try it both ways.

Buckwheat pancake, 8,000 won

And the buckwheat pancake I really wanted to try while in Gangwon-do. Makes sense given even 'When the Buckwheat Flowers Bloom' is set in Gangwon-do — can't resist chewy buckwheat pancake.

A dish where crunchy kimchi filling is packed generously inside chewy, savory buckwheat wrapper and pan-fried until crisp! Not spicy at all and genuinely delicious — I was already super full but still cleared it to the last bite. The food here is delicious across the board without being spicy, which makes it a perfect stop as a place that's good to visit with kids in Gangneung. Full travel-mode vibes with quality to match~

Is Samgyori Namhangjin worth a stop in Gangneung?

I figured beachside tourist-area restaurants would all be more or less the same, so I was surprised to find a clean-looking place with the deep flavor of an old-school kitchen. If you're staying near the beach in Gangneung and want to enjoy the ocean while eating a Gangneung signature dish, or you're looking for a clean restaurant already recognized as a local favorite — especially one that's good to visit with kids in Gangneung — I'd recommend this Gangneung makguksu spot, Samgyori Dongchimi Makguksu Namhangjin branch. Friendly and delicious, it'll be a happy memory from your Gangneung trip.