Rainy weekday lunch: cutlassfish & bakdae in Suwon at Godeungeo

It was drizzling last Tuesday, and honestly I couldn't be bothered cooking rice. I was tired too. But before heading to work, I still wanted a proper, hearty Korean meal~~

So I found it! A Suwon Korean restaurant where you can enjoy fish grills that feel like a full hanjeongsik (Korean set-table meal) — Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda Suwon Branch.

Grilling fish at home isn't easy — the smell and smoke put you off, right? But nothing beats fish as a meal. I kept thinking about fish grilled over a wood-fired oven, savory and moist, and while searching for a Suwon Korean restaurant, I ended up here. Last time I came on a friend's recommendation, the fish were huge and every side dish was delicious too.

Location and parking at Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda Suwon Branch

• Address: 1731 Seobu-ro (567 Tapdong), Gwonseon-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 10:40–22:00 (last order 20:50)
• Parking: Large free parking lot exclusively for the restaurant (the lot is huge, super convenient if you're driving!)
• Signature menu: Wood-fired grilled mackerel, Spanish mackerel, bakdae (large-mouth sole), cutlassfish, braised mackerel, and more

Being a well-known spot in west Suwon's Gwonseon-gu, it's really easy to reach by car from Homaesil, Tapdong, and the wider west Suwon area. With such a large parking lot, I'd also recommend it as a gathering spot for weekends or peak times!

The dining space and open-kitchen wood oven

Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda has a huge parking lot and a huge restaurant. The space is spacious with high ceilings, so it feels really open. The dining area is wide with generous spacing between tables, making it great for chatting over a neat, proper meal.

It's also an open kitchen. A big wood-fired oven that grills the fish nice and golden catches your eye right away. Because it's grilled at such high heat, the outside comes out crisp and the inside stays moist, so there's no worry about a fishy smell — instead the whole restaurant is filled with a savory aroma. There were also live, fresh mackerel swimming around.

Since they also serve raw mackerel, you could pair grilled mackerel with sashimi — of course I drove so I couldn't drink, but I thought a drink alongside would be the icing on the cake. Maybe that's why the place was lively with all kinds of customers, from families to groups of older folks.

Menu and ordering

Besides grilled fish, they also have pork bulgogi (jeyuk). This is surprisingly good too. Good enough to rival a dedicated jeyuk restaurant — I could come back just for this. But today was all about grilled fish! So I ordered cutlassfish and bakdae, both fish you don't get to eat every day.

This is the pork bulgogi that comes out as a taste-before. It's genuinely delicious~~~ You can also order it separately as a full dish.

Standard side dishes and the all-you-can-eat side dish bar

Here's how the standard side dishes are laid out. There's a variety of namul (seasoned vegetables) and even japchae (stir-fried glass noodles). Kimchi and muk (jelly) aren't part of the standard set, but you'll find them at the unlimited refill counter.

This is the unlimited refill corner. At a good Korean restaurant, these side dishes really are the most important part, right? There's a huge variety, and everything tastes good. I loved the mujorim (braised radish) so much I went back for it three times. The mujorim and oi sobagi (stuffed cucumber kimchi) are genuinely delicious~ You can also refill the standard side dishes you were given already — bowls are provided — plus there are a couple more kinds of side dishes to pick as you like.

And toward the end of the meal, you can warm your stomach with hot sungnyung (rice-scorch tea) kept ready in a big cauldron. Clean-tasting sikhye (sweet rice punch) or coffee are also available, so dessert after the meal is fully covered too.

Coffee is at the waiting-area cafeteria

You need to get coffee from the cafeteria in the waiting area. Since it's a bit of a walk, it looked like a lot of people just grabbed it on their way out. Since the place is so popular, I'm guessing they set up coffee near the outside counter to keep table turnover quick. There was no wait when we came in, but by the time we left it was peak lunch hour, and even on a weekday the waiting area was already packed.

Wasabi and soy sauce that you neatly tear open to use~ I really liked that touch. There's also seaweed soup and rice. Both are refillable, of course!

How did the grilled bakdae and cutlassfish taste?

Both the grilled bakdae and grilled cutlassfish were just as delicious as expected. Long plates arrived with fresh-off-the-fire, thick fish, and the sight alone made my mouth water!

The bakdae was grilled crisp in the high-heat oven — the skin golden and crunchy, and when you lift the flesh with your chopsticks, the oils run out and the juices are still alive. The fish flesh wasn't dry at all, so soft I could've eaten it without rice. The roe was rich and packed full too, so I dipped even the roe part lightly in wasabi soy sauce.

The cutlassfish was my husband's pick. He usually doesn't buy it because picking out the bones is such a hassle, but he said if not now, when, and ordered it. The thick cutlassfish flesh was golden on the outside and tender, flaky on the inside, melting into a clean, savory flavor the moment it hits your mouth. There was zero fishy taste, so it's the kind of dish kids or parents would really love.

Squeezing a bit of the provided lemon over it brings out even more flavor. The fish alone was good enough quality that a bowl of rice disappeared in no time.

Final verdict

A west Suwon spot I'd love to bring my parents back to! It's not just a place for grilled fish — the generous, well-put-together side dishes make for a genuinely satisfying, healthy full spread.

Crisp-outside, moist-inside grilled fish, homemade-tasting self-service side dishes, friendly service, and ample parking — nothing was missing. If you're looking for a Homaesil restaurant, a Gwonseon-gu restaurant, or a neat Suwon grilled fish restaurant to take your parents to, I strongly recommend Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda Suwon Branch!