Baby-friendly restaurant near Gangmun Beach, Gangneung: abalone

Traveling to Gangneung with a 4-month-old, the hardest part was picking a restaurant

This time my mom and I took my 4-month-old baby Ssari on a hotel staycation to Gangneung. Three generations of women traveling together 🤍

Since the baby is still so little, I couldn't even consider crowded, chaotic markets when choosing where to eat. I was also worried about places that use open flame at the table. With all our luggage and being busy taking care of the baby, going too far from the hotel felt like too much.

But right by the entrance of the St. John's Hotel, there was a really clean, pleasant restaurant near Gangmun Beach. We stopped by Gangneung Jeonbok Haenyeo Village before check-in for a hearty lunch, and we were so satisfied haha 😆

A lot of people head to Gangneung for a babymoon or a family staycation at places like the St. John's Hotel, Gangneung Monogram, or Seamarq Hotel — so I recommend this as a restaurant near Gangmun Beach. It's right at the St. John's Hotel entrance so the location is great, and the food comes out so clean and well-presented that it's also good for taking your parents.

Location and atmosphere of this Gangmun Beach restaurant

It's really close to the hotel, so getting there was so convenient. For a traveler moving around with a baby like me, accessibility is the top priority. There's a big parking lot in front of the building, so there was zero parking stress. (Free if you register your parking at the restaurant.)

When you're looking for a place to eat in Gangneung, a spot with easy parking is really precious, and this place passed that test. Once inside, it was way more spacious and pleasant than I expected. There's plenty of seating not just on the first floor but on the second floor too, so it felt nice and open.

Baby chairs were also carefully set up, so it was perfect for bringing a child. The atmosphere was so much more relaxed than a noisy raw fish restaurant or a crowded eatery, which I really loved. It's a clean restaurant near Gangmun Beach where families can eat comfortably, so I think I'll keep coming back every time I visit Gangneung.

Rich abalone porridge cooked in a pressure cooker

Ordering was easy through a tablet. We ordered the signature menu, pressure-cooked abalone porridge. If you order the abalone porridge, they prepare a table spread of seafood caught directly by the haenyeo (female divers). So the composition of the spread can change daily depending on the freshest ingredients of the day.

After ordering, a really generous table spread arrived. There was so much food it would have been too much for two people. It came with chilled boiled pork and various seafood side dishes, and everything was so delicious.

There's also a self-serve bar, so if a side dish ran low, we could just help ourselves, which was convenient. Maybe because the ingredients were fresh, caught directly by the haenyeo, none of the seafood had any fishy taste at all. Thanks to the clean table spread, I could enjoy the meal without feeling frazzled even while taking care of the baby — it was such a satisfying restaurant near Gangmun Beach.

Abalone porridge served straight from the pressure cooker, a local Gangneung favorite 👍

The main dish finally arrived served right in the pressure cooker, so we could eat it warm all the way through. The rice grains were cooked down soft and tender, gentle on the stomach.

Above all, the abalone pieces were really big and chunky, giving it a proper bite. It wasn't frozen abalone but fresh live abalone, so even the aroma was different. It had a savory yet rich liver flavor, perfect as a nourishing meal. Tasting it, I immediately understood why this place is known as a favorite among Gangneung locals.

It wasn't heavy or overly seasoned, so my mom really loved it too. Among restaurants near Gangmun Beach, it's rare to find one selling a menu this healthy and easy on the stomach. Eating it made me feel good, like starting the trip with a healthy table spread.

Wrapping up

It was such a satisfying time during our Gangneung trip — great for going with a baby and the food was excellent too. Being able to have such a hearty lunch in Gangneung so close to the hotel means I'll definitely come back again on our next trip.