Where to eat in Seongsu
Old factories and warehouses turned into cafes, pop-up stores and fashion shops. Between them, old-school pork belly and gopchang joints and the outdoor seafood pubs of Ttukdo Market still feed the crowds.
9 places our guide covers in Seongsu, with what to order, how long the wait is and how to eat each dish.
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Daeseong-jip 대성집
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.
Try: Beoseot jumulleok (spicy chicken and mushroom stir-fry)
Short wait - 🥩
Haengbokhan Sikdang 행복한식당
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.
Try: Fresh samgyeopsal, a full pan (500 g) or half pan (250 g)
Short wait - 🍚
Halmeoni's Recipe 할머니의 레시피
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.
Try: Ssambap set (rice, wraps and sides)
Short wait 
Jogaedo 조개도
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.
Try: Jogae-gui (grilled shellfish platter)
30-60 min wait- 🍜
Myeong Guksu 명국수
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.
Try: Myeolchi guksu (noodles in anchovy broth)
Locals' pickShort wait - 🍲
Sigoljip 시골집
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.
Try: Kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew)
Locals' pickShort wait - 🍲
Somunnan Seongsu Gamjatang 소문난성수감자탕
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.
Try: Gamjatang (pork-bone stew, small to large)
30-60 min wait Ttukdojigi 뚝도지기
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.
Try: Haemul modeum (seasonal seafood platter)
1 hr+ wait- 🥩
Yeongsu Bunsik 영수분식
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.
Try: Yachae gopchang (stir-fried pork intestines with vegetables)
Locals' pickShort wait