Namdong Korean restaurant for family abalone meals: Jeonbokchon

Not long ago, I went to a family gathering for the first time in nearly three years. Since it had been so long, we wanted somewhere private with a nice atmosphere, and that’s how I found Jeonbokchon (전복촌).

Getting there from Arts Center Station and parking

It’s behind the CGV building at Arts Center Station. I took the subway from Seoul, and it was about a 10-minute walk from the station. There’s a large parking lot right in front, so it looked like group gatherings would be no problem at all.

A classic exterior and private rooms

The exterior looks like an elegant, old-fashioned upscale restaurant, so it’s really great for taking your parents. Maybe that’s why I heard it’s also well known in Incheon as a restaurant for formal family meetings between future in-laws.

Inside, there are maybe eight? Ten? private rooms, plus tables in the main dining hall, so if you don’t like floor seating, the hall is a good option too. We reserved a room and sat in Room 1. It is floor seating, but there’s legroom underneath, so my back didn’t hurt and it wasn’t uncomfortable during the meal.

They also have high chairs in different heights depending on the room or hall, so this would be just right if you’re looking for a restaurant in Guwol-dong, Incheon to visit with children.

The four-person abalone set meal

The four-person abalone set meal is ₩160,000. We ordered it for four, and they also have lunch and dinner special courses, so you can enjoy good-value abalone dishes too.

Because we visited with a reservation, tableware and spoons were already set at every seat. We arrived at 2 PM, which overlapped with the 2:40 PM break time, but as long as we ordered beforehand, they kindly let us eat without worrying about the time.

You can pour yourself chilled water, soy sauce, and cho-gochujang, a tangy chili-vinegar sauce, to taste. Salad and baekkimchi, mild white kimchi, came out first, and they were perfect little palate cleansers while waiting for the course.

Abalone porridge came according to the number of diners, so we started with it as an appetizer. It was made with abalone innards, making it nutty and rich, and the rice grains still had some texture. Personally, it really suited my taste.

Soon the dishes started arriving, one after another.

The table was already completely full before the actual meal even came out, so I was really excited. A staff member served the seafood scorched-rice soup for us, which made it easy to enjoy. It was savory and thick—honestly as good as the Chinese-style version—with lots of big pieces of seafood. It had a nice salty flavor that older diners would enjoy too.

Next, I tried the steamed abalone. They looked quite large even at a glance. The innard sauce in the middle was a little strongly seasoned, so just a tiny dip gave you that wonderfully rich innard flavor. This would be delicious spooned over rice too.

Next came the chilled abalone salad. Before trying it, I thought it might be cool and salad-like? But it had a lemon-based dressing with a strong, bright lemon flavor. It was exactly right whenever I needed a refreshing bite in between.

Then I tried the sushi. The roll sushi had that universally appealing flavor, and it was really good with a little of the steamed abalone’s innard sauce on top. The abalone sushi had just the right amount of shari, or sushi rice, and wasn’t too big, so it was easy to eat in one bite.

Next was fried pollack, which is the kind of dish Korean-food lovers go crazy for. It was spicy, sweet, and generously filled—really delicious. One fish is served per two people ordering the set meal, so we received two. We ate so generously. The fried shrimp had a slightly breaded-fritter texture and was easy to eat one by one. I think children would like that flavor.

This was seasoned abalone innards. It was the first time any of us had seen this dish, so we were all like, “What is this? What is this?” It’s cooked abalone innards mixed with seasoning, and it was surprisingly a real delicacy. I personally like the distinctive taste of innards, so I loved being able to enjoy plenty of it without any fishiness. The spicy seasoned shredded pollack was tasty too, but after a few bites here and there, I started thinking about rice.

Japchae, stir-fried glass noodles, and beef bulgogi are practically must-haves in a Korean set course, right? Once I was starting to get a little tired of seafood, I kept reaching for them. The beef bulgogi may feel a little mild, but since the other dishes were seasoned, it wasn’t a bad thing.

Maybe 15 minutes into the meal? Just when I was thinking, “Ah, I want to eat this with rice,” the meal dishes arrived. There was delicious white rice, abalone miyeokguk, a seaweed soup, and three side dishes. The seaweed soup was so good that my younger sibling even got a refill of rice.

Finishing with plum tea to cleanse the palate made for a really filling and delicious meal.

How was it for a family gathering?

It’s such a nice spot for group occasions like family gatherings and formal meetings between future in-laws. I was also impressed that dishes children can enjoy come with the course. I recommend it for enjoying a range of abalone dishes in a lovely atmosphere!

After we finished, I realized I hadn’t photographed the raw abalone. It was fresh and pleasantly chewy, so I ate two, including my sibling’s portion.