Cheongju Korean restaurant with a kids' pork cutlet: Oneul Haru

On the weekend, my wife, our kid, and I went out for lunch in Gyeongyang-dong, Cheongju. Picking a menu when you're eating out with a kid is oddly tricky, right? The kid needs something not spicy, while we adults still want a proper meal.

Oneul Haru, which we visited this time, worked out pretty well for our family on that front. There were Korean dishes like stone-pot rice, grilled fish, and gochujang bulgogi, plus pork cutlet that kids tend to love, so picking a menu was easy.

As we were walking out, my wife and I ended up saying something to each other,

We could bring the grandparents here next time.

That's exactly the thought this place left us with.

What kind of place is Oneul Haru? A Gagyeong-dong Korean restaurant that works for parents too

Oneul Haru is a Korean restaurant in Gyeongyang-dong, Cheongju. It's clean-looking overall, both outside and inside, and doesn't have that overly old-school baekban (home-style meal) diner vibe, so it worked well for a family visit.

The interior has a comfortable atmosphere mixed with wood tones, so it didn't feel awkward to eat there with parents, and it also seemed like a fine spot for a quiet Korean-food date for two.

Is there parking at Oneul Haru?

We drove there, and we were able to register our license plate at the store for parking. It was also convenient not having to run around dealing with parking.

What the three of us ordered at Oneul Haru, and the prices

We ordered using the screen at the table. Since there were three of us, we each picked something different.

• Grilled fish gondre stone-pot rice — ₩15,000
• Gochujang bulgogi gondre stone-pot rice — ₩15,000
• Handmade pork cutlet cheese roll — ₩13,000

With a kid in tow, the pork cutlet was pretty much decided instantly, and my wife and I went with the stone-pot rice dishes. In the end, being able to split three different dishes between us turned out to be a pretty good combination.

What was on the self-serve banchan (side dish) bar

While looking around before the food came out, the self-serve banchan corner turned out to be nicer than I expected. There were several side dishes that go well with rice, like salad, pickled vegetables, and lettuce wraps, and on the day I visited there was also tteokbokki (spicy stir-fried rice cakes) and fritters.

Piling this and that onto our plates, it felt a lot more filling than just coming for a single Korean meal set. It kind of felt like a small Korean buffet, haha.

I especially liked the combination of sweet potato fritters and tteokbokki. Sweet fritters with spicy tteokbokki kept my hand reaching over even before the main dishes arrived.

How does the gochujang bulgogi gondre stone-pot rice taste?

The gochujang bulgogi was sweet and a little spicy, which went perfectly with the rice.

The gochujang bulgogi feels similar to what you'd normally think of as jeyuk bokkeum (spicy stir-fried pork), but sweeter and only lightly spicy, so it went well with rice. It wasn't a purely spicy style — there was enough sweetness that my chopsticks kept going back for more.

It was good either piling the bulgogi onto a spoonful of gondre rice or wrapping it in lettuce. Personally, since the stone-pot rice itself is fairly plain, I thought it paired even better with this well-seasoned gochujang bulgogi.

Grilled fish gondre stone-pot rice: the mackerel was grilled nutty and crisp

The grilled fish gondre stone-pot rice was also delicious. The mackerel served that day was well-grilled and savory, and the flesh wasn't dry, so it went well with the stone-pot rice.

Grilling fish at home takes a lot of effort and leaves a smell, right? Eating it out like this, with stone-pot rice, grilled fish, and side dishes all as one set, was so much more convenient. If I were bringing my parents, this is personally the dish I'd recommend first.

The handmade pork cutlet cheese roll our child liked most

What we ordered for our kid was the handmade pork cutlet cheese roll. When it first arrived, I was a little surprised by how much bigger it was than I expected. It came with the cutlet, the cheese roll, rice, and salad, so it was quite a generous portion for one kid.

When we cut into the cheese roll, it was packed with cheese inside. Unsurprisingly, this got the best reaction from our kid, haha. With the crispy coating and gooey cheese inside, it went down easily.

When eating out with a kid, having at least one menu item they'll definitely eat well puts the parents' minds at ease, and that was true here.

Finish the gondre stone-pot rice with nurungji (scorched rice)

With the stone-pot rice, the staff first scooped the rice into a bowl and poured water into the pot. The gondre greens mixed throughout the rice made even plain rice taste good on its own, and it went even better together with the bulgogi or grilled fish.

And near the end of the meal, there's one more step left when you open the pot lid again: warm nurungji.

After eating the gochujang bulgogi and various side dishes, that final spoonful of plain nurungji was a great way to cleanse the palate. Even while saying we were full, somehow this still went in, haha.

How the meal went for a family of three

The three of us — our kid, my wife, and me — each ordering something different actually worked out well. The adults could have gondre stone-pot rice with gochujang bulgogi and grilled fish, while our kid had the pork cutlet.

On top of that, grabbing various side dishes from the self-serve bar made the meal feel quite generous overall. It was especially nice that, even though it's a Korean restaurant, there was a proper kids' menu too, which meant less worrying about what to order for a family meal out.

Would I go back to Oneul Haru?

If I'm looking for a place to eat Korean food with family in Gyeongyang-dong, Cheongju, I'd be willing to visit again. There was pork cutlet our kid ate well, and stone-pot rice and grilled fish the adults would enjoy, so it worked well for a family spanning different generations.

Above all, the first thought that came to mind after eating was,

We should bring the grandparents next time.

That's what it was. This place would also suit anyone looking for somewhere to eat with parents who like a neat stone-pot rice set, or anyone looking for a not-too-heavy Korean food date spot in Gyeongyang-dong.

Oneul Haru visitor information

• Location | 87 Seohyeonbuk-ro, 1F 110-112, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea
• Parking | Register your license plate at the store
• Grilled fish gondre stone-pot rice | ₩15,000
• Gochujang bulgogi gondre stone-pot rice | ₩15,000
• Handmade pork cutlet cheese roll | ₩13,000

Business hours may change, so it's best to check Naver Place before visiting.