Mukdong Seoul pork bone stew for two with ramen: Wanttuk Gamjatang

Let me introduce a lunch spot in Mukdong near Meokgol Station: Wanttuk Gamjatang Meokgol Main Branch.

Where is Wanttuk Gamjatang Meokgol Main Branch, and what are its hours?

Wanttuk Gamjatang Meokgol Main Branch is located at 941 Dongil-ro, Building 101 Unit 101, Jungnang-gu, Seoul. It's 309 meters from Exit 7 of Meokgol Station.

• Hours: 10:30 AM–10:30 PM
• 309m from Meokgol Station Exit 7
• 941 Dongil-ro, Building 101 Unit 101, Jungnang-gu, Seoul

What kind of restaurant sits midway between Meokgol and Taereung Ipgu Stations?

This Meokgol Station lunch spot sits roughly halfway between Meokgol and Taereung Ipgu, making it convenient to reach from either station. The dining room is clean and pleasant, comfortable whether you drop by for lunch or dinner.

The menu centers on bone gamjatang along with bone jjim, whole fried squid, and king prawn fry. For a meal-sized option, bone haejangguk, pork cutlet, spicy Wanttuk gukbap, and clear ox bone soup are all popular lunch choices. Come for dinner and go big with gamjatang or bone jjim, or stop by for lunch and settle for a solid bowl of haejangguk or gukbap — this place works either way.

Inside Wanttuk Gamjatang: the dining room and the menu board

Here's the exterior of Wanttuk, right on Dongil-ro — easy to spot and easy to get to.

There's a menu board right at the entrance, which helps with deciding what to order. The main items are bone gamjatang and bone jjim, offered in large (4 people), medium (3 people), and small (2 people) sizes, with the option to add extra bones.

The interior is clean and comfortable, with a modern, trendy vibe that would suit gatherings with friends or coworker get-togethers just as well.

There's a pork cutlet on the menu too, which is handy for a family outing — a kid-friendly option for anyone who can't handle spice, right alongside the gamjatang.

The small bone gamjatang for two: what comes in the pot

Since I visited with one other person, I ordered the small bone gamjatang.

They stamp the restaurant's name onto a mushroom sitting on top. I always feel like places that go to the trouble of stamping a mushroom put in a bit of extra effort. Looks nice too, haha.

Side dishes are kkakdugi (radish kimchi), peppers, and onion, and if you want more, there's a self-serve bar.

The pickled onions were so good I went back for seconds.

Once the gamjatang started boiling, we dug in — the bones had a solid amount of meat clinging to them.

With so much tender meat, it made for a really filling meal.

The pot was packed full with mushrooms, perilla leaves, tteok (rice cake), potato, sujebi (hand-torn dumpling dough), and glass noodles.

Gamjatang is exactly the dish you start craving as the weather cools down. With so many ingredients soaking up the rich, spicy broth, we happily fished out vegetable after vegetable. The soft-cooked potatoes were the highlight — fluffy and tender, really delicious.

Finishing the pot with ramen noodles instead of fried rice

Gamjatang really feels like the definitive hot pot dish with a deep, rich, spicy broth. Whenever I'm craving something spicy and hot, this is the first thing that comes to mind.

I thought about doing fried rice at the end, but decided to add ramen noodles instead.

The ramen noodles were delicious too — with a broth this good, pretty much anything you add turns out great.

Solo lunch or group dinner? The verdict on Wanttuk Gamjatang

This Meokgol Station lunch spot in Mukdong sits roughly midway between Meokgol and Taereung Ipgu stations, so it's easy to reach from either direction, and the trendy interior makes it a good fit for hangouts with friends, coworkers, or larger group dinners. With a pork cutlet on the menu for kids, it also works well for a family outing. And since there are reasonably priced haejangguk and gukbap options for lunch, a low-key solo meal is easy too. When chilly weather rolls in and you're craving that hot, spicy, deeply savory bowl of gamjatang, this is the place to try it.~