Suwon barley rice spot with fritter refills and rice puffs: Boriook

Boriook has been popping up in Yeongtong local community cafes for ages as a must-visit spot. Everyone kept recommending this all-you-can-eat barley rice restaurant in Suwon, and I'd been so curious about it — I finally found a weekday to make it happen.

• Hours 10:00 – 21:00
• Break time 15:00 – 16:30
• Last order 20:30
• About 8 parking spaces in front of the building

Visiting Boriook at 1pm on a weekday: parking and wait

Boriook is such a popular spot that even weekday lunches can have a wait, so I went just after 1pm — luckily there was parking and I got seated right away, no wait.

Inside Boriook Main Branch: the dining room and high chairs

The inside is spacious and clean, with none of the cheonggukjang smell you'd expect from a typical barley rice restaurant — the dining experience is very pleasant. The mother-of-pearl wall decoration catches your eye, giving off a grand, distinctly Korean beauty.

There are also plenty of baby chairs, so it looks like a great place for families to eat together.

Boriook menu and prices: kids eat for 5,000 won

• Barley rice set ₩13,000
• Barley rice mackerel set ₩15,000
• Barley rice gochujang pork set ₩16,000
• Barley rice soy sauce pork set ₩16,000
• Ages 6–12: ₩5,000

Looking at the menu, kids aged 6 to 12 can enjoy all-you-can-eat barley rice for just 5,000 won. Bringing kids always means agonizing over whether they need their own full meal, so having a kids' menu like this is so great. At 5,000 won, it's also incredible value :)

We ordered two barley rice sets, and they immediately set down the barley rice and empty dishes. The soup bowl is for scooping cheonggukjang, and the plate is for the namul side dishes you gather from the unlimited buffet bar to mix in.

What's on the self-serve bar: namul sides and freshly fried vegetable fritters

True to its reputation as a top all-you-can-eat barley rice spot in Suwon, Boriook has a really wide variety of namul and side dishes. They seem to tidy up the trays constantly, too, so everything looks neatly arranged, clean, and appetizing.

Sungnyung (scorched rice tea), japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), braised tofu, and vegetable fritters. The vegetable fritters especially — I ate them right after they were fried and they were so crispy and delicious that I went back for more. I think the fritter varieties were sweet pumpkin, eggplant, and shishito pepper.

Boriook has over ten kinds of namul and side dishes to mix into bibimbap. Stir-fried bellflower root, stir-fried oyster mushrooms, seasoned bean sprouts, stir-fried dried eggplant, yeolmu kimchi (young radish kimchi), stir-fried seaweed stems, spicy radish salad, geotjeori (fresh cabbage kimchi), seasoned garlic, and leafy greens for wraps — you just grab whatever suits your taste, and the lineup seems to rotate from time to time.

You can also get refills of barley rice or white rice, and there are rice-puff snacks and iced coffee for dessert. Plum tea and iced tea are also free to drink.

How is the cheonggukjang at Boriook?

The cheonggukjang arrived while we were out grabbing side dishes. Honestly, the cheonggukjang here was so good I finished the broth to the last drop, haha. It doesn't have that strong signature cheonggukjang smell or flavor, so anyone can enjoy it without hesitation, and the taste itself is good enough that I want to have it again.

At first I thought we only got one plate, so I piled all the namul onto it precariously — turns out there were extra plates and bowls stashed underneath the buffet bar, haha.

Why yeolmu kimchi is a must when mixing Boriook's barley rice

The barley rice looks small at first, but even adding just a little of each namul, once you mix it all together the portion grows quite large. Yeolmu kimchi is essential in the bibimbap! With just the namul it can taste a bit plain, but the yeolmu kimchi adds a crunchy, cool, spicy kick that makes it much more delicious.

The gochujang sauce and sesame oil for the bibimbap are set out on the table. Pour the sesame oil on generously for that nutty flavor~~

The well-mixed barley rice looks so appetizing. Taking a big bite — maybe because it's been a while since I had barley rice — the grains pop in your mouth in the best way. Adding a scoop of the savory cheonggukjang on top made it a perfect match with the barley rice.

Even though the portion got pretty big with all the namul mixed in, it went down easily because it was so tasty. In the end we went back for more namul and barley rice to mix another round. Refilled the fritters again too, haha.

Dessert at Boriook: iced coffee, barley rice puffs and the outdoor tables

True to its reputation as a top all-you-can-eat barley rice spot in Suwon, even the dessert at Boriook was great. We had a cool iced Americano and grabbed some rice puffs — the barley rice-puff sticks in particular were amazing.

We had dessert at our table, but most people sit outside on the terrace for it. The weather was breezy, so eating outside felt kind of like being at a café~~ There's a door leading from indoors to the outdoor area, so don't just leave after your meal — I'd definitely recommend sticking around to enjoy coffee and rice puffs on the terrace.

Leave a Naver receipt review and they'll give you a free nubiani (grilled beef) — don't forget to claim it ^.^

Would I go back to Boriook Main Branch?

It really does deserve its reputation — Boriook reminded me of that once again 😊 Being able to fully enjoy so many namul and side dishes plus dessert at this all-you-can-eat barley rice spot in Suwon was fantastic, and the cheonggukjang was savory and so delicious. What I personally loved most was that the kids' menu is a flat 5,000 won, making it an easy, affordable family outing. Next time I'll have to bring the kids again. This is a Suwon all-you-can-eat barley rice restaurant I'd revisit with 100% certainty.