Seocho Korean restaurant with tender pork bone soup: Chomu Gamjatang

I found a great spot in Yangjae. It’s Chomu Gamjatang (초무 감자탕), over in Poi-dong along Yangjaecheon Stream. I stopped by for a lunchtime appointment, and immediately understood why it was so packed.

Chomu Gamjatang near Yangjaecheon: location and parking

It’s on the first floor at 59 Nonhyeon-ro, Seocho-gu, Seoul, about a 7-minute walk from Exit 2 of Yangjae Citizens' Forest Station on the Shinbundang Line. Hours are 11:00–22:00 daily, with last orders at 21:30.

Even the exterior has a hanok (traditional Korean house) feel, giving off major “they must make amazing Korean food” energy... The kind of restaurant you could just walk into while passing by and probably not go wrong.

There’s room for about 4–5 cars in front, but you need to account for double parking. It was completely full at lunchtime because there were so many customers. Since it’s only a 7-minute walk from Yangjae Citizens' Forest Station, I recommend walking over as a little stroll. You can walk along nearby Yangjaecheon Stream after eating to help digest, too~.~

The interior is nicely spacious. We visited at weekday lunch, and we were almost the last table; a small wait started behind us. (Lucky..)

We got to sit by the window like this, and the exterior-style décor was so pretty that it felt like we’d come somewhere on a little trip for a meal.

This is the view from the window seat! They really nailed the hanok-style interior..

Pork bone soup and pork cutlet: an unexpectedly good pairing

As you’d expect from a Poi-dong favorite, it specializes in gamjatang (pork bone soup), but it also sells pork cutlet. It’s a slightly unexpected combination, but once we tried them together, they worked far better than I expected. This time, I ordered the pork bone soup and pork cutlet to share. Both come with a bowl of rice!

Since it was lunchtime, lots of people were clearly having the individual pork bone soup served in ttukbaegi (earthenware bowls). I got the feeling that more people probably order gamjatang at dinner.

They set out the first round of side dishes like this, then you can refill whatever you need yourself at the self-serve bar. It was kept very neatly.

The texture of the meat in the ttukbaegi pork bone soup

The star of this restaurant’s ttukbaegi pork bone soup is the meat. Not only is there plenty of meat on the bones, it’s so tender you can cut it with chopsticks. The broth was clean rather than heavy, so it would satisfy whether you came to recover from a night out or simply to eat a good meal.

If an individual serving is this good, the pot-served gamjatang must be delicious too, so next time I’m ordering that. If you’re with three or more people, I recommend going straight for the pot.

And I was very happy with the pork cutlet, too. It came topped with sauce like a Korean-style old-school pork cutlet, and it was both crispy and tender. The sauce had a really nutty peanut-like flavor(?) that went so well with the cutlet.

One bowl has three bones loaded with this much meat..... ❤️ Rice is included, of course. The meat was incredibly tender and substantial, so eating it with rice left me very satisfyingly full.

The pork cutlet is this tender when you cut into it, too.

Weekday lunch waits and a Yangjaecheon stroll

I visited at weekday lunch, and the seats filled up with nearby office workers. Turnover was fairly quick, so the wait wasn’t long, but you may have to wait a bit right around 12:00–1:00, just so you know.

Yangjaecheon Stream is just a short walk from the restaurant, and the path along the water is well maintained for strolling. After a hearty gamjatang meal, there’s no better route for a digestive walk. It’s also a great little path for office workers with short lunch breaks to get some fresh air after eating.

Next time: pot-served gamjatang

If you’re looking for a great restaurant in Yangjae or Poi-dong, I strongly recommend Chomu Gamjatang. The quality of the meat in the ttukbaegi pork bone soup alone is more than enough reason to return, and next time I’m trying the pot-served gamjatang. Parking is not especially plentiful, so use public transportation or walk if possible—and walking on to Yangjaecheon Stream after your meal makes for the perfect little course.