Ondol room dining for family meetings in Gwangju: Tams Badaetgaja

Looking for a good spot in Gwangju for a first meeting between two families, or a tidy family gathering? I recently found a really classy hanjeongsik-style lobster restaurant near Jisan Recreation Area, so I wanted to share it with you all. It's Tams Badaetgaja!

Worried lobster might be too expensive? That's exactly when you should go for the Tams Half Course, Tams Badaetgaja's lunch special. Compared to other lobster places out there, this one had really good value for money. And the quality didn't fall short either!

From here on, I'll cover everything — parking and waiting info, the vibe of the rooms, how fresh the lobster was, and the taste review!

Parking info and the exterior

It's located near Jisan Recreation Area in Gwangju, so it's nice to visit as part of a walk, or you can just drive there with your navigation set.

It's shaped like a white house, bigger than you'd expect, right? It says "Tams Lobster" in English on the sign haha.

Here's a quick parking tip!

• Use the private parking lot in front of the restaurant
• Or use the nearby free public parking lot

The restaurant's own lot is pretty spacious too, right?

Tams Badaetgaja's signature menus are all course meals, and since we visited for lunch, we planned to have the lunch special, the Tams Half Course. (I was excited from the entrance already.)

Apparently Tams Badaetgaja has been around since 2003, and it's still going strong even after relocating and expanding to Jisan-dong.

They were even selected as a Gwangju City recommended restaurant in 2016–2017, apparently. (A true local favorite, confirmed??)

Interior and the Seogijipdang story

Once you step through the entrance, there's a counter and lots of greenery — bamboo and plants everywhere! There was a cute figure with the reservation list written on it haha.

A giant tank that hits you right at the entrance

And the real star of the show — the huge tank you see the moment you walk in! Can you see how packed it is with live Canadian lobster?

They all looked so fresh you could feel the owner's pride, right? They said they only use Grade-A live Canadian lobster. Just looking at them made my mouth water already, ha.

There's also detailed info about Tams Badaetgaja displayed in the restaurant, so give it a read before you sit down! It said Canadian lobster takes 10 years just to grow past 1kg, so you can imagine how much care the owner puts into it.

Tams Badaetgaja also has a great forest view! Looking out at the natural scenery from inside was really relaxing and healing.

How many people can fit in a room?

Inside, there are standard tables and also seated (ondol) tables. This area has heated-floor rooms, and there are a lot of them. Remove the partition walls between rooms and it can hold up to 38 people!

There are private rooms too~! Really perfect for a first-meeting-between-families kind of occasion.

Bamboo and other trees fill the space everywhere, right? Gives off an eco-friendly feel haha — older guests would especially love it.

The Seogijipdang plaque

Hanging inside one of the rooms is a plaque with the Chinese characters for Seogijipdang (서기집당), which means "a place where auspicious energy gathers."

Apparently it was hand-written by the owner's father — the calligraphy skill is next level, right? Impressive... haha. No wonder it looked so good; when I asked, he's apparently won awards in calligraphy competitions.

Menu and prices

The menu is split into the Tams Course, Special Tams Course, Couple Course, and Lunch Special Course.

We picked the Tams Half Course, the lunch special only available for order until 2 p.m. (We visited at lunch on purpose haha.)

📍Today's menu📍 Tams Half Course (37,000 won per person) — lobster soup and garlic bread, salad, nude gimbap and sushi, cold noodles in broth, grilled lobster in sauce (half), specialty fried rice and lobster soup, dessert coffee

Lobster course meals usually run over 50,000 won per person, but the lunch special here is 37,000 won per person, so it's absolutely great value. The atmosphere is upscale too, so it's perfect for gatherings where you want a classy vibe without breaking the bank. (Perfect for taking parents out, or a first meeting between two families haha.)

Tams Badaetgaja is also running a review event right now! Post an SNS review and you get one bottle of a drink or a glass of juice per table, apparently haha.

The Tams Half Course, walked through

Now let me walk you through the Tams Half Course I'd been waiting so long for!

1. The basic table setting

This is lemon water! I honestly thought it was for drinking, but turns out it's for washing your hands lol. Close call.

Next up, salad and caprese came out as appetizers! The salad dressing was so refreshing >-< and isn't the little sauce dish so fancy too? Perfect as a starter haha.

Next came lobster soup and jellyfish salad! The jellyfish salad was tangy and had a great chewy bite.

After that, thin noodles arrived in a warm broth. It's made by simmering lobster shells, so the umami was on another level. Didn't let me down, as expected haha.

Really elegant and upscale, right? With a setting like this I'd expect to pay at least 50,000–100,000 won per person, and honestly I got a little worried about the owner's wallet, haha.

I also loved having our own private room, and it was so touching seeing dish after dish laid out neatly along the long table haha.

2. The main event of the Tams Half Course: half a lobster

Let me introduce today's much-anticipated main dish, the Tams Lobster~! Since it's the lunch-special half course, it comes with half a lobster — but look at the portion size! First time I've seen "half" come out this big...!

True to the name "Tams" (which means "luscious"), doesn't the lobster look genuinely luscious? The meat-to-shell ratio was great too, so it was super easy to pick apart!

Eating the fried rice that came alongside together with the lobster meat — honestly, nothing beats that combo haha.

Springy, chewy texture with a hint of butter aroma wafting through — it was great to savor on its own too. Total win.

Check the video too for the luscious look of the Tams Lobster! Plenty of portion and the meat is nice and thick, right?

For dessert, we could choose between lobster tonic tea and brewed coffee. I wanted to try both, so I picked both! The lobster tonic tea was really my style personally — you have to try it :)

Recommendation and overall review

Tams Badaetgaja is a really great spot to take your parents! People from Jeolla-do are known for having picky palates, but even my own parents loved it here~! I'd recommend it for family gatherings, first birthday parties, or a first meeting between two families whenever you want a tidy, elegant full spread~!