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Cafés, restaurants and places in Gangwon, written by bloggers who went there.
Cafe Iseo Hongcheon Branch is a brunch café on Hanchigol-gil in Seo-myeon, Hongcheon, Gangwon, near Palbongsan and Vivaldi Park. Visiting with a baby around 11:30am, the writer ordered anchovy bacon pasta, an avocado shrimp sandwich, and iced Americanos, with a baby chair and spacious parking on hand. The umami of the anchovy pasta was strong enough to make her forget she was coming down with a cold.
Moana Burger is a handmade burger restaurant on Nanseolheon-ro in Gangneung. The signature Moana Burger and the double-patty Double Moana Burger were both tried, and even without any extra sauce, the Double Moana Burger stayed juicy to the last bite thanks to two hearty patties, paired with crisp-outside, fluffy-inside fries. A Hawaiian flower hairpin handed out with every order made it a Gangneung burger spot worth remembering.
Cafe Neorae is a large bakery café in Haksapyeong, Sokcho, with views of Seoraksan and Ulsanbawi. After breakfast the writer stopped by with her parents and brother for four drinks — Neorae Latte, matcha latte, iced café latte and hot Americano — and her matcha-obsessed brother called the matcha latte one of the top five he's ever had. Spacious seating and a diaper-changing table made it an easy Seoraksan café for families.
Hanmaeum Jeongyuk Sikdang Wonju Enterprise City Branch is a Korean BBQ restaurant in Wonju's Enterprise City area with a large kids' playroom. The aged pork half-platter (500g) came with samgyeopsal, ogyeopsal, mokssal, hangjeongsal and gabrisal, plus an extra order of samgyeopsal, mul naengmyeon (cold noodle soup), and soft-serve ice cream to finish. With its spacious playroom and unlimited doenjang jjigae, it made for a satisfying family meal out.
Doris Patisserie is a bakery near Sokcho Central Market in Gangwon specializing in freshly baked egg tarts and butter pastries for takeout. Visiting with her kid, the writer reserved a box of 6 madeleines (₩18,000) and a box of 6 original egg tarts (₩15,000) for pickup, and the compartmented box kept everything from getting squished on the way home. The egg tarts were best eaten warm the same day, while the only downside was that the madeleines felt a bit oily to the touch on day one.
Jeong Eunsuk Chodang Sundubu is a Korean restaurant at the entrance to Gangneung's Chodang sundubu (soft tofu) village, about 3-5 minutes by car from St. Johns Hotel. A family of 2 adults and 4 kids ordered four servings of the Chodang deluxe table set, sharing boiled pork, gaejami sikhae (fermented flatfish), seasoned kodari (dried pollock) and sundubu jeongol (soft tofu hot pot), all clean-tasting without an MSG hit. It's a solid, filling choice for families visiting Gangneung with kids.
Baegya Coffee is a four-story ocean-view bakery café right by Sacheonjin Beach in Gangneung. After a meal, the writer settled into a floor-to-ceiling window seat on the 3rd floor and enjoyed a corn cream shot latte, apogato (affogato), Sangha Farm ice cream, and honey bread together. With sea views and ample parking, it made for a great large-scale café to rest at during a Gangneung trip.
Samgyori Dongchimi Makguksu Namhangjin branch is a cold noodle restaurant right across from Namhangjin Beach in Gangneung. The writer added pollack sashimi (₩3,000) to a bowl of dongchimi makguksu and ordered a small boiled pork, finding the pork noticeably better once topped with pollack sashimi. Having to pay extra for the pollack sashimi was a minor letdown, but the beachfront location made for an easy walk to the water right after eating.
Gossi's Donghae Makguksu & Sundubu Kalguksu Main Branch is a three-floor makguksu (buckwheat noodle) and sundubu restaurant right across from Gangmun Beach in Gangneung. Visiting after 7pm on a weekday meant no wait for a second-floor sea-view table, where the two-person set (mul-makguksu, perilla oil makguksu, and boiled pork) plus an avocado keto buckwheat gimbap and sikhye stood out, especially the kelp-and-soy-sauce broth. A great stop to pair with a Gangmun Beach visit.
Hoega is a sashimi restaurant in Gyodong, Sokcho, offering takeout, delivery, and dine-in. A small mixed sashimi platter (₩43,000) and mulhoe (spicy cold raw fish soup, ₩17,000) came packed with seaweed, lettuce wraps, sushi rice, wasabi, and side dishes, with thick-cut sashimi and an iced broth that made this the best mulhoe the writer has ever had.
Hwangbuja Twigim is a fried snack shop inside Sokcho Tourist & Fisheries Market (Sokcho Jungang Market) in Sokcho, Gangwon, selling nurungji squid sundae (scorched-rice squid sausage) and a wide range of tempura. On a two-day trip to Sokcho with her husband, the writer ordered the nurungji squid sundae and a nude shrimp and squid tempura set to go and ate them back at the lodging. The crisp, chewy nurungji was the part of the meal she remembers most.
Hanggu Hwareo is a snow crab and live-fish sashimi restaurant in S-dong of Daepohang Fish Market in Sokcho, Gangwon. The snow crab set brought about 1.6kg of pre-cleaned snow crab, live squid, sea squirt and abalone sashimi, and white-fleshed sashimi such as flounder fin and mullet, then finished with crab innard fried rice and bean sprout spicy stew at no extra charge. Between the fully cleaned crab and the friendly service, Hanggu Hwareo is worth going back to.
