Gwacheon duck BBQ with overflow parking, ₩55,000 couple course

Deo Chadol, a Gwacheon restaurant known for its duck chadol (thin-sliced duck) BBQ, near Seoul Land.

Last weekend I went to Seoul Land and stopped by Deo Chadol, a Gwacheon restaurant, for dinner afterward.

This is the place featured on KBS's Baedalwatsuda as a restaurant recommended by actor Ryu Seung-ryong. I remembered it being delicious from a previous visit, so I went back after a while.

How to find Deo Chadol, and where to park when its lot is full

Deo Chadol is a 2-minute walk from Exit 3 of Seonbawi Station, so it's easy to reach by public transit. It's also close to Seoul Land, the National Science Museum, and Seoul Grand Park, making it a convenient stop after a day out.

There's a dedicated parking lot, which makes driving convenient too, but on the day I visited the wait was so long that the lot filled up, so I parked at the public lot right next door instead.

How long is the weekend evening wait at Deo Chadol?

On a weekend evening we waited over 30 minutes before getting seated. A few months earlier the wait hadn't been this long, but the place has clearly gotten famous as a Gwacheon restaurant, because the line was huge. The interior is clean and fairly spacious.

Maybe because the owner is an actor, lots of celebrities have visited too — the walls were covered in autographs.

Deo Chadol menu and prices

Deo Chadol's signature dishes are grilled duck chadol and spicy raw duck stir-fry. We ordered the couple course, made up of grilled duck chadol, spicy raw duck stir-fry, doenjang stew (soybean paste stew), and self-fried rice.

Side dishes and the self-serve bar at Deo Chadol

The basic table setting came with lettuce wraps and garlic, ssamjang (dipping sauce), salad, kimchi, and more. Duck meat tends to be a bit fatty, so tangy, salty side dishes like pickled perilla leaves paired well, cleansing the palate.

You could freely grab more side dishes from the self-serve bar as needed.

The 55,000-won couple course: grilled duck chadol first

Deo Chadol's couple course is ₩55,000 and includes grilled duck chadol, spicy raw duck stir-fry, doenjang stew, and self-fried rice. The grilled duck chadol came out first.

The duck chadol is made by hand-trimming raw duck, quick-freezing it, and slicing it thin, apparently. It was grilled together with minari (water dropwort) and onion, and being so thin, it cooked quickly.

Even though it's raw duck, there wasn't a trace of gamey smell — it had a savory, clean flavor. It was tender rather than chewy, so easy to eat too.

Dipped in the special sauce and wrapped in a radish pickle or perilla leaf, the flavor got even richer and more fragrant with the sauce's umami — I kept reaching for more. Dipped lightly in salt, my kid loved it too.

The couple course also comes with doenjang stew. Since eating duck chadol leaves some oiliness in the mouth, spooning up the hearty doenjang stew in between bites helped clean the palate.

Spicy raw duck stir-fry and self-serve fried rice

Once we finished the duck chadol, we called a staff member and they brought out the duck stir-fry right away. Unlike the grilled duck chadol, this one comes with a spicy secret sauce.

You eat the sweet potato once it's cooked through — before that, I tried the rice cake first, and the spicy-sweet sauce clung to it perfectly.

The sauce soaked well into the duck meat, giving it full umami flavor, and the spicy yet subtly sweet taste made me crave rice.

With the leftover sauce from the stir-fry, we added the fried rice ingredients and stir-fried it up properly.

The savory duck fat combined with the umami-packed stir-fry sauce soaked thoroughly into the rice — it was really delicious. I was full, but scraped the pan clean to the last bite.

Is Deo Chadol worth it? The verdict

From savory grilled duck chadol to spicy duck stir-fry, doenjang stew, and fried rice, Deo Chadol in Gwacheon offered a satisfying, filling meal. If you're looking for somewhere to eat after visiting Seoul Land or the National Science Museum, give it a try!

Deo Chadol opening hours

• 11:00–21:30
• Break time (weekdays) 15:00–17:00