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Cafés, restaurants and places in Busan, written by bloggers who went there.
Ganbame is a late-night bar near Jeonpo Station in Busanjin, Busan, open until 4am with a wide range of anju (drinking snacks). The perilla cream pasta, rich cream with nutty perilla flavor, was the clear standout alongside kaya butter toast. With a warm atmosphere, tasty food, and friendly staff, it's a solid pick for drinks with friends or a date.
Daidokoro Gwangalli Main Branch is a Japanese home-style restaurant a 5-minute walk from Gwangalli Beach in Suyeong, Busan. Visiting with two kids, the 2-person Set A came with mini tempura udon and egg rice added on, plus a coloring book from the restaurant's kids' event to keep the wait from feeling long. The milk pudding for dessert was the standout, memorable enough to buy separately next time.
Yuok is a Japanese restaurant on Songjeong Riverside Road in Haeundae, Busan. After a 10-minute wait behind one party, the writer sat at the dachi (open-kitchen counter) seats and ordered the jumbo unaju (grilled eel rice) set for 28,500 won and mazesoba udon for 12,000 won, finishing with egg-yolk-mixed udon, rice, and ochazuke. Between the landscaped entrance and the open kitchen view, the wait was worth it.
Ganppa Beer Gwangalli 2 is a standing bar in Gwangalli, Busan, that serves only Sapporo and Ebisu draft beer. Staff walk you through how they chill the glass and pour each beer, and there's a rock-paper-scissors event when a keg runs dry — win, and you get another glass of Sapporo. It's a good round-two bar for a light one or two more drinks when you're already full from round one.
Surabanjeom Gaya Branch is a Chinese restaurant in Gaya-dong, Busanjin, Busan, near Dongui University. The jjajang+jjamppong+sweet and sour pork set ordered in the large size delivered a spicy jjamppong broth made with a slow, low-temperature aged sauce, mixed with free rice, plus cloud-soft glutinous rice sweet and sour pork dipped in salt and pepper. A generously sauced jjajang large portion rounds out a filling, satisfying meal.
Dwitdon Sanghoe, Jeonpo Branch is a pork specialty-cut BBQ restaurant near Jeonpo and Seomyeon in Busanjin, Busan. Visiting on a weekday evening at 5pm with her mother for a family dinner, the writer ordered the half-portion Dwitdon set (500g) plus doenjang stew and steamed egg for ₩49,000 total, and the drum-can seats by the folding doors gave off an outdoor-tent feel. Good value, generous set portions, and friendly service made it a solid pick for both family meals and group gatherings.
Ami Yanggopchang is a gopchang (grilled beef offal) restaurant near Kyungsung University in Nam-gu, Busan, serving yangchang alongside beef, ox tongue and wagyu. On a first visit the writer ordered Set B (pork neck for two + assorted gopchang for three), alternating between the chewy daechang and the plain pork neck, with the offal smell never becoming distracting. If you're worried about getting sick of greasy gopchang alone, Ami Yanggopchang's set menus solve that problem well.
Ibaba Coffee is a pet-friendly café in Busanjin, Busan, a 5-minute walk from Jeonpo Station Exit 7. The decaf iced café latte, made with 1A-grade Maeil milk, was nutty and smooth, while the iced Americano was clean with no sourness. The vibe suits both working and chatting, and I'd happily return.
Mijin Chuksan Sinjurye-jeom is a neighborhood Korean BBQ restaurant on Baegyang-daero in Busanjin, Busan. A sudden craving for samgyeopsal (pork belly) led to a visit with several cuts, naengmyeon (cold noodles), doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew), and steamed egg, eaten with salt, ssamjang, and myeongi namul on rotation, tasting savory without feeling greasy. Mijin Chuksan Sinjurye-jeom is an affordable, good-value spot for trying a bit of many cuts.
Sinchon Yangpuni Seomyeon Main Branch is a spicy braised short rib restaurant in Busanjin, Busan, that has run at the same spot for 20 years. Two servings of yangpuni galbijjim (braised short ribs in a pot) came with a Jeolla-do aged kimchi topping and a pour-over cheese topping, finished off with self-made fried rice in the leftover sauce. The chili-pepper-free spice, balanced by kimchi and cheese, made for ribs that kept us reaching for more rather than just burning our mouths.
Bupyeong Yang Gopchang is a yang gopchang (beef tripe and intestines) restaurant near Jagalchi Station and Gukje Market in Jung-gu, Busan. Two diners shared a small stone-pan seasoned set with added udon noodles, and staff grilled the intestines, tripe, and heart throughout the meal so the only job left was pouring soju. The heart was tender rather than chewy, and the closing fried rice got scraped clean off the pan.
Yeongdong Milmyeon & Dwaeji Gukbap is a pork soup and milmyeon (wheat noodle) restaurant a 3-5 minute walk from Busan Station. On the last day of a Busan trip, after returning a rental car, the writer stopped in around 3pm and ordered both dwaeji gukbap (pork bone soup) and bibim milmyeon together, finding the broth completely free of gamey pork smell and the noodles springy, somewhere between jjolmyeon and bibim guksu. A great one-stop spot to try Busan's two signature dishes before catching the KTX.
