After-work rice bowls at Hyangtaek, a Jongno hanok restaurant in Daegu

Isn't this such good weather for outdoor dining lately? Fall being this distinct feels almost too precious.. On a weekday after work, my partner and I went on a hunt for a good Korean restaurant on Jongno in Daegu. While looking for somewhere to eat around Jongno in Daegu, we landed on Hyangtaek Daegu Jongno Branch (향택 대구종로점).

Hyangtaek Daegu Jongno Branch / 📍Location: 19-1 Jungang-daero 77-gil, Jung-gu, Daegu, South Korea / ⏱️Hours: Daily 11:00–20:00

Hyangtaek seems to be slowly making a name for itself by opening branches all over lately. I heard there's a new one near Keimyung University too, and after spotting Hyangtaek on my feed, I got curious and decided to try the Jongno branch I pass by often!

Where Hyangtaek Daegu Jongno Branch is, and what the hanok room feels like

Hyangtaek Daegu Jongno Branch is at 19-1 Jungang-daero 77-gil, Jung-gu, Daegu, right across from the Starbucks Jongno Gotaek branch. It's open daily from 11:00 to 20:00, so it worked fine for dinner right after work on a weekday.

Picking a place to eat is honestly harder than it seems. You'd think deciding on one craving would be simple, but then you have to think about distance, price, atmosphere.. and it spirals from there (both my partner and I are pretty indecisive, so this is rough for us). In that sense, Hyangtaek scores points just for location. It's easy to get to near Jongno, and being right across from Starbucks Jongno Gotaek made it convenient to grab coffee afterward ☕️ It really is a smooth route — eat, then walk straight across for coffee — so if you're doing a meal-plus-café combo downtown, this route is pretty solid.

The vibe inside has that old hanok (traditional Korean house) feel you see a lot in Korean restaurants these days, and it looked clean. Not fully traditional, more like a mix of old and modern styles. I personally love this kind of hanok style, so I liked the atmosphere even before walking in!

What's on the menu at Hyangtaek Daegu Jongno Branch

Once we sat down and looked at the menu, there were more options than I expected. There was grilled deodeok (mountain herb root) and Cheongsong-style chicken bulgogi too, but since we wanted something hearty that day, we mainly went with rice bowls.

Eggplant doenjang rice bowl: why an eggplant hater cleaned the bowl

What we ordered was the eggplant doenjang rice bowl and the chamnamul (short-leaf water dropwort) squid rice bowl.

The eggplant doenjang rice bowl has grilled eggplant and a deep, thick doenjang (fermented soybean paste) with fragrant chives on top. Honestly, since it's a dish built around eggplant, I didn't go in with huge expectations — some people love eggplant, but plenty dislike the mushy texture, my partner included.. But once we mixed the grilled eggplant with rice, doenjang, and chives, what came through wasn't so much the eggplant flavor as the deep flavor of the doenjang combined with the other ingredients;; The doenjang especially was just so good. Salty yet savory, and the balance when mixed with rice was so good. The chives added a bit of aroma too.

It's less a dish where eggplant is the loud main character and more one where the doenjang and chives catch the soft texture of the eggplant and pull the flavor together. So I felt like even someone who isn't usually a huge eggplant fan could eat it well — genuinely well ;; I don't personally dislike eggplant, so maybe that's why I enjoyed it so much. Wrapping it with rice in seaweed worked well too! The seaweed itself wasn't heavily seasoned, so it stayed clean and didn't compete with the doenjang flavor — it paired nicely with the dish.

What does the chamnamul squid rice bowl taste like?

The chamnamul squid rice bowl has spicy squid, crunchy bean sprouts, and fragrant chamnamul, so the texture shifts a bit with every bite. Squid alone can be plain and one-note, but the bean sprouts add crunch in between and the chamnamul brings aroma, so the combination worked well. The spicy seasoning especially paired well with the rice.

Personally, the eggplant doenjang rice bowl felt savory and calm, while the chamnamul squid rice bowl felt punchy and appetite-grabbing. So I'd recommend ordering both and sharing!

And for rice bowls like these, the rice itself matters, right? The rice overall was solid. It had good texture, which made it easy to mix with the sauce and ingredients. Those who know food know that mixing bibimbap with chopsticks is the fundamentals, right? The broth soup was light and easy to sip alongside, so we scooped a spoonful here and there throughout the meal. Overall, my takeaway was that Hyangtaek does a good job bringing a modern take to Korean food.

Few side dishes, all the focus on the main dish

My impression of Hyangtaek Daegu Jongno Branch is that it's a bit different from old-school rice places that lay out tons of side dishes — it focuses the flavor on the main menu item. So if you're someone who loves a spread of generous side dishes, this might feel like a letdown, but I actually liked that the focus stayed on the dish itself. The prices weren't super cheap, but they weren't particularly burdensome either!

Personally, the eggplant doenjang rice bowl was way, waaaaay better than I initially expected (you really have to try it) (rice police, eggplant being this delicious — you have to eat it), and the chamnamul squid rice bowl should satisfy you comfortably if you like spicy flavors.

Is Hyangtaek Daegu Jongno Branch worth a weeknight dinner?

If you're looking for somewhere to eat around Jongno in Daegu, the location is solid and the route to Starbucks afterward is convenient! In the end, it felt close to a clean Korean meal built well around an ingredient combination. Next time I go back, I'd like to try some of the menu items I missed this time.

My conclusion for the day: I thought eggplant was rice police material, but here it was legendary good. If you want to eat in a quiet, hanok-style atmosphere around Jongno in Daegu, this is worth stopping by! A neat, tasty spread of food. The hanok atmosphere is calm and lovely 🤎 The eggplant doenjang rice bowl is the top pick even an eggplant-hater approved. You really have to try it.