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Cafés, restaurants and places in Busan, written by bloggers who went there.
Smith's Farm is a Western-style restaurant in Haeundae, Busan, a five-minute walk from Dongbaek Station. On a birthday date the writer ordered the octopus steak with carrot puree at 29,800 won, shrimp oil pasta and grilled romaine, and received a banana brulee and vanilla ice cream on the house. Free parking on both sides of the building made Smith's Farm an easy anniversary dinner to reach by car.
Hyangtaek Jeonpo Branch is a healthy Korean rice-bowl restaurant across from Busanjin Fire Station at Jeonpo intersection in Busanjin-gu, Busan. Two diners shared the eggplant doenjang (soybean paste) rice bowl at 13,000 won and yukhoe bibimbap (raw beef rice bowl) at 14,000 won, and the kelp vinegar served with the eggplant bowl added a tangy savoury kick that won over even an eggplant hater. With seven tables of four in a calm setting, Hyangtaek Jeonpo Branch suits a workday lunch or a date equally well.
Low & Sweet Bakery is a bakery café tucked in a side alley off Haeridan-gil in Haeundae, Busan. This visit was a decaf iced latte for 6,300 won paired with an egg tart and two baked cookies, and the decaf latte turned out surprisingly nutty and smooth — the standout of the day. There was no salt bread left to try, but the egg tart alone made this a café worth revisiting.
Hets Jeonpo Branch is a tonkatsu restaurant on Jeonpo Café Street in Busanjin, Busan. The writer ordered Jeju black pork loin katsu, YBD hire katsu (tenderloin cutlet), and gara-age (Japanese-style fried chicken), rotating through salt, wasabi, truffle oil and pepper, with a miso soup on the spicier side. It was, in the writer's words, the best tonkatsu in the Jeonpo-dong area.
Gwanganda Jjji Gwangalli Main Branch is a dachi-style seafood restaurant on the 6th floor of Sanbada Hoetown in Minrak-dong, Gwangalli, Busan. Booking the noon opening slot got an ocean-view table with floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides for the dachi han-sang set (₩55,000 per person), a course running from banchan through seasonal live shrimp, octopus tangtangi, mixed sashimi, fried shrimp, braised rockfish, crab stew and abalone porridge. It suits anyone who wants a spread of different seafood dishes rather than just plain sashimi.
Seomyeon Milmyeon is a milmyeon (cold buckwheat noodle) restaurant on the 1st floor of Eos Plaza, about a 5–6 minute walk from Exit 8 of Seomyeon Station in Busan. Orders go through a kiosk before you're seated, and a warm, pepper-forward broth is served self-serve while you wait, which suited this blogger's taste perfectly. The noodle portion feels like 1.5 servings and the dumpling skin is wonderfully chewy, making it worth ordering alongside the milmyeon.
Gilchon Sutbul Galbi Seomyeon Main Branch is a bone-in pork rib BBQ restaurant in Busanjin, Busan, two minutes on foot from Seomyeon Station Exit 8. Fresh pork ribs are 100% bone-in pork belly, grilled over real charcoal, served with banchan including Jeju-style barley baek-kimchi (white kimchi) and finished with a half-and-half naengmyeon (cold noodles) — all with no table setting fee. For anyone hunting down pork rib BBQ in Seomyeon, this place answers the question.
Brassway is a Western-style bistro in Busanjin, Busan, tucked in the alleys of the Jeonpo café street, run by a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef. The sous vide steak and bacon mushroom cream pasta came paired with a glass of moscato rosé wine, with thoughtful touches like sweet pumpkin puree and Maldon salt. For anniversary or date dinners in Jeonpo, Brassway was a safe bet.
Sarugak20 is a Japanese-style curry restaurant in a basement along a quiet hill alley near Exit 8 of Jeonpo Station in Busanjin, Busan, and the second branch of the once-famous Jeonpo curry spot Moru Sikdang. Visiting solo on a weekend at 2pm, the writer ordered brisket cream curry with added scrambled egg and a side of sweet potato cheese croquette, and the food came out fast with no break time in between. With a sunny window seat and partitioned floor seating, the restaurant works equally well for solo dining and private meals.
Working Holiday Minrak is an ocean-view brunch café in Suyeong, Busan, right across from Gwangalli Beach. The Big Brekkie (24,000 won) and Panuozzo set (17,000 won) stood out for the daily hand-baked croissant, wood-fired dough, and paired corn soup, plus a bonus oversized handmade financier for a receipt review. With Gwangan Bridge views and warm service, it's a place worth returning to.
Gijang Myeongpum Daegae is a snow crab and king crab restaurant in the Gijang Market crab alley in Busan. A three-generation family, from grandmother to nephews, ordered 5kg of snow crab at ₩80,000 per kg, received 5 abalones as a service treat, paid a ₩5,000 per person table charge that included a self-serve bar, and finished with 4 orders of crab-shell fried rice. Pre-scored shells and an induction warmer meant even the grandmother and kids could eat comfortably — a genuinely satisfying family outing.
Kkomak Hansang Gijang Main Branch is a cockle-focused Korean restaurant near Oshiria and Lotte World Busan in Gijang, Busan. After a visit to Lotte World's Maple zone, the writer ordered the cockle bibimbap and beef pancake set (₩24,000 per person) with 12 handmade side dishes, and had so much left over that staff packed the extra bibimbap to go. With 2 hours of free underground parking, tablet ordering, and a serving robot, it's an easy spot to bring parents after a day out.
