Local places · 19053 stories
Restaurants in Korea, told firsthand by local bloggers — with photos and Google Maps.
Chilango Seolleung Main Branch is a Mexican restaurant on Yeoksam-ro 67-gil in Gangnam, Seoul. A taco plate for two costs 54,000 won, served with meat, seafood and vegetables to wrap to taste, and Chilango has about 3 free parking spots on site plus a pet-friendly terrace. The ingredients taste clearly different from franchise tacos, making Chilango Seolleung worth a return visit.
Chadolpung Dasan Station Branch is a beef brisket and woo samgyeop (thin-sliced beef belly) BBQ restaurant on the 1st floor of MH Tower on Dasan-jungang-ro in Namyangju, Gyeonggi. For its 6th anniversary customer thank-you event, Chadolpung serves woo samgyeop as a buy-3-get-1-free deal with soju and beer at ₩3,000, so one visit meant grilling plenty of beef and finishing with chadol doenjang jjigae (brisket soybean paste stew). Chadolpung is an easy stop before or after Dasan King Jjimjilbang and a strong pick for a budget-friendly company dinner near Dasan Station.
Seosan Dongjuk Kalguksu is a dongjuk clam kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) restaurant in Jangyu, Gimhae, near the Yulha café street and Seyoung Richel Apartments. Nursing a hangover from the night before, the writer ordered the ₩9,000 clam kalguksu with extra cheongyang chili for a fiery broth, then added the ₩15,000 ojaknae seafood pancake and Jipyeong makgeolli (rice wine). For a spicy bowl that clears out a rough morning after, Seosan Dongjuk Kalguksu does the job.
Gohyang Sogalbijjim Gwacheon is a braised beef short rib (sogalbijjim) restaurant on Gwanmun-ro near Gwacheon Government Complex Station in Gyeonggi. The basic set costs ₩11,900 and the extra-large ₩13,900, and both arrive with doenjang stew (soybean paste stew) and a self-serve side dish bar, plus bibimbap mixed with seasoned seaweed flakes and bean sprouts and potato noodles stirred into the leftover sauce. With no afternoon break time and baby chairs on hand, Gohyang Sogalbijjim Gwacheon works just as well for a solo meal as for a family dinner.
Mapo Gui Madang Seogyo Direct Branch is a frozen pork belly (naengsam) restaurant on World Cup Buk-ro in Seogyo-dong, Mapo, Seoul. Frozen pork belly is ₩9,900 for 200g, and two people ate 4 servings, refilled the scallion kimchi twice, and finished with jjolmyeon (spicy chewy noodles). The scallion kimchi alone carried a full bowl of rice, so Mapo Gui Madang is worth a return trip whenever a frozen pork belly craving hits.
Narae Susan is a sashimi shop at Garak Market in Songpa, Seoul, located in Unit 48 on the first floor of the Garak Mall sales building. A premium live mixed sashimi platter (70,000 won) was reserved ahead and packed for takeout with name tags on each cut, a free serving of abalone sashimi and a yellow cooler bag. The thick-cut slices and the careful packing both satisfied, so Narae Susan is the pick for sashimi takeout at Garak Market.
Jeongseong Katsu, Cheomdan Branch is a katsu (breaded pork cutlet) restaurant on the 1st floor of the CMC parking tower in Ssangam-dong, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, a 3-minute walk from Cheomdan General Hospital. On a weekday visit after the lunch rush, the order was the triple mixed katsu at 14,900 won plus pocha ttangcho udon (spicy udon), Jeongseong homemade curry and an extra bowl of rice, and the fiery udon broth worked as a hangover cure after the night before. Parking behind the building is free for up to 2 hours, so Jeongseong Katsu is an easy stop by car in Cheomdan.
Jakdong Hongdukkkae Kalguksu Bucheon Main Branch is a kalguksu (knife-cut noodle) restaurant with its own house-made noodles, sitting below a hill in Jakdong, Bucheon for more than 10 years. Two servings of clam kalguksu came to 11,000 won, the noodles go into the boiling broth at the table and are ready after two turns of the hourglass, and the side kimchi was good enough to take home at 1.5kg for 20,000 won. The noodles and seafood broth were solid, but the real kick at Jakdong Hongdukkkae was the kimchi and the jorippong rice-puff brittle at the end.
Myeongin Dwaeji Gukbap is a pork soup (gukbap) restaurant near Bukmyeon Hot Spring in Changwon, Gyeongnam. Lunch here came to 27,000 won in total: mixed gukbap for 10,000 won, an extra-large mixed gukbap for 11,000 won and dumplings for 6,000 won, along with dressed chives, a self-serve side dish corner and an icy cold coffee for dessert. If you want a hearty, filling meal, the extra-large bowl at Myeongin Dwaeji Gukbap is the one to order.
Andamiro is a seafood restaurant in Dusan-dong, Suseong-gu, Daegu, right by the Deuran-gil restaurant strip. The small seafood banquet set costs 59,000 won and arrives as a basket of pre-cleaned red snow crab, flounder sashimi, whelk and boiled sliced octopus, abalone and scallops, with seafood ramyeon ordered on the side. For this price, Andamiro delivers an impressive number of genuinely fresh seafood dishes.
Sumine Gukbap is a sundae gukbap (blood sausage soup) and pork gukbap restaurant on Baesan-ro in Mohyeon-dong, Iksan. Ordering both bowls and stirring in dadaegi (chili paste) from the self-bar made the broth pleasantly spicy, and the house-made kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi) and unusually wide glass noodles stood out most at Sumine Gukbap. With roomy tables and baby chairs on hand, it is an easy pick for a family lunch.
Kkankkanhan Jokbal Yongbong Branch is a charcoal-grilled jokbal (pig's trotter) restaurant on Yongbong-taekji-ro in Buk-gu, Gwangju. Arriving for an early dinner with a child just after the dining hall opened at 16:00, the writer ordered charcoal-grilled jokbal and makguksu (cold buckwheat noodles), and steamed egg and fish cake soup came free with the meal. The chewy jokbal carries a gentle charcoal aroma, and with the tangy, spicy noodles alongside it made a filling dinner the child ate happily too.
