Jeongdong-gil Korean restaurant for peppered beef kalguksu: Tanbaek

A Korean restaurant on Jeongdong-gil, a short walk from Deoksugung

I've been finding myself around Jeongdong-gil lately, and while looking for somewhere to eat cleanly near Deoksugung, I found a Korean restaurant serving gom-kalguksu and yukgaejang-kalguksu!

What Tanbaek looks like from the street

Tanbaek is a place you'll run into while walking along Jeongdong-gil! Close to Deoksugung too, so it's a good spot for a meal after sightseeing or as part of a Jeongdong-gil date course. +) Above all, the whole neighborhood has such a quiet, elegant mood that it's nice to stop by mid-walk!!

The name Tanbaek means 'to speak plainly without hiding anything,' meaning they'll serve honest food made with clean, good ingredients. Right from the name it already feels like a tidy, proper Korean restaurant...!!

Counter seats on the 1st floor, tables on the 2nd

Tanbaek's 1st floor

Tanbaek runs across two floors. The overall mood was clean and calm, and the 1st floor was set up with bar-style seating.

Tanbaek's 2nd floor

The 2nd floor was mostly 2–4 person tables, and the whole interior felt so neat that it seemed good not just for family meals but for dates or meeting friends too!

Interior details inside Tanbaek

Tanbaek is also a place that clearly put real thought into its space! They preserved the ridge beam of the original wooden building, discovered during demolition, and added works by Korean craftspeople to complete the space as it is now. So it's not just a place to eat — there's fun in looking around at the interior details too!! The wood tones and hanok (traditional Korean house) mood blend together naturally, and it really suited the Jeongdong-gil location~

Tanbaek's menu and prices

Now for the most important part — the menu~

• Gom-kalguksu ₩14,000
• Yukgaejang-kalguksu ₩15,000
• Warm pork jowl (140g) ₩19,000
• Kimchi mandu (2 pieces) ₩5,000
• Mushroom rice ₩4,000

+) They also said seasonal limited items like perilla kalguksu or soybean bibim kalguksu are sold depending on the season!

How QR ordering works at Tanbaek

You order through the QR code at your table. Payment is at the counter on your way out.

How the gom-kalguksu tastes with pepper added

We ordered the gom-kalguksu, ₩14,000, that day.

A clean beef broth that runs slightly salty

The broth was overall on the plain side, but the seasoning was a bit stronger than I expected... There was beef on top too, so eating it together with the noodles made for quite a filling bowl on its own! The noodles were kalguksu (knife-cut noodles), with a chewy texture that was nice, good for a hearty single bowl~ Personally, adding pepper here and there brought out a bit more flavor in the broth, and I liked that!

Pepper, extra seasoning, and the kimchi at Tanbaek

There was pepper and extra seasoning ready on the table too, so I could add them to taste. The kimchi that came with it was also pretty good. Kalguksu really isn't the same without kimchi...