Ansan Korean restaurant with free corkage and group rooms: Yeongwolae

Yeongwolae Gondre Ansan Branch: hours, parking and free corkage

Yeongwolae Gondre Ansan Branch is on the 2nd floor of Gojan Praum City, 33 Danggok-ro, Danwon-gu, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. It's open daily 10:40–20:50 with last order at 20:10. You get 2 hours of free parking at the Gojan Praum City parking lot, and one bottle of wine, whisky, sake, or traditional liquor is free corkage.

• Hours: Daily 10:40–20:50 (last order 20:10)
• Parking available (Gojan Praum City parking lot) - free for 2 hours
• Corkage available (1 bottle free) - wine, whisky, sake, traditional liquor

Inside Yeongwolae Gondre: partitioned hall seats and rooms for 5 to 30

Walking into this Ansan Korean restaurant, the whole place felt spacious and clean. Even in the hall, not just the private rooms, every table had its own partition, so we could eat privately. Being sectioned off also made it nice to chat while eating.

There was a big window on one side that gave the space an open, airy feel. It looked like they set aside reserved seating for people who booked ahead.

Yeongwolae Gondre Ansan Branch also has private room seating besides the hall. The room fits a minimum of 5 to a maximum of 12 people. I thought this would be perfect for a formal meeting between families or a group gathering in Ansan.

There was another room too, which can hold 12 to 30 people if you book for a group.

They also had plenty of kids' chairs on hand, so it looked like a great spot for families to visit as well.

What's on the menu and how much a set meal costs

The menu board at Yeongwolae Gondre Ansan Branch listed the set-menu combo called the Yeongwol Muреungdowon Set, along with a wide range of Korean set meals — bulgogi set, soy-marinated crab set, spicy stir-fried pork set, grilled mackerel set, gangdoenjang set, and sea clam salad set. Set meal prices ranged from the ₩10,000s to ₩20,000s per person.

• Makgeolli, soju, beer ₩5,000
• Soft drinks ₩3,000
• Takeout and group orders also available

The Yeongwol Mureungdowon Set for two, 40,000 won

We ordered the Yeongwol Muреungdowon Set for two at ₩40,000 (spicy stir-fried pork + grilled mackerel + gangdoenjang). The gondre-bap (mountain thistle rice) comes in a big bowl, and you drizzle on some soy sauce from the table!

Spicy stir-fried pork — the pork at this Ansan Korean restaurant had a gentle smoky char that woke up my appetite from the very first bite!

Gangdoenjang — rather than salty or sharp, the thick soybean paste stew had a mellow, savory, clean flavor.

Grilled mackerel — the skin was fried to a perfect golden brown, and the crispy texture was really great.

What side dishes come with the set

Napa cabbage kimchi and namul (seasoned vegetables) — the kimchi was the geotjeori (fresh, unfermented) style, and it was totally my kind of thing.

Lotus root salad and some kind of pickled side dish I couldn't identify, yangjangpi muchim (mixed jellyfish salad), Jeju deodeok (bellflower root), kelp with chojang (vinegar-chili sauce)! Miyeokguk (seaweed soup), the foundation of Korean cuisine. Wrap vegetables that went well with every single side dish.

Personally, among the side dishes, the lotus root salad and deodeok muchim suited my taste the most. Maybe I just like foods with texture, haha. The Jeju deodeok especially was good enough that I wanted to buy some separately, but it had all sold out that day, so there wasn't any left.

A neat, tidy Korean set meal at this Ansan restaurant, Yeongwolae Gondre.

The main dishes: spicy stir-fried pork, grilled mackerel and gangdoenjang

Piling the tasty pork into a lettuce wrap and eating it that way is so good. It was spicy with deeply soaked-in seasoning, and even better eaten together with rice.

The meat was also tender, and the smoky char brought out even more flavor, so my chopsticks kept going back for more. If you like spicy stir-fried pork, this is a spicy stir-fried pork you'll definitely enjoy.

The grilled mackerel had moist, tender flesh inside, so you could taste the clean flavor of the mackerel as-is, and there was no fishy taste, which I appreciated. Piling it right on top of the rice to eat. The frying level wasn't excessive either, just right, so it was satisfyingly crisp outside and moist inside.

The gangdoenjang came in a really generous portion, and while it wasn't sharp or overpowering, it still did its job as a total rice-thief! It wasn't heavily seasoned, so you could pile it generously on rice without it feeling like too much, and it blended in with a nutty, savory flavor. When I make it at home it always turns out too salty and hard to eat in a wrap, so the fact that this Ansan Korean restaurant's gangdoenjang wasn't salty was the most satisfying part.

The self-serve bar: side dish refills, gondre-bap and sikhye

This Ansan Korean restaurant has a self-serve bar, so we could refill any side dishes we ran low on.

For rice, you could choose between plain white rice and gondre-bap depending on your preference. For dessert drinks there was plum tea and sikhye (sweet rice punch). The sikhye was so good I went back for it twice.

And unlimited fresh, varied wrap vegetables too!

This Ansan Korean restaurant also sells snacks and treats.

Side dishes were also for sale, though by evening most of them were already sold out (ask at the counter for whichever one you want).

There was also a waiting area set up inside the restaurant. There was even a sink for washing your hands, which felt clean and thoughtfully considered.

If you want to try a neat, well-put-together Korean set meal spread, I'd recommend visiting this Ansan Korean restaurant, Yeongwolae Gondre.