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Cafés, restaurants and places in Chungnam, written by bloggers who went there.
Cheongwon Restaurant: Cooking Budae-jjigae, Cheonan Dujeong Main Branch is a budae-jjigae (army stew) restaurant in Dujeong-dong, Cheonan. The writer ate Songtan-style budae-jjigae and a pork cutlet here with her child, and the generous ham, Korean beef mince, and thick, tender pork cutlet all hit the spot. For a filling meal with kids and stress-free parking, Cheongwon Restaurant is worth going back to.
Kkotgeok Cheonan Yuryang-dong Branch (꽃게옥) is a hanok-style Korean restaurant in Yuryang-dong, Cheonan, serving soy-marinated crab and boribulbi (salt-dried corvina). On a visit with her daughter, the writer ordered the Kkotgeok A Set, which pairs the dried corvina with roe-filled soy-marinated crab, and found the fish clean and mild with no fishy edge once the rice was soaked in green tea. The soy crab came with rich roe and moist meat that went well with rice, and the meal was good enough that she wants to bring her own mother next time.
Cham Dwaejitgan Cheonan Dujeong Branch is a samgyeopsal (pork belly) restaurant in Dujeong-dong, Cheonan, where the pork is smoked over rice husks and then grilled over charcoal. Staff grilled one serving of Boseong nokdon pork belly and one serving of pork jowl from start to finish, and the free 0-won service — down to kids' tableware, aprons and hair ties — along with the soy-based garlic scape salad and the soy sauce egg rice at the end stood out most. For a Korean BBQ meal cooked a little differently, Cham Dwaejitgan is a solid pick.
Sijang Dakbokkeum is a one-dish shishito pepper chicken stir-fry (kkwari-gochu dakbokkeum) restaurant at the end of the alley facing the plaza entrance at Yesan Market in Yesan, Chungnam. After a dinner of grilled meat, the writer ordered one container to go with extra cheese as a late-night snack, and the savory soy sauce seasoning and the sharp bite of the shishito peppers kept the couple eating until it was empty. Sijang Dakbokkeum is open year-round, so it slots easily into a holiday trip to Yesan.
Jinsim Wang Donkatsu Cheonan Buldang is a Western-style wang donkatsu (giant pork cutlet) restaurant on the corner of the Buldang 34-gil intersection in Buldang-dong, Cheonan. Two siblings ordered the cheese waterfall pork cutlet and the Jinsim curry wang donkatsu, split each plate in half, and wrapped bites in lettuce from the self-serve bar. The portions at Jinsim Wang Donkatsu were so large that both were full halfway through and packed the rest to take home.
Donghae Bada Hoetjip is a sashimi and seafood stew restaurant in Dujeong-dong, Cheonan, near the Segwang Enrichville 2 apartments and across from Manghyang Bibim Guksu. Visiting with her boyfriend, the writer ordered the assorted sashimi + seafood stew set for two, which came with banchan like seaweed soup, grilled fish and bossam (boiled pork wraps), then flounder, halibut, bluefin tuna and swordfish sashimi and a seafood stew loaded with blue crab, octopus and abalone. The stew was generous enough that she would go back to Donghae Bada Hoetjip.
Hyangtaek Cheonan Buldang Branch is a Korean restaurant newly opened in Buldang-dong, Cheonan, and the visit came down to one dish tasted earlier in Gyeongju: mackerel gondre rice. Two people arrived on an 11am opening run and ordered mackerel gondre rice (14,000 won), herring roe bibim noodles (13,000 won) and Cheongsong-style chicken bulgogi (9,000 won), scraping every plate clean, with the noodles served alongside meat standing out most for their deep savory flavor. If mild rice bowls and a meat-and-noodle pairing sound good, Hyangtaek Cheonan Buldang Branch is worth the trip.
Ganghan Sushi Cheonan Buldang Branch is a sushi restaurant in Buldang-dong, Cheonan, open daily from 11:00 to 22:00 with no break time. Arriving at 1pm, the place was already full and there was a 5-minute wait outside, but the 12-piece omakase sushi set at ₩23,000 plus 2 extra pieces of salmon sushi at ₩4,000 made it worth it, with the monkfish liver gunkan as the clear favorite. With solo seating, a baby chair, and 3 hours of free parking, it's an easy spot to visit alone or with a little one.
Brewers Coffee Cheonan Sinbu Branch is a café in Sinbu-dong's Meokgeori 9-gil food street in Cheonan, Chungnam. Visiting on a weekend afternoon with friends, the writer waited about 10 minutes before sharing Brewers Coffee, flat white, americano, salted choco chip madeleine, butter rice cake financier, and vanilla macadamia. Between the iced tea poured out during the wait and the vintage interior, it's easy to see why this spot has stayed a Sinbu-dong favorite for years.
Sijang Dakbokkeum is a shishito pepper dakbokkeum (soy-braised chicken stir-fry) restaurant in Yesan Market, Chungnam. The 25,000-won pan arrived sweet, salty and spicy in a soy sauce base, piled with shishito peppers and served alongside pa-gireum makguksu (scallion oil cold noodles), jeon (savory pancakes) and an apple slushie to cool the heat. Portions at Sijang Dakbokkeum were generous enough to pack the leftovers back to the hotel.
Ganghan Sushi Cheonan Buldang Branch is a sushi restaurant in First Plaza in Buldang-dong, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan. A couple stopped by after work and ordered the 12-piece omakase sushi (23,000 won) and the 12-piece Ganghan special sushi (17,000 won), then added 4 pieces of sauce flame sushi and fried shrimp and paid 5,000 won more to swap the mini udon for handmade cold soba. What was planned as a simple weeknight dinner became a spread that rivalled omakase, making Ganghan Sushi a strong value pick in Cheonan.
Cham Dwaejitgan Cheonan Dujeong Branch is a samgyeopsal (grilled pork belly) restaurant in the Dujeong-dong restaurant alley in Cheonan, where the pork is smoked over Korean rice husk and charcoal and grilled at the table by staff. The writer ordered the Chamsamgyeopsal (Boseong nokdon pork belly) at 16,000 won and ate it on crisp potato slices with wasabi, mushroom wasabi and garlic scape banchan, then added another round of potato slices and one more serving of pork despite not usually eating much meat. For anyone looking for a samgyeopsal place that isn't the everyday BBQ stop, Cham Dwaejitgan is one to remember.
