Chungmuro summer noodles: lemon soba and bossam, Nagwon-ui Soba

A review of Nagwon-ui Soba, a well-known restaurant near Chungmuro, and their bossam mak-guksu (buckwheat noodles).

This place is legit good enough that menu items can sell out if you go late 🥹

As the weather gets hotter, cold noodles start sounding way better than hot food, haha.

That day too I was craving cold, clean buckwheat soba, so I went to Nagwon-ui Soba, which is pretty famous in Chungmuro!

What is Nagwon-ui Soba? A house-made buckwheat noodle spot in Chungmuro

This Chungmuro favorite has apparently run steadily out of the same spot since 2018. They make their own noodles in-house, and I heard they make the seafood broth using seasonal shrimp, anchovy, and squid.

It's been featured on TV a few times, and I was curious, but after eating there myself I got why it's been loved for so long, haha. We went at a relatively early evening hour and the place was still pretty packed! There were a lot of families dining together, and it seemed like a lot of foreign customers came too. They also have solo seats for eating comfortably alone, so it looks like a good option for anyone looking for a solo dining spot : >

The Nagwon-ui Soba menu: how many kinds of soba?

Buckwheat soba, the signature dish here! Options like Jeonju-style, lemon, and tomato cheongyang stood out — combinations you don't usually see at typical soba places.

They also have a wide selection of traditional Korean liquor, which looked great for a light drink alongside the bossam and noodles, haha.

After some deliberation we ordered...

Lemon soba + bossam + pollock hoe mak-guksu — that's what we ordered!

When the food came out, the plates were big and the portions generous, so it really felt like a full spread was set out. Expectations MAX~

What does the lemon soba taste like? Bright citrus, deep savory broth

The first thing I reached for was the lemon soba! With lemon slices neatly laid on top, it looked refreshing just from the visual, haha.

On the first bite, the fresh lemon scent spreads first, then the deep broth flavor follows. The broth has strong savory depth without being too salty, so it's great for drinking spoonful after spoonful.

I especially liked the noodles. Since they're made fresh daily, the distinct nutty buckwheat aroma really came through, and the texture — snapping cleanly when you bite — was great too.

With sesame seeds scattered throughout adding a nutty touch, I kept going back for more bite after bite, haha. It has a different charm from a typical cold soba, so I'd totally recommend it as a summer menu pick in Chungmuro : >

Bossam with two pork cuts: shoulder and belly

Since the Chungmuro bossam comes with both pork shoulder and pork belly together, you get to enjoy two different textures from a single plate.

Above all, there was almost no gamey smell to the meat, and the lean parts weren't tough at all — moist and tender, absolutely delicious.

It was plenty tasty even with just a touch of salted shrimp on top, haha. The side dishes that came with it were solid too.

Dried radish strips, pollock hoe, kimchi, salted shrimp, plus garlic, chili, ssamjang, and wrap greens — with so many options it's fun to wrap it however you like. The dried radish especially wasn't just sweet — you could taste the kick of chili flakes in it, which paired really well with the clean-tasting meat!

The pollock hoe in particular is seriously amazing — chewy texture with well-seasoned sauce, and putting it on top of a piece of bossam made for an unbeatable Chungmuro combo.

Pollock hoe mak-guksu: a must if you like bibim naengmyeon

If you like bibim naengmyeon (spicy cold noodles), you have to try the pollock hoe mak-guksu too, lol. The sauce is a good mix of spicy, tangy, and sweet, with no single flavor overpowering the others — really well balanced.

With mixed noodle dishes that are too sweet or too sour, you tend to get sick of them after a few bites, but this one was genuinely delicious, T.T. Crunchy radish and chewy pollock hoe are mixed in too, so eating them together with the noodles makes for an even richer texture!

Topping it with a piece of Chungmuro bossam makes it even more delicious... I really think you should order both together : > The moist, clean bossam plus the tangy-spicy mak-guksu is an unbeatable combo.

Ordering bossam and pollock hoe mak-guksu together is a full recommendation!!

Nagwon-ui Soba verdict and tips before you go

Even though the lemon soba and pollock hoe mak-guksu use the same buckwheat noodles, they have totally different charms, so I'd really recommend trying both, hahaha. Lemon soba is cool and refreshing, especially great on a hot day (the savory depth is no joke), and pollock hoe mak-guksu eaten with bossam is heaven.

As a place that's held its ground in Chungmuro for so long, there's clearly a reason it's always packed. I heard popular menu items can sell out if you visit late, so if you have your heart set on a certain dish, it might be worth arriving a bit early!

If you're craving cool buckwheat noodles or looking for a soba that's different from the usual cold soba, give Nagwon-ui Soba a try, haha. I think next time I'd order the exact same combo again — Chungmuro bossam + lemon soba + pollock hoe mak-guksu. Next time I'll try the tonkatsu too 🥹❤️