Gangseo Korean restaurant, 20-person room and kiosk refills: Mikodam

I ended up here by chance, and found a clean, well-put-together Korean set-menu restaurant that's perfect for office lunch gatherings or bringing your parents along in this neighborhood — review time, let's go@@@

Where is Mikodam Magok-Balsan Branch, and the basics

Mikodam Magok-Balsan Branch is a Korean set-menu restaurant a 3-minute walk from Exit 4 of Balsan Station. You can reserve through Naver, and there's a room that fits up to 20 people, which makes it great for group gatherings.

• 3-minute walk from Balsan Station Exit 4
• Naver Reservation available (even comes with free beef jeon on birthdays)
• A room that fits up to 20 people — perfect for gatherings!
• Parking available! (4-story parking building with 77 spaces)

We walked there, but I heard parking is easy, so driving over seems fine too

Here's the exterior. A clean-looking Korean set-menu restaurant

Inside Mikodam: table seating and high chairs for babies

Inside Mikodam Magok-Balsan Branch, the space is set up spaciously with tables for 4 to 6 people. The interior is so clean it feels like a proper Korean set-menu restaurant from the decor alone!

When we visited, there were maybe two couple tables? Family groups made up most of the customers. There was even a baby at the table across from us, and baby chairs were well prepared, so families with kids should have no trouble

Each partition is divided by something like pink muhly reed grass, and the soft color matched the restaurant's mood really well (I'm genuinely into checking out restaurant interiors haha)

The 20-person and 12-person rooms: ideal for a lunch gathering

Toward the back of Mikodam Magok-Balsan Branch, everything behind closed doors is a room! There are two rooms — the left one fits up to 20 people and is quite spacious, and the right one fits up to 12 and is a comfortable size.

The 12-person room was closed, but I got a look when other guests were leaving, and it was really pleasant too. If my office were in this neighborhood, it'd be perfect for a lunch gathering...(❁´◡`❁)

Mikodam menu and set prices for 2, 3 and 4 people

You order from the kiosk set up at each table, and most people go for the set matching their headcount. It seems like every dish included in the sets is also available separately!

• 2-person set: ₩46,000
• 3-person set: ₩62,000
• 4-person set: ₩92,000

How to choose the options in the 46,000 won set for two

I ordered the 2-person set, and each part of it had several options to choose from

• Option 1: choice of beef, flounder, or abalone (+₩4,000) seaweed soup
• Option 2: choice of vinegared or soy-marinated cockle mix
• Option 3: choice of beef jeon, soy-marinated crab, or LA galbi (+₩20,000)
• +) The 3-person set lets you pick 2 from option 2, and the 4-person set lets you pick 2 each from options 1 through 3!

The 2-person set already comes with a ton of main-dish-level items, and on top of that I get to choose them myself?!?! I went with abalone seaweed soup, vinegared cockles, and beef jeon.

There's also a rolled egg on the table as a review event, but the menu already felt like way too much, so I held off on adding it just in case — good thing I did, because the portions are seriously huge...hahaha

They give you regular bottled water, and the spoons come individually wrapped like in the photo. Personally I much prefer being handed water like this that I open myself rather than a shared water jug, and individually wrapped utensils feel more hygienic too — I was already impressed before the food even arrived. They clearly put a lot of thought into this...!

Refilling side dishes from the kiosk at your table

And here's the great thing about Mikodam — you can refill side dishes through the kiosk! At Korean restaurants you end up eating tons of side dishes, and having to flag down staff every time is a hassle... and if they're busy, they can't even come right away. But having it on a kiosk like this...so nice

The first side dishes to arrive — I love that japchae (stir-fried glass noodles) and jeyuk (spicy stir-fried pork) are included as side dishes~ and they're plated so neatly, which is a nice touch.

How do the abalone seaweed soup, cockles, mackerel and beef jeon taste?

First up, the abalone seaweed soup! Maybe because it's for two people, they put in two abalones — and they were sizable, scooping up big in the ladle!

ㅠ_ㅠ As a seaweed soup addict, this was simmered so thoroughly that the rich, deep flavor was exactly what I wanted.

The vinegared cockles! A style kind of like whelk salad — vinegared cockles that basically demand a beer haha. They were perfect for cutting through the richness in between other dishes. But I ordered them thinking of Gangneung-style cockle bibimbap... why did I pick the vinegared version instead of the soy-marinated one.... Next time I'm definitely getting the soy-marinated one

Next, the mackerel. An absolutely huge mackerel. It looked well-charred but was moist inside — genuinely delicious. And it wasn't too salty, which I appreciated. Salted mackerel can sometimes be so salty it's hard to eat, but this one was seasoned just right

And finally, the real star — beef jeon. Not a single piece of meat was tough; it was all grilled soft and tender, and the tangy chive salad on the side went perfectly with it.

This is how much food 46,000 won for two brings

And here's the moment you've been waiting for, the full spread shot. Beef jeon, cockles, mackerel, abalone seaweed soup — basically all main-dish-level items gathered together, and this is ₩46,000 for two people? Maybe I've just been beaten down by high prices these days, but isn't this insane value...? In Yeouido, just the seaweed soup alone is ₩15,000......?

And the portions were huge on top of that. There's no way two people finish this. I couldn't even dream of a side-dish refill — there were side dishes I never even touched. You'd need two big eaters plus two bowls of rice to actually clear all of this...!?!? How do they make any money giving this much...unbelievable

And on top of that, on the way out you get free plum tea, sikhye (sweet rice punch), and coffee. I felt like I'd eaten so much, so I downed a glass of plum tea to help digest

I visited by chance but was so, so, so satisfied that I'll definitely be back whenever I'm craving Korean set-menu food

Mikodam Magok-Balsan Branch: the verdict

• If you're looking for a great Korean set-menu restaurant near Magok/Balsan Station, this is the place
• Under ₩50,000 for the 2-person set
• And yet it comes with 4 main-dish-level items...
• Free beef jeon on birthdays too
• Two large rooms make it great for company or family events
• Even the bathroom is clean (it's inside)
• Would definitely visit again — very satisfied