Seoul snack restaurant for rice tteokbokki: Deokjane Bangatgan

It was one of those days when I was craving spicy-sweet tteokbokki (stir-fried rice cakes). So I headed to Deokjane Bangatgan (덕자네방앗간), a place that makes tteokbokki with garaetteok rice cakes pressed fresh in the shop every morning. A genuinely great tteokbokki spot that was even featured on Waiting for a Restaurant. Here is my honest review after going in with high expectations!!

Deokjane Bangatgan location and essential information

Address: 62 Seocho-daero 77-gil, L1 Floor, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea. Hours: 11:00 - 20:30. It is near Sinnonhyeon Station Exit 7, and its signature is the garaetteok rice cakes made fresh in-house every day.

A comfortable atmosphere for solo dining near Sinnonhyeon Station

It was close to Sinnonhyeon Station Exit 7, so it was easy to find. The restaurant was neat and orderly, with plenty of space between tables. There were also seats that worked well for eating alone, so I could enjoy my meal comfortably.

We ordered tteokbokki, tuna gimbap, and jjolmyeon

The classics of Korean snack food: tteokbokki, gimbap (seaweed rice roll), and jjolmyeon (chewy wheat noodles). We ordered tteokbokki, tuna gimbap, and jjolmyeon.

Jjolmyeon with sauce you can adjust

Chewy noodles with a sweet-and-tangy sauce. It really wakes up your appetite. You can add as much sauce as you like, which was nice.

Signature tteokbokki topped with potato salad

This is the house signature. Thick garaetteok rice cakes were generously coated in spicy-sweet sauce, then topped with soft potato salad. The rice cakes were seriously chewy—soft yet springy, like rice cakes freshly pressed at a mill. So good!! The spicy sauce and the nutty, creamy potato salad were an unexpectedly excellent pairing too.

Tuna gimbap, a perfect match for tteokbokki

Gimbap and tteokbokki are a perfect match. We ordered the tuna gimbap, and it was packed full. The savory tuna mayo and crisp vegetables went together beautifully.

Complimentary fish-cake broth

Warm fish-cake broth comes as a complimentary basic side, even without ordering it. Having it with the spicy tteokbokki refreshed my palate.

The potato salad and rice-cake combination

Deokjane Bangatgan was a terrific tteokbokki spot for properly experiencing the appeal of chewy rice cakes. The chewiness of its daily-made garaetteok was unlike anywhere else. If you are looking for delicious rice-cake tteokbokki near Sinnonhyeon Station, I recommend Deokjane Bangatgan.

Potato salad on tteokbokki? I have to praise this combination. This is that very place from Waiting for a Restaurant. It was obvious why it is famous. The garaetteok they press themselves at the mill every morning is different from the thickness alone. It is soft and chewy, with that distinctive density of rice cake that comes through more and more as you chew.

Their signature is to add soft potato salad on top. Nutty potato salad with spicy-sweet tteokbokki sauce—at first it felt a little unfamiliar, but one bite made me want to smack my forehead. It tempers the heat and adds a creamy softness.

The tuna gimbap we ordered is practically meant to be thoroughly dipped in the tteokbokki sauce. The savory tuna mayo blends with the spicy seasoning to make the flavors even richer. Alternating bites of tangy jjolmyeon and spicy tteokbokki also felt like a nice way to clear the palate.

And you can help yourself to as much hot fish-cake broth as you want, so that is another cannot-miss tip. Good.