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Cafés, restaurants and places in Busan, written by bloggers who went there.
Kkomak Hansang Gijang Main Branch is a Korean restaurant in Gijang, Busan, serving cockle dishes and a southern-style table spread. Four of us, including two children, shared two cockle bibimbaps, yukjeon, eggplant tangsuyuk, and pollock jeon with many side dishes. Verdict: a great choice when dining with kids who like picking from a variety of sides.
Bupyeong Yang Gopchang is a street-stall (yajang) style grilled tripe restaurant on the offal street in Nampo-dong, Jung-gu, Busan. Two people shared a medium stone-pan seasoned platter plus added udon noodles, ate through beef heart, tripe, and large intestine as staff grilled and cut everything for them, and three bottles of soju and one beer disappeared without a trace. It's a place that works whether you sit outside on a nice day or inside when it's hot.
Working Holiday Minrak is an ocean-view brunch café on the 7th floor of Badamaru in Minrak-dong, Suyeong-gu, Busan, facing Gwangan Bridge. A weekend visit brought eggs Benedict paired with cold draft beer, plus aglio olio and Margherita pizza, with the garlic and pepperoncino oil staying clean to the last strand of pasta. Generous seat spacing and proper group tables make it just as good for family gatherings as for a date.
Ganppa Beer Gwangalli 2 is a Sapporo collaboration standing bar in front of Gwangalli Beach in Suyeong, Busan. The writer stopped by for a second round after dinner, drinking Sapporo draft beer and Osaka chicken at a window-side solo table surrounded by pens, notebooks, and an izakaya-style rock-paper-scissors event for tapping a new keg. It's a great pick in Gwangalli for solo drinking or a quick beer.
Extra Mile is a pizza and pasta restaurant in a converted house in Suyeong, Busan. Five family members, including a grandmother, opened-ran at 11am and ordered a 3-4 person set plus an extra pizza, sharing potato and salad pizzas, white ragu and tomato pasta, and grilled vegetables with romesco. Nothing on the table was too spicy or strongly flavored, making it an easy pick for a multi-generation family outing.
Gang Galbitang Seomyeon is a galbitang (short rib soup) restaurant on Saessak-ro near Seomyeon Station in Busanjin, Busan. The spicy version, eolkeun galbitang, was ordered at spice level 1 for a peppery broth over rice, while the wife had the basic galbitang with a clear, clean broth. With whole rib bones and glass noodles in every bowl, it's a solid choice for a solo lunch or a meal with a partner.
Suwolgyeonghwa is a Korean tea-house-style café on the 3rd and 4th floors of a building right in front of Songjeong Beach in Busan. I ordered hyeonwolhojicha (roasted barley-hojicha blend tea), the Dalbodeure dessert box, and an americano while watching the beach and the beach train through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and found the 3rd floor's floor seating more comfortable for lingering than the sun-drenched 4th floor. If you love tea and Korean-style desserts, this place is a real treat.
Famous Benny Gwangalli Branch is a two-floor brunch café in Suyeong, Busan, open daily from 8am. Visiting with her husband and child as the first stop of their Busan trip, the writer shared garlic butter eggs, French toast, and bacon scramble toast, and found baby chairs on hand made eating with a child much easier. A great pick for travelers wanting brunch with a kid early in the morning.
Sarugak20 is a Japanese curry restaurant in Busanjin, Busan, run by the owner of the once-famous Moru Sikdang curry spot in Jeonpo. After a stop at the Busan Chamber of Commerce, the writer had lunch there with half-and-half curry, Sarugak curry, and sweet potato cheese croquettes, tasting the shrimp cream curry and crispy tonkatsu topping. If it's your first time at Moru Sikdang or Sarugak20, the half-and-half curry, which lets you try both signature curries at once, is the top recommendation.
Moshi Moshi Sushi Lotte Department Store Gwangbok is a Japanese restaurant on the 10th floor of the main building at Lotte Department Store Gwangbok in Jung-gu, Busan. A Naver reservation for noon lunch meant no wait for the assorted sushi set C (₩27,000) and crab guts bibimbap (₩19,000), with generously sized, fresh sushi and a bibimbap set that came with udon, salad and soup. The place was already packed by the time I arrived, so if you're eating lunch at Gwangbok, booking ahead is the way to go.
Yuok is a Japanese restaurant near Songjeong Beach in Haeundae, Busan, serving eel rice bowl and mackerel rice bowl set meals. The writer ordered the Jumbo Unaju set and the Saba Ochazuke set, alternating between the rich, tender eel and the lighter charcoal-grilled mackerel, which can be eaten as a rice bowl first and then with warm broth as ochazuke. For two people, Yuok's sets are a good pick to order one of each and share.
Yuumangju Seomyeon Branch is a newly opened bar in Busanjin, Busan. On a second stop for drinks, I found a waitlist and tried Yuumangju-e Da Moatdak, a platter of assorted chicken cuts and cheese. Verdict: a lively new bar that makes me curious about what comes next.
