Sokcho restaurant for a skate and bokbunja wine lunch: Jungang Sanghoe

If you're in Sokcho, you have to eat skate, right?! 🐟 A lot of people heading to Sokcho only think of snow crab or raw fish, but I honestly think steamed skate is the one dish you really need to try.

Sokcho Jungang Sanghoe (속초중앙상회), which I visited on this trip, had me saying "wow, this place is the real deal..." the whole meal! Honestly, even among everything I ate on this Sokcho trip, it was one of the most satisfying, a life-changing find 🥹🤍 Let's jump right into the review, haha

Where is Sokcho Jungang Sanghoe, and is there parking?

As the name suggests, Sokcho Jungang Sanghoe is inside Sokcho Jungang Market, and parking is available. Access was really good! It was easy to get to other sights, and it made planning our route a breeze.

Driving? No worries! Since parking is available, you don't have to circle around the market looking for a spot 🚗

Atmosphere and seating at Sokcho Jungang Sanghoe

It felt like a place plenty of locals go to. It doesn't show in the photos, but the moment we walked in we got that vibe, which made us even more excited 👀 There's a reason people call it a local-recommended restaurant in Sokcho.

Further inside, the seating was more generous than I expected! The tables aren't packed too close together, so we could eat without feeling cramped. It looked fine for small meals of 2–4 people, and also for family gatherings or group meals.

Menu and how to order at Sokcho Jungang Sanghoe

Ordering at Sokcho Jungang Sanghoe is easy with a kiosk. We ordered the small Pro Steamed Skate (프로가오리찜, ₩45,000).

Bokbunja wine at lunch: does it go with steamed skate?

It was only 11:30 a.m., but I ordered the owner's pick, bokbunja wine (복분자주, Korean black raspberry wine), too..!!! 🍷 I don't usually drink at lunch, but the owner recommended it and I was curious, haha

One sip and I got why they recommended it... 😂 The sweet black raspberry aroma goes really well with the spicy steamed skate.

The free octopus seaweed soup

The first thing to arrive after ordering was the complimentary octopus seaweed soup (문어미역국)! It's just the standard soup, so I didn't expect much, but one spoonful and omg, so good.. Maybe it's the octopus, but the broth was super refreshing and deep.

How was the Pro Steamed Skate?

The skate was tender and the sauce had soaked all the way through. The look of it alone was no joke 🔥 It was piled with tempting sauce and generous chunks of skate, and my mouth started watering the second I saw it.

I tried a piece of skate and wow... it's so tender 🥹 It keeps skate's signature chewy texture, but with nothing tough or gristly, and the sauce had soaked in so well that the savory flavor kept building as I chewed. It's a sweet-spicy sauce, but rather than being harsh, it's the kind you keep going back for!

Are the corn noodles worth adding?

I really recommend adding corn noodles (옥수수면사리) to the Pro Steamed Skate 🌽 At first I thought, how good can extra noodles be? But they're a must, seriously... 🥹

The corn noodles soak up loads of sauce and have a chewy, bouncy texture, so the combination with the skate sauce was insane.

On the owner's recommendation, we also ordered a bottle of bokbunja wine. Long story short: definitely have it together 🍷 The fragrant sweetness of the wine goes so well with the spicy steamed skate.

As we ate, the sauce was so good that my spoon kept going back for more. It's the kind of flavor that makes you want to mix it with rice, add more noodles, and even have fried rice 😂 It's been a long time since a dish made me gush like this.

Why I recommend the steamed skate at Sokcho Jungang Sanghoe on a Sokcho trip

If you're planning a Sokcho trip, snow crab and raw fish are great, but I hope you'll also try the steamed skate at Sokcho Jungang Sanghoe, which has a proper local-favorite feel 😊 From the octopus seaweed soup to the Pro Steamed Skate, corn noodles and bokbunja wine, the whole combination was so good! It was a life-changing find, and next time I'm in Sokcho I'm 100% going back 🐟🤍