Menu Korea

Korean-Chinese · Euljiro · Since 1948

A Korean-Chinese restaurant open since 1948 and the place credited with creating gul-jjamppong: a white, gently spicy noodle soup packed with oysters. Order it plain or spicy, with crisp shrimp toast on the side.

Korean BBQ · Dongdaemun · Since 1973

The oldest name in Hwanghak-dong's pork-intestine alley, open since 1973. Pork makchang (the last section of the intestine) is seared over charcoal briquettes, then finished at your table with salt or a chili marinade; the stir-fried yachae-gopchang with vegetables is the other classic. Strictly for adventurous eaters, and best with soju.

Home-style meals · Itaewon · Since 1970

The home of johnson-tang, Itaewon's own take on budae-jjigae (army stew), serving since around 1970. Instead of a spicy chili broth, ham, sausages and beans simmer in a rich beef-bone broth with cabbage and melted cheese. Order a plate of their big beef sausages on the side.

Soups & stews · Myeongdong · Since 1971

A Myeongdong samgyetang house open since 1971. A whole young chicken stuffed with sticky rice and ginseng comes bubbling in a clear, gentle broth, with a small shot of ginseng liquor on the side. Upgrade to the version with cultivated wild ginseng root, or try the black-skinned silkie chicken.

Soups & stews · Jongno · Since 1937

Seoul's most famous hangover soup house, serving since 1937. Its yang-seonji haejangguk is a clear, savory beef broth with soft cubes of congealed ox blood, tripe and cabbage, eaten with rice and radish kimchi. It opens at 6 in the morning, near Gwanghwamun and Jonggak.

Soups & stews · Dongdaemun · Since 1981

A hangover soup house in an alley behind the DDP, feeding Dongdaemun's wholesale traders since 1981. There is basically one dish: a nutty soybean-paste broth with dried cabbage, beef and seonji (congealed ox blood). It opens at 5 in the morning.

Soups & stews · Namdaemun & Seoul Station · Since 1962

A chicken soup shop from 1962 in Namdaemun Market's braised-fish alley. Dak-gomtang here is a plain, restorative bowl of clear broth, chicken and rice, and a meat set meal is the other favorite. It suits a quick solo market lunch.

Soups & stews · Hongdae · Since 1967

A chicken soup shop across from Hongik University's main gate, open since 1967 and still serving only two things: dak-gomtang, a clean chicken and rice soup, and dak-kalguksu, chicken noodle soup. Generations of Hongik students, professors and neighbors have eaten here.

Korean-Chinese · Dongdaemun · Since 1970

A Korean-Chinese restaurant on Jangchung-dong's food street since 1970, the kind of place local offices and Dongguk University alumni have been coming to for decades. Order the house specials, deokhwa-myeon and deokhwa-bap, alongside classic sweet-and-sour pork and black bean noodles.

Desserts · Myeongdong · Since 1968

A Chinese-Korean pastry shop across from the Chinese Embassy, baking mooncakes and walnut cookies since 1968. It sells just three things, and Seoul families have been buying them as gifts for generations.

Tearoom · Euljiro · Since 1985

A 1985 dabang, Korea's old-fashioned tearoom, famous for herbal ssanghwa tea with a raw egg yolk floating on top. BTS shot photos here, so you will find local shopkeepers and young fans from around the world sharing the same vinyl sofas.

Noodles · Yeouido & Mapo · Since 1971

One of the great names in Pyongyang naengmyeon, serving buckwheat noodles in chilled broth in a quiet Mapo lane since 1971. The broth comes slushy with ice unless you ask otherwise, and a crisp mung bean pancake or sliced boiled pork is the classic side.

Soups & stews · Namdaemun & Seoul Station · Since 1932

Open since 1932, one of Seoul's oldest restaurants for kkori-gomtang (oxtail soup), tucked into the lanes of Namdaemun Market. Beyond the oxtail soup there's seolleongtang and a beef-head soup, making it an easy stop between market stalls.

Noodles · Jongno · Since 1954

Seoul's best-known cold buckwheat noodle house since 1954. You dip chilled buckwheat noodles into a cold soy broth that you season yourself with grated radish, green onion, wasabi and seaweed. A Michelin Bib Gourmand pick between Gwanghwamun and Jonggak.

Soups & stews · Myeongdong · Since 1939

Seoul's benchmark gomtang since 1939: Korean beef and tripe in a clear, savory broth, poured over rice in a heavy brass bowl. It opens at 7 a.m., serves only breakfast and lunch, and the menu is just soup and boiled beef.

Jokbal & bossam · Seochon & Bukchon · Since 1975

"Grandma's place", a 1975 alley restaurant near Gyeongbokgung Palace that serves just two things: jokbal (braised pig's trotters) with a spicy chili-oil kick, and gamjatang, a hearty stew of pork backbones. A Michelin Bib Gourmand pick that still feels like an old neighborhood eatery.

Korean BBQ · Gangnam · Since 1939

Seoul's grand old name for bulgogi, serving since 1939. Its Seoul-style bulgogi is thin, sweet-savory marinated beef cooked at the table in a little broth, and the lunch sets add grilled galbi, rice and a spread of side dishes. A polished, family-friendly dining room where Koreans celebrate birthdays and meet in-laws.

Noodles · Jamsil · Since 1945

The Jamsil branch of a Jinju naengmyeon business going back to 1945, close to Seokchon Lake. Jinju-style cold noodles arrive under strips of yukjeon (egg-battered beef), a much heartier bowl than Seoul's plain Pyongyang style. Good after a walk around the lake.

Noodles · Jamsil · Since 1958

A third-generation noodle house that began in Busan in 1958 and is now a fixture by Bangi Market. Besides cold noodles, people come for eobok-jaengban: a brass platter of sliced beef and vegetables simmered at the table, a dish you rarely see elsewhere.

Soups & stews · Jongno · Since 1904

Often called Korea's oldest restaurant, serving seolleongtang (ox bone soup) since 1904. The broth is mild and milky, and you season it yourself at the table with salt and green onion. Breakfast is served from 8 a.m.

Home-style meals · Myeongdong · Since 1963

A classic Korean restaurant in Chungmuro since 1963, where Seoulites take parents, clients and out-of-town guests. The signature is galbi-jjim, beef short ribs braised until they fall apart, served as a set meal with rice and side dishes; eobokjaengban hot pot and its stuffed-cucumber kimchi are other favorites.

Noodles · Myeongdong · Since 1962

Seoul's most famous kongguksu: noodles in an ice-cold, almost porridge-thick soy milk broth, served since 1962. It is a summer ritual for office workers around City Hall, with lines out both doors on hot days.

Soups & stews · Jongno · Since 1978

The original shop of Dongdaemun's dakhanmari alley, open since 1978. A whole young chicken simmers in a big pot at your table; you dip the meat in a sauce you mix yourself, then cook rice cakes and noodles in the broth. It has grown to fill a three-story building plus an annex.

Pubs · Sinchon & Ewha · Since 1997

A long-running Sinchon shellfish grill, open since 1997 and claiming to have started the cheese-topped grilled shellfish that's now everywhere. There's a steamed version too. The menu outside is in English and Chinese.

Korean BBQ · Namdaemun & Seoul Station · Since 2004

A budget late-night grill house in Namyeong-dong, going since 2004. It's known for dwitgogi, flavorful pork trimmings that are cheap and full of character, and it stays open until 5 a.m.

Korean BBQ · Euljiro · Since 1937

A tiny alley restaurant serving marinated beef short ribs grilled over coal briquettes since 1937. It is one of the oldest galbi houses in Seoul, now run by the third generation.

Soups & stews · Namdaemun & Seoul Station · Since 1972

A 1972 seolleongtang house in the back lanes behind Seoul Station. Locals order the milky beef soup in the larger 'teuk' size, or the doganitang (ox knee soup), with kimchi and radish kimchi on the side.

Home-style meals · Gangnam · Since 2002

A kimchi-stew house by Garosu-gil that has been packed since 2002. Each person gets their own little pot of kimchi jjigae with pork, tuna or Spam, and regulars add a rolled omelet or the choran ttukbaegi, a soft egg stew with shrimp and squid. Office workers and foreign visitors share the tables.

Street snacks · Seochon & Bukchon · Since 1988

A dumpling house in the Bukchon lanes near Anguk Station, in the same spot since 1988 and often named among Seoul's three best for mandu. Order dumpling soup, or the noodle and dumpling combination, and expect a wait.

Street snacks · Dongdaemun · Since 1953

The shop that started Sindang-dong's famous tteokbokki alley. A big pan of rice cakes, fish cakes, ramyeon, chewy jjolmyeon noodles and dumplings is set on a burner at your table and simmers in a sweet, mild sauce of chili paste and black bean paste. Finish by frying rice in what's left.

Korean BBQ · Yeouido & Mapo · Since 1956

Keeper of Mapo's old pork barbecue tradition since 1956. Marinated pork ribs and salt-grilled pork are cooked at the table with chewy pork skin on the side, the meal this neighborhood has been known for since the 1950s. It recently moved to a new site by Daeheung Station.

Soups & stews · Yeouido & Mapo · Since 1949

A Seoul beef soup institution from 1949. Rather than relying on bones alone, it simmers beef flank and brisket into a rich, meaty broth, served as yangji-tang. It has been in the Michelin Guide for nine years running.

Soups & stews · Myeongdong · Since 1966

A seolleongtang house hidden at the end of an alley in the middle of Myeongdong's shopping streets, serving since 1966. The menu is just ox bone soup made with Korean beef and sliced boiled beef (suyuk), with excellent radish kimchi. It opens at 6 in the morning.

Home-style meals · Myeongdong · Since 1968

Since 1968 this alley restaurant near City Hall has served exactly one dish: a milky dried-pollack soup that Seoul office workers swear by for breakfast and hangovers. Sit down and the soup arrives almost at once.

Soups & stews · Euljiro · Since 1952

A third-generation seolleongtang house by Euljiro 4-ga, serving since 1952. The beef soup comes with soft sliced meat, and regulars also order the assorted suyuk, or the jok-tang (ox foot soup).

Street snacks · Myeongdong · Since 1983

A Myeongdong landmark since 1983 that sells just one thing: chungmu gimbap, little rice-only seaweed rolls eaten with fiery squid salad and crunchy radish kimchi. Business has been so good that the restaurant fills its own building.

Noodles · Myeongdong · Since 1978

A 1978 noodle house tucked in an alley behind Myeongdong Cathedral, serving Hamheung-style naengmyeon: thin, very chewy noodles, either in cold broth or tossed with a spicy sauce and raw fish. A kettle of warm beef broth on every table is part of the meal.

Noodles · Myeongdong · Since 1966

Myeongdong's most famous noodle house, serving kalguksu since 1966: knife-cut noodles in a rich chicken broth topped with minced meat and four tiny dumplings, eaten with a fiercely garlicky kimchi. Koreans and visitors alike call it a must on any Myeongdong trip.

Noodles · Hongdae · Since 1994

A Pyongyang-style dumpling house open since 1994 in the lanes between Hapjeong and Hongdae; the name means "North-South Unification". Big, mild North Korean-style dumplings go into a shared hot pot, a knife-cut noodle soup or a rice cake soup, with famously good kimchi on the side.

Soups & stews · Gangnam Station & COEX · Since 2005

A Michelin-listed seolleongtang house in Samseong-dong, not far from COEX. The ox bone soup is clean and gentle, and the sliced beef suyuk is a favorite too. The dining room is large and comfortable, including for solo diners.

Korean-Chinese · Euljiro · Since 1953

A third-generation Chinese-Korean restaurant by Euljiro 3-ga, open since 1953. Thick, crisp fried dumplings are the legend here, best with a bowl of gan-jajangmyeon. An old-fashioned place with plenty of regulars.

Noodles · Dongdaemun · Since 1953

Seoul's best-known Hamheung naengmyeon house, on Ojang-dong's cold noodle street since 1953. The thin, very chewy starch noodles come cold and spicy, topped with marinated raw skate (hoe-naengmyeon), with beef, or in a chilled broth.

Home-style meals · Itaewon · Since 2013

Neat, home-style Korean cooking in a converted house near Leeum Museum. Parc is known for dishes made from the owner's mother's recipes: seasoned vegetables with rice, kimchi fried rice, crispy cheese potato pancakes and soy-marinated LA galbi. A gentle, unfussy introduction to everyday Korean food that Koreans often choose for foreign friends.

Jokbal & bossam · Dongdaemun · Since 1961

The old-timer of Jangchung-dong's jokbal street. Jokbal is pork trotter braised for hours in a spiced soy broth, then sliced and served at room temperature: tender meat, sticky skin. Here it is mild and clean-tasting, with buckwheat makguksu noodles and mung bean pancakes on the side.

Noodles · Euljiro · Since 1950

A North Korean-style restaurant in Euljiro going back to 1950. It started with Pyongyang naengmyeon, but many people now come for chogyetang, cold shredded chicken in a tangy broth, and spicy chicken salad served with the noodles.

Noodles · Seochon & Bukchon · Since 1982

The busiest door on Samcheong-dong's main street since 1982: hand-torn dough soup (sujebi) in a light anchovy broth, served in a little pot, with crispy potato pancakes on the side. A Michelin Bib Gourmand pick near Bukchon and the palaces.

Noodles · Sinchon & Ewha · Since 1988

A cheap, cheerful sujebi shop from 1988 by Sinchon Station. Hand-torn dough soup comes with radish kimchi, and a simple gimbap is the classic side. It's one of the last true student-priced meals in the area.

Korean-Chinese · Yeouido & Mapo · Since 1981

A Korean-Chinese noodle shop on a hill near Gongdeok, open since 1981 and only at lunchtime. The noodles are hand-pulled, and the gan-jajangmyeon, with a black bean sauce made without sugar, draws a line most days.

Desserts · Dongdaemun · Since 1946

Often called Seoul's oldest bakery, open since 1946 and little changed inside: marble floors, chandeliers and old-fashioned Korean breads. Come for the monaka, milk ice cream sandwiched in a crisp wafer shell, and the retro sarada-ppang (salad bread).

Korean BBQ · Gangnam Station & COEX · Since 2005

A Blue Ribbon grill near Gangnam Station for Daegu-style makchang (grilled pork intestine) and hanwoo beef tripe. It has been going for 20 years, with outdoor tables and a mustard-greens kimchi fried rice to finish.

Home-style meals · Seochon & Bukchon · Since 1976

A tiny Samcheong-dong teahouse with a famously modest name, serving sweet red bean porridge (danpatjuk) and traditional herbal teas since 1976. A warm bowl here is a classic stop on a walk through Bukchon and Samcheong-dong, especially on a cold day.

Soups & stews · Seochon & Bukchon · Since 1983

A Seoul institution for samgyetang, a whole young chicken stuffed with rice and simmered with ginseng. It sits in a rambling hanok a few minutes from Gyeongbokgung Palace, which makes it an easy lunch before or after a palace visit.

Soups & stews · Itaewon · Since 1977

The oldest house on Samgakji's cod-stew alley, open since 1977. Daegu-tang is a big pot of fresh cod, radish and a mound of minari (water dropwort) in either a spicy red broth or a clear one, simmered at your table. Locals add fried cod on the side and finish with fried rice in the pot.

Noodles · Euljiro · Since 1946

Open since 1946, Woo Lae Oak is one of Seoul's oldest and most famous Pyongyang naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodle) houses. Its beefy broth makes it a friendly first bowl for naengmyeon beginners.

Korean BBQ · Yeouido & Mapo · Since 1962

The home of bassak bulgogi: thin marinated beef pressed flat and seared until the edges crisp. This multi-generation Michelin Bib Gourmand is also known for spicy stir-fried octopus, and its large dining rooms make it a comfortable place for a full Korean meal.

Fried chicken · Seochon & Bukchon · Since 1984

Seochon's neighborhood fried chicken shop since 1984: crisp, old-fashioned chicken with cold draft beer, now with a second branch nearby. Order half fried, half sauced, plus spicy whelk salad.

Pubs · Itaewon

A Michelin-recommended Korean drinking house by Gyeongnidan-gil, pairing a long list of traditional makgeolli, cheongju and distilled soju with modern Korean dishes. It's a stylish, grown-up way to try Korean rice wines, and many of the guests are visitors from abroad.

Pubs · Seochon & Bukchon

One of Seochon's hardest tables: a drinking house known for seasonal seafood dishes, from sweet shrimp sashimi to salted herring roe, near Gyeongbokgung Station. Locals plan their evening around the wait.

Market food · Jongno

One of Gwangjang Market's two famous mung bean pancake houses. You can watch the beans being ground in a stone mill out front, then sit upstairs for crispy bindaetteok, beef tartare and makgeolli.

Home-style meals · Jongno

Korean Buddhist temple food served as a calm, multi-course meal, run by the Jogye Order across the street from Jogyesa temple. Every dish is plant-based, built on seasonal vegetables, mountain greens, grains and long-fermented sauces. A good choice for vegetarians, vegans and anyone curious about a different side of Korean cooking.

Korean BBQ · Itaewon

A half-century-old Samgakji barbecue known for chadolbagi, paper-thin beef brisket that cooks in seconds, dipped in a tangy soy and onion sauce. Add salt-grilled beef tripe, then finish with chadol makjang-jjigae, a thick soybean stew full of brisket, poured over rice.

Market food · Jongno

The best-known shop on Gwangjang Market's yukhoe (beef tartare) alley, run by the same family for about 60 years. Order the beef tartare bibimbap, or go bold with yukhoe and live octopus chopped together.

Noodles · Seochon & Bukchon

A cheap, cheerful noodle house at the start of the Sejong Village food street near Gyeongbokgung. Bowls of janchi-guksu (banquet noodles), perilla sujebi and kalguksu are remarkably affordable, and a pancake with makgeolli turns it into a long afternoon.

Soups & stews · Dongdaemun

North Korean-style steamed chicken served in an old house with no sign above the gate. A whole chicken is cooked plain until tender and arrives on a bed of soft chives; you dip it in a tangy soy and chili sauce. Buckwheat makguksu noodles and steamed dumplings complete the meal.

Soups & stews · Jamsil

The sundae-gukbap (Korean blood sausage soup) house that made Bangi-dong a destination, a short walk from Olympic Park. A rich pork broth comes with plenty of sausage and meat, and regulars add charcoal-grilled squid. Long lines are normal.

Home-style meals · Jamsil

A 40-year-old homemade tofu shop by Seokchon Station. The favorite is dubu-bossam: warm fresh tofu served with boiled pork and kimchi. Soft tofu stew and cheonggukjang make it just as good for a simple lunch.

Korean BBQ · Noryangjin

A hugely popular charcoal grill in Noryangjin. Bone-in pork belly and marinated pork ribs are cooked over charcoal, and staff help with the grilling. Lines start early and can reach a couple of hours on Friday nights.

Jokbal & bossam · Gangnam

An old-school jokbal (braised pig's trotters) house tucked between shops across from the Hyundai Apartments in Apgujeong. Locals come for the kkodeul jokbal, served cold and chewy in the old style, and the owner's homemade kimchi. On fine evenings people eat at tables outside.

Korean BBQ · Seongsu

A retro Seongsu eatery whose star is beoseot jumulleok: spicy marinated chicken stir-fried at the table with a heap of mushrooms and no water, a cousin of dakgalbi. A seafood pancake and cold acorn-jelly soup often come along, and staff finish the pan as fried rice.

Korean-Chinese · Hongdae

A small Korean-Chinese restaurant in Mangwon-dong run by an ethnic Chinese (hwagyo) family for over 30 years. Locals come for gan-jjajang, noodles with a dry-fried black bean sauce, and chapssal tangsuyuk, crisp and chewy sweet-and-sour pork in a sticky-rice batter. Korean-Chinese food is its own cuisine, and this is a good place to try it.

Korean BBQ · Gangnam

A busy pork barbecue house in Apgujeong Rodeo where staff grill aged pork belly and neck at your table from start to finish. Celebrity visits have made it a favorite with foreign visitors, and the evening line shows it.

Home-style meals · Euljiro

An old Euljiro favorite in the alleys of Bangsan Market, known for kimchi jjigae you eat wrapped in fresh greens. At lunch it serves only the stew, full of pork and well-fermented kimchi, with a basket of lettuce and herbs; in the evening it becomes a pork belly barbecue that finishes with the same stew.

Fried chicken · Itaewon

An old-school fried chicken joint near Noksapyeong where the real draw is sitting outside on plastic stools with a pitcher of draft beer. Order half fried, half sweet-spicy yangnyeom chicken; locals also swear by the kimchi stew. A slice of everyday Seoul nightlife a few minutes from Itaewon's bars.

Street snacks · Jongno

A hanok dumpling house tucked down an Insadong alley, making Gaeseong-style mandu: large, delicate dumplings from the old city of Gaeseong in today's North Korea. They come in a clear, gently seasoned soup or a bubbling hot pot to share.

Street snacks · Namdaemun & Seoul Station

A Namdaemun Market favorite for wang-mandu: giant hand-made dumplings filled with pork or kimchi. Most people queue for takeout, but you can also sit down with a bowl of hand-cut kalguksu.

Pubs · Jamsil

A lively crab pub in the Bangi-dong food alley. Red snow crab is the star, steamed and packed with meat, with snow crab and other seasonal crab when available, and a crab ramyeon to finish. It stays open late.

Korean BBQ · Dongdaemun

Seoul's most famous pork barbecue, near Yaksu Station, and one of the hardest tables in the city to get. Staff grill thick bone-in pork belly and marbled "snowflake" pork neck over a hot grill until crisp, and you wrap it with fresh basil. Join the queue as early as you can.

Market food · Jongno

The Gwangjang Market noodle stall made famous by Netflix's Street Food: Asia. Sit at the counter and watch Cho Yoon-sun roll and cut the dough by hand, then eat a steaming bowl of knife-cut noodles with handmade dumplings.

Street snacks · Namdaemun & Seoul Station

A dumpling shop near Sookmyung Women's University that has been in the Michelin Guide every year since 2017. Try the house Gubok dumplings and the shrimp dumplings, and order a few kinds to share.

Home-style meals · Yeouido & Mapo

A Gongdeok institution whose kimchi jjigae is simmered long and served with rice for a filling lunch. Add the rolled omelet or spicy stir-fried pork. Office workers have relied on it for over forty years.

Fried chicken · Jongno

Often named one of Seoul's three great fried chicken shops, in the hillside neighborhood of Buam-dong behind Gyeongbokgung. Order the old-school fried chicken, light and very crisp, with golbaengi-somyeon, spicy sea snails tossed with thin noodles, and a draft beer. A favorite reward after hiking Bugaksan or Inwangsan.

Korean BBQ · Seongsu

An old-school pork belly joint under an orange awning near Seongsu Station, untouched by the area's cafe makeover. Thick fresh samgyeopsal comes by the 'pan' (500 g, or a half pan), with a doenjang stew for a couple of thousand won. At lunch it serves a home-style set meal instead.

Home-style meals · Seongsu

Neat, home-style Korean set meals by Seoul Forest, the kind of 'grandmother's cooking' its name promises. Choose a ssambap set (rice with leafy wraps), bibimbap with bulgogi or a hanwoo tteokgalbi (grilled beef patty) set, each with a spread of side dishes.

Soups & stews · Namdaemun & Seoul Station

A long-running chicken house in Jungnim-dong, behind Seoul Station. Chicken skewers grilled over yeontan (coal briquettes) and a bubbling pot of dak-bokkeumtang (spicy braised chicken), finished with fried rice, are why people queue.

Market food · Namdaemun & Seoul Station

The best-known restaurant in Namdaemun Market's galchi (cutlassfish) alley, open about 50 years. Thick pieces of cutlassfish are braised with radish in a spicy red sauce and brought to the table in a little pot, along with fluffy steamed egg and fried fish on the side.

Home-style meals · Yeouido & Mapo

A Michelin-listed ganjang-gejang house in Yeouido. Raw crab marinated in soy sauce comes as a per-person set with freshly cooked stone-pot rice, and many of the tables are in quiet private rooms, which makes it a good special-occasion meal.

Noodles · Seochon & Bukchon

A Bukchon noodle house known for kalguksu in a milky beef-bone broth and fist-sized handmade dumplings. Right across from the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, it is a favorite lunch stop between galleries and palaces.

Desserts · Seochon & Bukchon

Seochon's old neighborhood bakery at the entrance to Tongin Market, open since the mid-1980s and once a supplier to the Blue House. Its warm cornbread is the reason to come. It's takeout only, so grab one and eat it on the way through the market.

Soups & stews · Hongdae

A long-running gamjatang house a few steps from Hongik University Station: a bubbling pot of spicy pork-backbone stew with potatoes and cabbage leaves, finished with fried rice in the same pot. It is one of the places in Hongdae where you will see as many foreign diners as Koreans, and the menu comes in four languages.

Korean BBQ · Itaewon

Retro Korean barbecue in Haebangchon, the hillside neighborhood above Itaewon. The specialty is naengsam, thin slices of frozen pork belly that crisp up in seconds on the grill, served on an old-fashioned tray with sides. Finish with kimchi fried rice or a spicy squid stew, and stay late: it's open until 2 a.m.

Korean BBQ · Yeouido & Mapo

An old-school grill house on Mapo's galmaegi-sal street. Galmaegi-sal is the tender strip of pork from around the diaphragm, and here it's grilled on a griddle with beaten egg poured around the rim. Loud, cheerful and full of office workers after dark.

Noodles · Yeouido & Mapo

A basement noodle shop in the Yeouido Department Store with a national reputation for kongguksu: thick, nutty, ice-cold soy milk noodles. Office workers also come for the chicken kalguksu and plated dumplings.

Pubs · Seongsu

A shellfish grill in Ttukdo Market that brings the seaside clam-barbecue experience to Seongsu. A platter of shellfish goes straight onto the grill at your table; there are steamed clams and a clam stew too, and clam ramyeon to finish. It's popular with foreign visitors as well as locals.

Noodles · Noryangjin

A Blue Ribbon noodle shop on the exam-students' street near Noryangjin Station. An anchovy kalguksu comes with a small bowl of barley rice to mix with vegetables, and the price is hard to beat. Easy for solo diners.

Pubs · Euljiro

The biggest name in Euljiro's Nogari Alley: cheap draft beer and grilled dried pollack (nogari) at plastic tables that fill the streets on warm evenings. It has grown into several buildings around the alley, with a rooftop that is the place to be at sunset.

Soups & stews · Sinchon & Ewha

A busy, budget-friendly Sinchon spot for soft tofu stew and kimchi-jjim, slow-braised kimchi with pork. Foreign visitors are a common sight, and it stays open very late.

Noodles · Gangnam Station & COEX

A noodle restaurant near Seolleung Station, in business for over 35 years and often counted among Seoul's three great kongguksu (cold soy milk noodle) houses. In colder months the oyster soup with rice takes over, and it's an easy stop from the royal tombs.

Home-style meals · Myeongdong

A Michelin Bib Gourmand bibimbap restaurant at the foot of Namsan, an easy stop before or after Namsan Tower. Choose from neat bowls of seasoned vegetables topped with raw Korean beef (yukhoe), bulgogi or soy-dressed wild greens, and add chili paste as you like. You order at a kiosk and collect your tray.

Korean BBQ · Itaewon

The barbecue that turned Samgakji into a food destination. Its signature is ude-galbi, a giant beef short rib on the bone, first smoked over burning rice straw for a deep, smoky flavor, then grilled at your table by staff. Finish with fried rice made in the drippings. Expect one of Seoul's longest lines.

Market food · Jongno

The Gwangjang Market stall credited with making mayak gimbap famous: finger-sized seaweed rolls of rice, carrot and pickled radish, dipped in a sharp mustard sauce. The nickname "mayak" ("narcotic") is a joke about how hard they are to stop eating.

Street snacks · Sinchon & Ewha

A small Chinese-style dumpling shop between Sinchon and Ewha. Soup dumplings, shrimp dumplings and fried dumplings are the favorites, and the prices suit a student neighborhood. Popular with Chinese visitors, which says something.

Pubs · Euljiro

An old-school Korean beer hall in Euljiro's Nogari Alley. On warm evenings the plastic tables spill into the street, and people sit outside with cheap draft beer, grilled dried pollack and garlic fried chicken.

Noodles · Seongsu

A plain, friendly noodle shop that has fed Seongsu office workers for over a decade. The bowls are big and cheap for the area: anchovy-broth noodles, sweet-spicy bibim guksu, and in summer a thick, nutty kongguksu (cold soy milk noodles). The house kimchi is made daily.

Korean-Chinese · Itaewon

An old Korean-Chinese restaurant at Samgakji, open for just four hours at lunchtime, that people line up for. It is usually named one of Seoul's three great tangsuyuk (sweet-and-sour pork) houses, and its crisp fried dumplings are just as famous. A good stop before or after the War Memorial of Korea.

Street snacks · Namdaemun & Seoul Station

Namdaemun Market's famous savory hotteok stand. Instead of the usual sweet syrup, a golden fried pancake is stuffed with glass noodles and vegetables and dipped in soy sauce; there's a sweet seed version too. The line is part of the experience.

Noodles · Myeongdong

A decades-old North Korean-style restaurant tucked in the Da-dong alleys between City Hall and Myeongdong. Come for eobokjaengban, sliced beef and offal simmered on a wide brass platter at your table, then cool off with Pyongyang naengmyeon in a light radish-kimchi broth and a plate of dumplings.

Korean BBQ · Namdaemun & Seoul Station

One of Seoul's most talked-about pork barbecue houses, in Namyeong-dong near Sookmyung Women's University. Special cuts like hangjeong-sal (pork jowl) and gabeuri-sal (a marbled shoulder cut) go over real charcoal. Expect to queue.

Street snacks · Gangnam

A Michelin Bib Gourmand dumpling house in Apgujeong Rodeo, making North Korean-style hand-made dumplings since the early 1980s. Order the manduguk, big dumplings in a clear, gentle broth, with crisp stuffed-pepper pancakes or a nutty soybean stew on the side.

Market food · Noryangjin

Seoul's great seafood market. It's a different kind of meal: choose live fish, crab or shrimp from a stall, have it prepared, then carry it to a restaurant in the market (a chojangjip) that serves it with side dishes and sauces for a table fee. The seafood changes with the season, from autumn shrimp and flower crab to winter yellowtail.

Noodles · Seochon & Bukchon

An old Samcheong-dong favorite up the road toward Samcheong Park, famous for kimchi-mari guksu: thin noodles in icy, tangy kimchi broth. Grilled tteokgalbi (beef patty) and mung bean pancakes make it a full meal, and prices are gentle for the area.

Home-style meals · Myeongdong

Myeongdong's best-known place for gejang, raw crab marinated in soy sauce or spicy chili sauce, one of Korea's most beloved "rice thieves". The set meals come with rice, side dishes and soup, and the menu is written in several languages for the many visitors from abroad.

Soups & stews · Hongdae

A tiny bar-counter restaurant near Hapjeong Station that serves one thing: dwaeji-gomtang, a clear, delicate pork soup over rice, plus kimchi dumplings. It is a Michelin Bib Gourmand pick, and its chef appeared on Netflix's Culinary Class Wars, so expect a long wait.

Market food · Dongdaemun

The busiest table in Seoul Jungang Market. It specializes in half-dried fish and seafood, and the star is thick half-dried cuttlefish grilled over charcoal at the door: smoky, tender and sweet. Steamed croaker and other half-dried fish round out a meal that goes well with beer.

Korean BBQ · Seochon & Bukchon

A Korean restaurant by Bukchon, popular for Seoul-style beef bulgogi set meals, clear beef soup and eobok-jaengban. The food is mild rather than spicy and the menu has photos, so it's an easy choice for visitors after walking the hanok lanes.

Soups & stews · Gangnam Station & COEX

A second-generation sundae-gukbap shop in Samseong-dong that office workers around COEX rely on. The soup is full of meat, and the sundae set meal is the one to get if you're hungry. A long-standing Blue Ribbon pick.

Korean BBQ · Hongdae

A Yeonnam-dong barbecue place whose name means "the pig that eats grass": thick pork belly grilled for you with heaps of minari (Korean water parsley), eaten wrapped in pickled radish instead of lettuce. Nearly everything on the short menu comes with minari, and it is a regular stop for foreign visitors exploring Yeonnam-dong.

Soups & stews · Gangnam Station & COEX

A modern samgyetang restaurant near COEX that puts new twists on chicken ginseng soup: basil, black garlic and perilla versions sit alongside the classic. It's a popular choice for taking foreign guests.

Jokbal & bossam · Jongno

The best-known restaurant in Jongno 3-ga's bossam alley. Bossam is boiled pork belly sliced and wrapped in cabbage with spicy radish kimchi; here you can have it with fresh oysters in season, with garlic, or with spicy octopus. Order bossam and a bubbling pot of pork-bone stew comes free.

Korean BBQ · Gangnam

Gangnam's landmark galbi house: a big traditional restaurant with a garden and waterfall, where Seoul families have celebrated for decades. Order the house marinated beef short ribs or plain prime Korean beef ribs, grilled at your table, or come at lunch for a bowl of galbitang and cold noodles.

Home-style meals · Jongno

A long-running temple-food restaurant down an alley in Insadong. The set meal brings a parade of small plant-based dishes made from mountain greens, roots, tofu and fermented sauces, with stone-pot rice and soybean-paste soup. Gentle, healthy and very different from Korean barbecue; Koreans often bring foreign guests here.

Korean-Chinese · Gangnam

A tiny Chinese dumpling house by Apgujeong Station, run in the tradition of Korea's long-settled Chinese community (hwagyo). Its pan-fried dumplings, crisp outside and full of juice, are among the most praised in Gangnam, and the five-spice pork and stir-fried eggplant are worth sharing.

Noodles · Hongdae

A Michelin Bib Gourmand noodle house between Hapjeong and Mangwon that revives nanmyeon, an old Korean recipe for noodles made with egg and Korean wheat, and gives it an Italian touch. The chef also runs a well-known lasagna restaurant nearby, and you can watch the noodles being made by the door.

Home-style meals · Gangnam

A basement Korean restaurant that Apgujeong residents have relied on for more than thirty years. At lunch it's a bowl of kalguksu or manduguk; in the evening tables share bossam, dumpling hot pot, tangpyeongchae (mung bean jelly salad) and spicy stir-fried octopus.

Noodles · Namdaemun & Seoul Station

The newer star of Seoul's Pyongyang naengmyeon scene, next to Namdaemun Market. Its noodles are 100% buckwheat, served in a clear beef broth, and the menu card on each table explains how to enjoy each dish. A Michelin Bib Gourmand pick with long lines.

Home-style meals · Itaewon

A countryside-style Korean home meal in the middle of Itaewon. Order the sigol bapsang set and the table fills with around two dozen small side dishes, stews, grilled fish and rice, like dinner at a grandmother's house in the country. The rooms are crammed with old farm tools and household objects.

Soups & stews · Hongdae

A no-frills sundae-gukbap house between Hapjeong and Hongik University stations, where office workers come for lunch and friends come for soju at night. Its makchang sundae, Korean blood sausage in a thick pork casing, earned it a spot on the TV show Master of Living. The bowls of pork and sausage soup cost about 10,000 won.

Home-style meals · Gangnam Station & COEX

A 30-year-old lunch favorite between Gangnam and Sinnonhyeon stations. Office workers come for doenjang bibimbap, rice mixed with vegetables and a rustic soybean stew, or a stew with pork neck and kimchi. A rare homestyle meal in the Gangnam towers.

Pubs · Seongsu

A no-menu market pub in Ttukdo Market, nicknamed 'imokase' (an auntie's omakase). You simply ask for what you want, from kimchi stew and stir-fried pork to braised chicken or galbi-jjim, and the owners fetch ingredients from the market and cook it on the spot. Best with someone who speaks Korean.

Noodles · Dongdaemun

A tiny red bean porridge shop by Sindang Station. Patjuk here is savory, not sweet: thick red bean porridge with chewy sticky-rice balls, or red bean soup with hand-cut noodles. In summer it adds a rich black-bean kongguksu (cold soy milk noodles).

Pubs · Gangnam

A big, lively jeon (Korean pancake) and makgeolli house off Garosu-gil. Its trademark is honeycomb makgeolli: staff cut a slab of honeycomb at your table to sweeten your rice wine. Order a platter of mixed jeon or the cheesy potato pancake, and expect plenty of foreign visitors around you.

Soups & stews · Seongsu

The 24-hour gamjatang house in the middle of trendy Seongsu, now as full of foreign visitors as of locals. A big pot of pork backbones, potatoes and dried cabbage leaves simmers at your table in a spicy, nutty broth topped with perilla seeds; add hand-torn noodles, then fry rice in what's left. Solo diners can get a single bowl.

Soups & stews · Sinchon & Ewha

A neat second-floor soup restaurant near Yonsei University. Its malgeun ppyeo-guk, a clear pork bone soup made without artificial seasoning, is a light alternative to heavier Korean stews; suyuk salad is the favorite side.

Soups & stews · Jamsil

A neighborhood gamjatang (pork bone stew) house that locals have backed for 30 years. The pot arrives heaped with perilla leaves, and the broth is cleaner than most. Finish with fried rice in the pot.

Market food · Jongno

The most famous mung bean pancake stall in Gwangjang Market, right at the entrance to the food alley. Thick, crispy bindaetteok fried in a sizzling pool of oil, with meat patties and beef tartare on the side. The line is part of the experience.

Korean BBQ · Sinchon & Ewha

A Sinchon favorite for sogalbi-jjim, braised beef short ribs served on a sizzling pan. Choose the fiercely spicy version or the creamy one, which tames the heat. Students and foreign visitors, particularly from China, line up alike.

Soups & stews · Gangnam Station & COEX

A second-generation pufferfish specialist in Samseong-dong, run by a licensed pufferfish master. Bok is a Korean delicacy that needs special training to prepare; here it comes as a clear soup or as a spicy bulgogi set at lunch, a gentle way to try it for the first time.

Korean BBQ · Jamsil

A cheerful old-school pork grill in the Bangi-dong food alley, not far from Lotte World. Order frozen pork belly (naengsam) or fresh samgyeopsal, and grill whole-leaf kimchi beside it. A pot of kimchi stew rounds it off.

Pubs · Seongsu

An outdoor seafood pub (yajang) in Ttukdo Market. Seasonal raw and cooked seafood platters, a clam stew with octopus and spicy stir-fried octopus are eaten at outdoor tables in the market lane.

Korean BBQ · Noryangjin

A rare specialist in Korean-style lamb, known for yang-suyuk: tender boiled lamb served sliced, with a lamb hot pot alongside. Between Noryangjin and Jangseungbaegi stations, booking is the safest plan.

Korean BBQ · Hongdae

A small, old-school dakgalbi shop near Hongik University Station that has served one dish for about 15 years: spicy chicken stir-fried with cabbage and rice cakes on a big iron pan at your table, finished with fried rice. It is good value for Hongdae, and locals and foreign visitors fill it alike.

Korean BBQ · Dongdaemun

An old pork-rib joint by Yaksu Market that sells just two things: marinated pork galbi and pork skin. The ribs are first seared over charcoal briquettes in the kitchen, then finished at your table. On warm nights everyone eats outside on oil-drum tables in the alley.

Korean-Chinese · Sinchon & Ewha

A second-generation Chinese-Korean restaurant in the alleys by Yonsei University. Its signature is spicy stir-fried mussels, and regulars also swear by the gan-jajangmyeon and fluffy tangsuyuk.

Korean BBQ · Myeongdong

The Korean barbecue restaurant most first-time visitors to Myeongdong end up at. Staff grill marinated pork ribs, beef and pork belly over charcoal at your table, so you don't need to know what you're doing. Wangbijib has several branches around Myeongdong; this is the main one, near Myeongdong Station.

Korean BBQ · Yeouido & Mapo

A polished pork barbecue restaurant between Mapo and Gongdeok stations. Aged pork belly and neck go on a heavy cast-iron lid, and staff cook them for you from start to finish. It holds a Blue Ribbon and draws plenty of foreign visitors.

Market food · Hongdae

The original shop of the Mangwon Market stall famous for gochu-twigim: giant mild green chilies stuffed with seasoned meat and deep-fried until crisp. Inside it is a Korean-style pub, with soupy tteokbokki, pancakes and creamy makgeolli to go with them, and many people take the fried chilies to the Han River park nearby.

Street snacks · Noryangjin

A Blue Ribbon tteokbokki shop loved by Noryangjin's students, known for its heavily cheese-topped rice cakes. You choose your spice level, so it's good for anyone who wants to work up to Korea's fiery street food.

Soups & stews · Dongdaemun

A Yaksu Market institution for sundaeguk, pork and blood sausage soup. The broth is clean rather than heavy and the bowl is packed with tender head meat. It moved from its cramped alley shop into a new building next door, with the same cooks.

Korean BBQ · Gangnam

A Cheongdam house for hanwoo, Korea's prized native beef, open around the clock. It is best known for yukhoe bibimbap, rice topped with seasoned raw beef, and for grilled hanwoo rib meat. Foreign visitors, especially from Japan and China, fill the tables alongside locals.

Korean BBQ · Seongsu

Despite the snack-bar name, this little Ttukdo Market shop is a gopchang (pork intestine) specialist. Locals come for the yachae gopchang, intestines stir-fried with vegetables in a spicy sauce, and the charcoal-grilled cheese gopchang. A chive pancake comes free on the side.

Korean BBQ · Dongdaemun

The pork barbecue that made thick-cut pork famous in Seoul. Whole slabs of pork neck and belly, several centimeters thick, are grilled for you by staff until crisp outside and juicy inside. A steamed egg and kimchi jjigae round out the meal.

Noodles · Myeongdong

An old-school buckwheat noodle shop beside the Deoksugung Palace stone-wall road. In summer, office workers line up for cold buckwheat noodles; in winter, for a bubbling pot of udon-style noodle soup. A Michelin Bib Gourmand pick.