Sokcho makguksu restaurant: Sunday 1 p.m. booking for 4 — Topgol

Today I'm at Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch, a famous makguksu (cold buckwheat noodle) spot and go-to place for perilla oil buckwheat noodles in Sokcho — let's get right into the review!!

Where is Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch, and where do you park?

Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch is located at 12 Haeoreum-ro 188beon-gil.

Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch

There's a big public parking lot right in front of Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch haha. If you eat there and register your parking, you get 2 hours of support, so keep that in mind.

What's on the tablet menu at Sokcho Topgol Makguksu?

At Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch, a mecca for deulmemak (perilla oil makguksu), you order from a tablet at each table. There's everything from perilla oil makguksu to regular makguksu to perilla kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup), plus lots of good sides like potato pancake, acorn jelly, buckwheat pancake rolls, and dumplings haha. They even have a kids' menu with jjajangbap, so it's great for families too.

They're also running a Naver receipt review event, so I'd recommend checking that out to get a free buckwheat king mandu haha.

Sunday 1 p.m. visit: why a reservation is a must

We visited Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch around 1 p.m. on a Sunday, having booked in advance through Naver haha.

It was a weekend, but even after peak time had passed, customers kept coming in. Reserving ahead is a must! You can book until 9:30 a.m. the same day, so I definitely recommend making a reservation before you go haha.

This place is already famous for its buckwheat makguksu, so a lot of influencers have visited too. There are plenty of group customers, and since they have high chairs, it's also a great spot for families with young kids haha.

The inside had strong air conditioning, was nice and cool, and was clean, so we had a pleasant meal.

The basic side dishes are radish salad and yeolmu kimchi (young radish kimchi), and you can refill them yourself at the self-serve bar. The radish salad and yeolmu kimchi tasted like the real clean, crisp kimchi you get in Gangwon-do — so good.

The signature perilla oil buckwheat makguksu

First up was the perilla oil buckwheat makguksu, which is the signature menu item at Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch.

Chewy, springy buckwheat noodles topped with plenty of perilla leaves, ground perilla seeds, seaweed flakes, and perilla oil — nutty and great texture haha.

The perilla oil was seriously delicious. The fragrant perilla leaves, the nuttiness of the seaweed, and the texture of the perilla seeds all came together so well haha.

You can enjoy the pure perilla oil flavor first, then add a splash of dongchimi (radish water kimchi) broth to it if you like haha.

Buckwheat makguksu: mixed, with dongchimi broth on the side

Next we ordered the buckwheat makguksu. Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch doesn't separate water-style and mixed-style makguksu — ordering makguksu gets you the basic mixed version, with dongchimi broth served separately so you can add vinegar and mustard to your taste.

The buckwheat makguksu had a red sauce, but it wasn't too spicy even for spice wimps like us, so we could enjoy it easily.

The noodles were chewy, well-seasoned, and had great texture, so it was delicious.

Here's the dongchimi broth served on the side — super refreshing and tasty haha.

After eating some of the mixed makguksu, we poured in plenty of dongchimi broth, vinegar, and mustard — a whole different, great flavor haha.

How the buckwheat perilla kalguksu broth tastes

We also ordered buckwheat perilla kalguksu, which is a knife-cut noodle soup with buckwheat noodles in a rich perilla broth, topped with carrot, seaweed flakes, and perilla seeds for a nice look and taste.

The broth was super thick, rich, and nutty, pairing really well with the buckwheat noodles haha.

A potato pancake bigger than the plate

We also ordered the potato pancake, and it was seriously delicious. It comes out in a huge size that overflows the plate, so great value for money too.

It's fried crispy, so it has a texture like eating potato fries.

They gave us a roller cutter for it, so we could cut it easily haha. It was crispy and well-cooked with shredded potato pressed together — so good.

Dipping it lightly in soy sauce made it even better. Four of us visited and ordered 3 makguksu bowls and 1 potato pancake, and we left stuffed to bursting haha.

The photo zone at the entrance

There's an Instagram-worthy photo zone and a camera booth at the entrance of Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch, great for capturing memories. We took a photo there after finishing our meal too.

If you're looking for a great makguksu restaurant in Sokcho, a mecca for deulmemak, why not visit Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch?