Where to eat in Yeouido & Mapo
Seoul's finance district on its island in the Han River, and the old Mapo neighborhood just across the bridge. Yeouido's office towers hide famous noodle and soy-marinated crab houses, while Mapo has been the city's home of pork barbecue for generations.
10 places our guide covers in Yeouido & Mapo, with what to order, how long the wait is and how to eat each dish.
- 🍜
Eulmildae 을밀대 본점
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.
Try: Mul-naengmyeon (cold noodles in broth)
Short wait - 🥩
Mapo Jinjja Wonjo Choedaepo 마포진짜원조최대포 본점
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.
Try: Dwaeji-galbi (marinated pork ribs)
Short wait - 🍲
Mapo-ok 마포옥
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.
Try: Yangji-tang (beef flank soup)
Short wait - 🍜
Sinseonggak 신성각
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.
Try: Gan-jajangmyeon (noodles with dry black bean sauce)
Locals' pick30-60 min wait - 🥩
Yeokjeon Hoegwan (Mapo) 역전회관 마포본점
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.
Try: Bassak bulgogi (crisp-seared beef)
Short wait - 🍲
Guldari Sikdang 굴다리식당
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.
Try: Kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew)
Locals' pickShort wait - 🦀
Hwahaedang (Yeouido) 화해당 여의도점
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.
Try: Ganjang-gejang with stone-pot rice
Short wait - 🥩
Jangsu Galmaegi 장수갈매기 본점
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.
Try: Galmaegi-sal (pork skirt meat)
Locals' pickShort wait - 🍜
Jinju-jip (Yeouido) 진주집
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.
Try: Kongguksu (cold soy milk noodles)
Short wait - 🥩
Wolhwa Sikdang (Mapo) 월화식당 마포본점
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.
Try: Beeswax-aged samgyeopsal (pork belly)
Short wait