Seongbuk Korean restaurant for a parents’ lunch: Seochon Nugak

Since it had been a while since my mom and I had eaten out together, I looked for somewhere that would serve a little more than usual and visited Seochon Nugak (서촌누각) in Seongbuk. They had the Nugak lunch feast set, with steamed abalone, jeon (Korean savory pancakes), tteokgalbi, seasoned pollock sashimi, and a final meal brought out one after another. We reserved the ₩28,000-per-person feast set:)

Where do you park for Seochon Nugak?

The restaurant does not have its own parking lot, so if you drive, you will need to use a nearby lot. I parked at Lotus Garden Parking right nearby. If you tell them you came to Seochon Nugak when parking, it costs ₩5,000 for one hour. It was close to the restaurant too, so this was an easy place to park and walk from if you bring a car.

Finding Seochon Nugak from Hansung University Station

Seochon Nugak is about 862 m from Exit 5 of Hansung University Station. It is across from the Seongbuk Seonjam Museum and on the first floor of Munhwa Sikdang, so you can spot the Seochon Nugak sign once you reach the building.

Indoor seating that looked great for a family meal

Once inside, there was quite a bit more seating than I expected from the exterior. There were tables that worked well for two to four people, plus seating for larger groups, so it looked like a nice place for a family meal too.

Since we had reserved, our table was already neatly set with tableware and water glasses.

The Nugak lunch feast set, reserved for two or more

We ordered the lunch feast set. It can be reserved for two or more people, and rather than everything arriving at once, the dishes were prepared and served in sequence.

First came a seasonal salad. It had celery, bell pepper, and more, topped with a yuzu mustard dressing. The light yuzu fragrance and fresh flavor made it nice to eat as a little starter before the meal properly began.

Next came steamed abalone topped with ginkgo nuts. The abalone arrived whole but had already been cut into easy-to-eat pieces, so it was convenient to pick up right away.

The jeon served alongside it came in three kinds: beef jeon, vegetable jeon, and shrimp jeon. Rather than getting a lot of just one kind, I actually liked that we could try a piece of each.

After that came seasoned Sokcho pollock sashimi. It was not just pollock sashimi on its own—there was a generous amount of perilla leaf and vegetables too, making it easy to enjoy bite by bite.

Then came one of the dishes I had been looking forward to: house-made beef tteokgalbi (grilled minced beef patties). Grilled vegetables including onion and mushrooms were served beside the tteokgalbi, so we could eat them together.

The eoseuri herb rice meal served separately at the end

Just as we had nearly finished the dishes that came before, a staff member asked whether we would like them to prepare the meal. Once we said yes, they tidied the table neatly and brought out the eoseuri herb rice set meal. Even after having so many dishes beforehand, there was rice, soup, and side dishes separately at the end, so it was more filling than I expected.

The rice was topped with eoseuri herbs, seaweed, octopus, and more, and each person received their own bowl of warm soup.

There were several side dishes as well, including eggplant, lotus root, and kimchi. We sampled several dishes first, such as abalone, jeon, and tteokgalbi, then finished with rice and soup, so it really felt like a proper full meal.

A leisurely Seongbuk lunch with my mom

From steamed abalone and assorted jeon to seasoned pollock sashimi, tteokgalbi, and finally eoseuri herb rice, the dishes came out in order, so we could try a variety of things for ₩28,000 per person. Instead of the food being spread across the table all at once, we ate each dish one by one and finished with the meal, which made it nice to eat slowly while talking with my mom. Since most of the menu is Korean food, I think it would be worth considering if you are looking for a good Seongbuk restaurant to take your parents to or somewhere for a family lunch. Just keep in mind that there is no dedicated parking lot; if you use Lotus Garden like we did, it is ₩5,000 for one hour when visiting Seochon Nugak:)