Anyang Bisan-dong grilled fish lunch with a toddler: Hwaddeugeuro

Weekend lunch! Sharing a place I found in Bisan-dong, Anyang that's perfect for family gatherings and even easy to visit with a baby. I finally found it — a grilled fish restaurant that's actually good!!! Hwaddeugeuro Gan Godeungeo Bisan Branch!

Hwaddeugeuro Gan Godeungeo Bisan Branch is open 11:00–21:30, with a break time of 15:00–16:30. Parking available, high chair available, restroom available, and everything's clean and comfortable!

Location and atmosphere of Hwaddeugeuro Gan Godeungeo Bisan Branch

Hwaddeugeuro Gan Godeungeo Bisan Branch is on basement level 1 of the kids center in Bisan-dong, Anyang. There's a big sign as soon as you head down to the basement, so it's really easy to find.

A fresh new place that just opened this past July! So the interior is really spacious, comfortable and clean — everything's brand new. I visited with my baby and it was really nice.

There's also plenty of seating further inside, including group tables, so I thought it would be great for family gatherings too.

Free self-bar with one order per person, complete with kimchi jeon and tteokbokki

One of the really big draws of Hwaddeugeuro Gan Godeungeo Bisan Branch — a self-bar where you can eat as many side dishes as you like, free when you order one menu item per person. And the self-bar spread is unbelievably generous.

From all kinds of namul (seasoned vegetables) and sauces for making bibimbap, to kimchi jeon (kimchi pancake), sungnyung (scorched rice tea), various banchan (side dishes), and even tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes)! So I had no worries bringing my baby along. The seasoning wasn't overly MSG-heavy or salty, so I kept reaching for the side dishes.

This kimchi jeon was really delicious haha, I kept going back for more

Menu and prices at Hwaddeugeuro Gan Godeungeo Bisan Branch

You can order comfortably from your table, and the prices are really reasonable too. The boyang set for two, which comes with a whole spread starting with grilled fish, is in the ₩40,000s! There's also a kids menu and even a gorgonzola menu.

We ordered the grilled mackerel set and the grilled Atka mackerel set. You can also choose between brown rice and white rice.

The side dishes came out before the fish, and they were so neat and clean I was very satisfied. The banchan were genuinely fresh too! Everything was delicious. The chonggak kimchi (young radish kimchi) was seriously good. Crazy good...

How was the grilled Atka mackerel and grilled mackerel?

After a short wait, the grilled fish arrived! The moment I saw it, I thought, wow, this is the real deal.

The color alone was on another level. Big in size and truly plump with flesh — a proper fish! Grilled in the oven, it had a glossy sheen, no burnt spots at all, and hardly any bones. So I felt completely at ease feeding it to my baby.

Melt-in-your-mouth clean flavor: grilled Atka mackerel

The grilled Atka mackerel was really tender — golden and crisp on the outside, very soft on the inside. What I liked most was that it was cooked without any artificial saltiness, so the fish's natural sweetness and clean flavor came through — a genuinely healthy taste. So it's good for older adults and good for feeding kids too. You can dip it in soy sauce and wasabi to your own taste.

Crispy outside, moist inside: textbook grilled mackerel

Glossy, moist, pale flesh! The moment it hit my mouth, I could tell it was completely different from mackerel grilled over a regular gas stove or pan. Grilled at high heat in the oven, the skin was chewy while the flesh was juicy and tender, packed with flavor. It was so much more delicious for having been oven-grilled! Nutty yet clean-tasting! My baby ate it up really well. No fishy taste at all.

Why it's great to visit with a baby, and the final verdict

Hwaddeugeuro Gan Godeungeo Bisan Branch offers not just properly oven-grilled fish, but also a self-bar where you can eat all kinds of side dishes to your heart's content. Honestly, I know fish is good for your health, but grilling it at home is a lot of work, you worry about the smell, and it never tastes as good as fish grilled in an oven. From now on, I thought, I'll just come here to Hwaddeugeuro Gan Godeungeo Bisan Branch to eat it. Haha.

It seems word has already gotten out that this place is good, because the seats were completely full on our weekend lunch visit. Still, since it's so spacious and clean, we could eat comfortably without feeling crowded. And the staff were really, truly kind, which moved me. My two-year-old spilled her rice bowl once, and instead of being upset, the staff worried whether she'd been startled and cleaned it up for us. Sniff.

If you want delicious grilled fish near Bisan-dong, Anyang! If you're looking for a place for a healthy, hearty meal with a group! I highly recommend visiting Hwaddeugeuro Gan Godeungeo Bisan Branch.