Suwon fish restaurant, mackerel sushi milder than Fukuoka's: Godeungeo

I love grilled and braised fish so much that I went back to Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda in Suwon, a place people line up for even on weekdays!

Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda Suwon Branch: location and opening hours

The Suwon branch is at 1731 Seobu-ro, Gwonseon-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi (1st floor, Tap-dong 567). It is open daily 10:40–22:00, with last order at 20:50. I bet a lot of you are searching for a West Suwon or Suwon Korean restaurant.

Is parking easy at Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda?

The restaurant is really big!! And the parking lot is really spacious too, so parking is easy!! Even on a weekday afternoon it was already packed with cars. I never expected so many~~

How long is the weekday lunch wait?

There were 6 parties ahead of us at weekday lunch, but we actually got in after about 10 minutes. The interior is big, and there is group seating and there are baby high chairs, so it is easy to come with kids!

I mean... there was a wait? It was lunchtime, but not the weekend, just a weekday, so I thought we wouldn't have to wait, yet there were 6 parties ahead of us. Still, there is a cool indoor space to wait in! (Parties of 5 or more take a waiting ticket and then have to tell the counter once more.) I thought 6 parties would mean a long wait, but the line moved faster than expected and we got in after about 10 minutes? The turnover is crazy!!

We got a message telling us to come in, so we went to our table.

Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda menu and how to order

You order on the tablet at each table.

If you want to try a bit of everything, go for the Myeongpum set meal (명품정식)!! Otherwise, just order single portions of grilled mackerel, Atka mackerel, Spanish mackerel, cutlassfish, croaker, bakdae (a type of sole) and so on!

I love the braised dishes here, so last time I had the braised mackerel and this time I ordered the braised cutlassfish. And after some agonizing, I ordered the mackerel sushi too!

If you write a review they give you abalone sashimi too, so do join in!!

What's at the self-serve side dish bar?

The self bar is more varied than you'd expect, so after ordering you can go grab something to eat before the food arrives! There is even toasty nurungji tea (sungnyung, scorched-rice tea) to finish~~

They do set out all the side dishes on the first tray, so finish those and go get more of whatever runs out.

20,000-won mackerel bar sushi: is it fishy?

The mackerel bar sushi (고등어봉초밥) is ₩20,000 for 10 pieces, and it was rich and nutty with no fishy taste. Every time I come, I love looking at the live mackerel~ The moment I saw them, I felt I couldn't not order the mackerel sushi!

Seriously, it's nutty with no fishiness at all! So good! I can't eat it at other places because it's fishy, but here it's not fishy at all, not even 1%! I recently had mackerel sushi on a trip to Fukuoka, Japan, and the one here was much fresher, cleaner and less fishy!

The wasabi is just the right amount too!

Braised cutlassfish with the full spread of side dishes

Here come the braised cutlassfish and side dishes. This is everything you get by default~ Some things aren't on the table but are at the self bar, so have a look and bring what you like!

The side dishes are neat and all delicious!! You could finish a bowl of rice with just these!

And this is the complimentary jeyuk (spicy stir-fried pork)! A little always comes by default, so it's a great place to have both meat and fish!

How did the braised cutlassfish taste?

The braised cutlassfish has kimchi laid underneath, the flesh was thick and the radish was refreshing. Wow~~

The flesh is thick, the radish is refreshing, and it's delicious!

Look at that milky-white cutlassfish flesh~~ The rice just slides down sweetly!

It was so good that I ate almost all the side dishes too~ I felt like I was going to burst!!

Finishing with sikhye (sweet rice drink) and oven-grilled fish

On the way out, have some sikhye (sweet rice drink)~

The grilled fish is cooked right in the restaurant's oven, so of course it's delicious! Everyone will like this place, no matter their tastes! I think even your parents would really enjoy it, and we ate a ton too.