Korean restaurant near Wangsimni for gomtang and pho: Geumnyeong

Today, I’m introducing Geumnyeong Gomtang (금녕곰탕), a great gomtang spot in Wangsimni. Even just passing by, its exterior makes you think, “Wow, this looks like a good restaurant?” It really has that proper hidden-gem feel!

How close is Geumnyeong Gomtang to Wangsimni Station?

Geumnyeong Gomtang is close to Wangsimni Station, so we took the subway. After getting off and heading outside, it took about two minutes at a leisurely pace.

Naver Place says it opens at 10 a.m., but I was told it currently starts service at 10:30 a.m. They said they planned to update it, but it looks like they haven’t yet!

Rather than being in an ordinary commercial building, the restaurant is in a house-like building, which made it feel a little special from the first look. It has such a warm atmosphere, like you’ve come to a long-standing local favorite!

Geumnyeong Gomtang’s menu and Korean beef

The menu at Geumnyeong Gomtang includes gomtang (Korean beef soup), pho, seasoned pollack, and boiled beef. There are also gomtang and pho options with minari (water celery). Gomtang seems to be the most popular choice, while many people order the seasoned pollack as a side.

Geumnyeong Gomtang says it uses only premium Korean beef graded 1+ and 1++!

First- and second-floor seating: can you dine alone?

Geumnyeong Gomtang has a first and second floor, so it was more spacious than I expected.

There were plenty of tables, and right after opening, there were people coming in to eat alone as well as groups.

The basic side dishes were dried shredded radish and a sauce for dipping the beef.

There was also kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi) and napa cabbage kimchi together in a jar, so you can serve yourself as much as you want.

Both kimchis were nicely fermented and so delicious! I think a truly good restaurant has good kimchi, too.

Before the food arrived, I looked to set out the utensils and noticed there were only chopsticks.

There’s a reason for that, but anyway, the only things set out here are chopsticks and the paper utensil rest.

Sharing the special gomtang and special pho

We ordered the special gomtang and special pho to share between the two of us.

I wondered why there were only chopsticks, but the spoon arrives stuck in the bowl with your food, haha. Also, the gomtang doesn’t come with rice on the side—the rice is already mixed into the broth~

The gomtang and pho have the same broth and ingredients; the difference is simply whether they come with rice or rice noodles.

There were really lots of scallions in the broth, which was completely our taste because we love scallions!

I tried a sip of the broth first, and perhaps because it had been simmered with premium Korean beef, it was definitely rich and deeply flavored! The beef inside was tender and tasty, too.

The portions were seriously generous, too.

Geumnyeong Gomtang carefully simmers its gomtang every day with premium Korean beef, so I definitely recommend it to anyone who loves gomtang! It isn’t heavily seasoned; the warm broth with rice was satisfying and just right for a full meal.

It was the best combination with nicely fermented kkakdugi on top. The pho had soft rice noodles that went down so easily!

It’s delicious with rice and delicious with rice noodles, so I think you can just choose whichever one you’re craving, haha.

Ah—and there were rice cakes in there, too.

As we paid and were about to leave, I noticed several celebrity signatures on one wall. If you’re looking for a warm, filling meal in Wangsimni, I recommend Geumnyeong Gomtang!