Family dinner with kids at a Gimcheon grill restaurant: Sonamu Sikdang

Trying to figure out dinner in Gimcheon, I ended up at Sonamu Sikdang Gimcheon Main Branch, a place locals apparently flock to.

I figured a weekday evening would be a bit quiet, but nope... 😂 When I arrived, it was already packed with people eating. Even on a weekday evening, this crowd told me I'd found a real Gimcheon local favorite before I even walked in. And once I tasted the food, I immediately understood why it's so popular. 🔥

Where is Sonamu Sikdang in Gimcheon, and where do you park?

Sonamu Sikdang Gimcheon Main Branch is located at 8-21 Hanji 1-gil, Apo-eup, Gimcheon-si, Gyeongbuk, and is open 11:00–20:00, closed every Tuesday. One thing that's great news if you're driving: there's a public parking lot right in front of the restaurant, so parking was easy. 🚗 It's actually a fairly spacious lot, so it's a fine place to come to eat by car.

• 📍 Location: 8-21 Hanji 1-gil, Apo-eup, Gimcheon-si, Gyeongbuk, South Korea
• ⏰ Hours: 11:00–20:00 (closed every Tuesday)
• 🚗 Parking: Free at the public parking lot in front of the restaurant

Is Sonamu Sikdang good with a toddler? Baby chairs, yes

From the outside, Sonamu Sikdang Gimcheon Main Branch has a big sign reading 'grilled skewer/griddle specialty restaurant' (seokswoe-gui jeonmunjeom).

Inside, it's less a flashy trendy restaurant and more the comfortable feel of a place that's been loved in the neighborhood for a long time.

They also have a baby chair ready, so it was great to visit with a little one.

We visited with our kid, and the soy-sauce grilled meat we ordered that day went down so well that I felt like I'd picked the right menu. Haha.

Sonamu Sikdang menu and the 2-serving minimum

Looking at the menu board, every item requires a minimum order of 2 servings, and only seasoned grilled meat and grilled squid can be added one serving at a time. We ordered 2 servings of soy-sauce grilled meat (seokswoe ganjang) + 2 servings of ojam bulgogi that day. And rice on top of that!

Eight side dishes worth eating at Sonamu Sikdang

Before the main dishes arrived, a full spread of side dishes came out first — seasoned bean sprouts, a cabbage side, broccoli, garlic, ssamjang (dipping paste), and more, all good pairings for the grilled meat.

I'm someone who quietly judges a restaurant by its side dishes. Here, there wasn't a single one I skipped. Rather than aggressively bold flavors, they were sides that paired well with the main meat, so my chopsticks kept reaching for them.

They apparently make all 8 side dishes themselves. Eating them really did feel like a home-cooked meal, with everything fitting together well.

Two servings of soy-sauce grilled meat, straight off the briquettes

Finally, the soy-sauce grilled meat arrived! The plate came piled high with meat, glistening with an appetizing sheen. ✨ But the first bite made it clear — it's really about that fire flavor. 🔥🔥

Grilled over charcoal briquettes, it's not just a simple sweet soy-sauce marinade — there's a gentle smoky flavor rising through it in waves, and it's really good.

The soy-sauce seasoning also wasn't overly sweet or salty, making it perfect to eat with rice. And best of all — it wasn't spicy, so my kid ate it up happily!

Going to a meat restaurant with a kid usually means agonizing over separate adult and kid menus, but this time, having the soy-sauce grilled meat alone naturally solved my kid's rice side dish situation. 👍

My kid must have really liked it, since they kept picking it up to eat. Haha. If you're visiting with kids, I really recommend the soy-sauce grilled meat.

Ojam bulgogi: squid and pork belly with real fire flavor

If the soy-sauce grilled meat was great for eating with a kid, the ojam bulgogi grill was the one that really captured the adult palate.

With red seasoning coating everything evenly and a generous mix of squid and meat, it's a dish that calls for rice just from the look of it. 🤤 It's noticeably different from a plain stir-fried ojam bulgogi.

The distinctive smoky flavor from direct charcoal grilling really comes alive within the seasoning. A bite of meat, a spoonful of rice, a piece of squid, another spoonful of rice... it's a genuine rice-vanishing course. 😂

What I especially liked was the squid's texture! No chewiness or toughness — it was really tender and soft.

They use domestic East Sea squid and score it by hand themselves. Tasting it, the squid's texture really stood out.

Personally: soy-sauce grilled meat = great for eating with kids, ojam bulgogi = for adults who love spicy seasoning plus smoky flavor. Ordering both together made for a really great combination.

Order rice at Sonamu Sikdang and the doenjang stew is free

When we ordered rice, doenjang stew (soybean paste stew) came along with it. The restaurant's signage also states that ordering rice gets you a doenjang stew made with house soybean paste as a complimentary item.

Eating meat and rice, then taking a spoonful of warm doenjang stew — yeah, that combination is impossible to resist. Haha.

With a full grilled meat spread plus doenjang stew, it really was a hearty meal.

Icy plum tea to finish the meal

And that wasn't the end. After the meal, they finish you off with a cool plum tea with little bits of ice floating in it!

This turned out to be a quiet stroke of genius. 💚 After all that smoky meat and the spicy ojam bulgogi, my mouth felt a little heavy, but one sip of the cool plum tea and everything felt cleared out! It was the perfect palate cleanser. I walked out feeling great to the very end.

Verdict: a filling family dinner in Apo-eup, Gimcheon

Sonamu Sikdang Gimcheon Main Branch was busy enough with a steady stream of customers even on a weekday evening. Tasting the food, I understood why locals keep coming back. What I liked most of all was that distinctive smoky flavor from charcoal grilling! 🔥

The soy-sauce grilled meat wasn't spicy, so my kid ate it happily, and the ojam bulgogi was delicious with its smoky seasoning and tender squid. Every side dish was tasty too, and the icy plum tea at the end was the perfect finish to the evening! If you're looking for a family-friendly place in Gimcheon or a local favorite restaurant in Gimcheon, I'd recommend trying a full spread of charcoal-grilled dishes at Sonamu Sikdang Gimcheon Main Branch. 😊 Especially recommended if you love that smoky flavor! 🔥