Ansan restaurant with unlimited gondre rice refills: Yeongwolae Gondre

Today I'm bringing you a review of Yeongwolae Gondre Ansan Branch, a Gojan-dong restaurant that left me satisfied with hearty, well-prepared Korean food.

Right from the entrance, the 'Excellent Food Hygiene Grade' sign caught my eye, so I could walk in feeling reassured.

Stepping inside, sunlight poured in through the big windows and everything looked so clean — I liked it from the first impression.

Inside Yeongwolae Gondre Ansan Branch: dining room, private rooms and waiting area

Yeongwolae Gondre Ansan Branch is on the 2nd floor of Gojan Praum City. The space is wide and bright, well suited to family gatherings or group meals.

There are well-set-up private group rooms, great for gatherings, plus plenty of baby chairs, making it perfect for dining out with kids too.

A separate waiting area with sofas stood out — even if there's a wait, you can sit comfortably.

Clean and friendly — I could see why this Gojan-dong, Ansan restaurant is so popular nearby.

How much are the Jeju soy-marinated crab and pork bulgogi set meals, and how do they taste?

I ordered the Jeju soy-marinated crab set meal for ₩22,000 and the Yeongwol pork bulgogi set meal for ₩18,000.

• Jeju soy-marinated crab set meal (₩22,000)
• Yeongwol pork bulgogi set meal (₩18,000)

The crab came piled generously onto the plate — I gasped just looking at it. The meat was so packed in that a light press with chopsticks made plump crab meat spill right out.

The soy sauce wasn't too salty or too sweet, with a deep savory flavor, so even squeezing the crab meat straight onto rice felt totally satisfying and went down easily. If you love crab, you can enjoy plenty without worrying about portion size.

The pork bulgogi had a lovely smoky char, and despite its deep color, it really wasn't spicy. The seasoning was mildly sweet-spicy rather than sharp, so kids or anyone who can't handle spice could enjoy it too.

The meat had no gamey smell, was tender, and well-seasoned — piling a big piece on top of the gondre rice filled my mouth with nutty, savory flavor.

What's on the self-serve bar, from fresh lettuce wraps to side dishes

At the self-serve bar of Yeongwolae Gondre Ansan Branch, you can take as many lettuce wraps and extra side dishes as you like. Personally, I loved being able to grab endless wrap greens.

The lettuce and various wrap greens, kept in a fresh-storage case, looked vibrant and crisp just to look at.

Wrapping the mild, well-seasoned pork bulgogi in a big fresh leaf made me feel healthy just eating it.

You can also freely refill extra side dishes at the self-serve bar — the lotus root side dish in nutty perilla seasoning, still crunchy, was so good I refilled it several times. I usually don't like this side dish, so I was surprised how much I enjoyed it.

This Gojan-dong, Ansan restaurant clearly puts a lot of care into its basic side dishes.

Unlimited gondre rice refills with the soy-marinated crab

The real highlight of Yeongwolae Gondre Ansan Branch is being able to freely refill gondre rice or plain rice at the self-serve bar.

Fragrant gondre rice, drizzled with a bit of soy sauce and mixed together, was already full of nutty flavor on its own — then piling on a generous scoop of the salty, meaty Jeju crab made it downright addictive.

There was so much crab that I lost count of how many times I went back for more gondre rice to mix in.

The dessert drinks, sikhye (sweet rice punch) and maesil-cha (plum tea), were also refreshingly cold and delicious — make sure to grab some.

Packaged side dishes and traditional snacks sold by the register

When I paid after the meal, I noticed a separate packaged side-dish fridge and a snack stand by the counter.

The lotus root salad, various kimchi, and seasoned side dishes I enjoyed in the restaurant were neatly packaged for sale, great for anyone who wants to enjoy the same taste at home. Beside the register, traditional snacks like nutty peanut twist cookies and gangjeong (rice puff confections) were also neatly displayed — perfect to pick up as a post-meal treat or a gift.

A spacious, sunlit dining room, private rooms, a comfortable waiting area, and baby chairs all set up well — this is a great Gojan-dong restaurant to visit with anyone.

I'd definitely recommend it if you want to enjoy a generous, well-prepared crab dish, mild pork bulgogi the whole family can eat, and plenty of fragrant gondre rice.

Yeongwolae Gondre Ansan Branch location, hours and parking in Gojan-dong

• Address: 33 Danggok-ro, Danwon-gu, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, 2nd floor, Gojan Praum City
• Hours: Daily 10:40–20:50
• Parking: Park at Praum City underground parking and register for 2 hours. Search '고잔프라움시티 주차장' (Gojan Praum City parking) and come up to the 2nd floor
• The public parking lot in front of the building is paid
• Room reservations via Naver are available for groups of 5 or more