Where to eat in Itaewon
Seoul's most international neighborhood, along with Yongsan and Samgakji next door. Among the bars and foreign restaurants are Korean places worth crossing town for, from straw-smoked short ribs and a Michelin-listed makgeolli bar to Samgakji's old cod-stew alley.
10 places our guide covers in Itaewon, with what to order, how long the wait is and how to eat each dish.
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Bada Sikdang 바다식당
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.
Try: Johnson-tang
Short wait - 🍚
Parc (Hannam) 빠르크 한남본점
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.
Try: Parc set
Short wait - 🍲
Won Daegutang 원대구탕
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.
Try: Daegu-tang (cod stew), spicy or clear
Locals' pickShort wait - 🍶
Ahn's Makgeolli (Hanguk Suljip) 한국술집 안씨막걸리
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.
Try: Traditional liquor (makgeolli, cheongju, distilled soju)
30-60 min wait - 🥩
Bongsanjip 봉산집 본점
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.
Try: Chadolbagi (thin beef brisket)
Locals' pickNo wait - 🍗
Friend Chicken (Huraendeu Chikin) 후렌드치킨
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.
Try: Banban chicken (half fried, half yangnyeom)
Locals' pickShort wait - 🥩
Jamsugyojip (Haebangchon) 잠수교집 해방촌 직영점
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.
Try: Naengsam (frozen pork belly)
30-60 min wait - 🥩
Mongtan 몽탄
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.
Try: Jjipbul ude-galbi (straw-smoked beef short rib)
30-60 min wait - 🥟
Myeonghwawon 명화원
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.
Try: Tangsuyuk (sweet-and-sour pork)
30-60 min wait - 🍚
Sigol Bapsang (Itaewon) 곽경찬의 시골밥상
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.
Try: Sigol bapsang jeongsik (country-style set meal)
Short wait