Eating Alone in Seoul: Solo-Friendly Korean Restaurants
Many Korean dishes are made for sharing, and some places won't serve one person. These restaurants are easy for solo travelers: one bowl or one plate is a full meal, and diners eating alone are a normal sight.
47 places in our guide
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Andongjang ์๋์ฅ
Korean-Chinese ยท Euljiro ยท 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.
Try: Gul-jjamppong (oyster noodle soup)
Short wait - ๐ฒ
Cheongjinok ์ฒญ์ง์ฅ
Soups & stews ยท Jongno ยท 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.
Try: Yang-seonji haejangguk (regular or large)
No wait - ๐ฒ
Daehwajeong Jinjja Haejangguk ๋ํ์ ์ง์งํด์ฅ๊ตญ
Soups & stews ยท Dongdaemun ยท 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.
Try: Jinjja haejangguk (regular)
Short wait - ๐ฒ
Dakjinmi Gangwon-jip ๋ญ์ง๋ฏธ ๊ฐ์์ง
Soups & stews ยท Namdaemun & Seoul Station ยท 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.
Try: Dak-gomtang (chicken soup with rice)
Short wait - ๐ฒ
Darak-tu ๋ค๋ฝํฌ
Soups & stews ยท Hongdae ยท 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.
Try: Dak-gomtang (chicken and rice soup)
Locals' pickShort wait - ๐ฒ
Eunho Sikdang ์ํธ์๋น ๋ณธ์
Soups & stews ยท Namdaemun & Seoul Station ยท 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.
Try: Kkori-gomtang (oxtail soup)
Short wait - ๐
Gwanghwamun Mijin ๊ดํ๋ฌธ๋ฏธ์ง
Noodles ยท Jongno ยท 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.
Try: Cold buckwheat noodles (naeng-memil)
30-60 min wait - ๐ฒ
Hadongkwan ํ๋๊ด
Soups & stews ยท Myeongdong ยท 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.
Try: Gomtang
Short wait - ๐ฒ
Imun Seolnongtang ์ด๋ฌธ์ค๋ํ
Soups & stews ยท Jongno ยท 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.
Try: Seolleongtang
Short wait - ๐ฒ
Jungnimjang ์ค๋ฆผ์ฅ
Soups & stews ยท Namdaemun & Seoul Station ยท 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.
Try: Seolleongtang (ox bone soup)
Locals' pickShort wait - ๐ฒ
Kim Buk-sun Keun Nambi-jip (Sinsa) ๊น๋ถ์ํฐ๋จ๋น์ง ์ ์ฌ๋ณธ์
Home-style meals ยท Gangnam ยท 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.
Try: Pork kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew)
Short wait - ๐ฒ
Miseongok ๋ฏธ์ฑ์ฅ
Soups & stews ยท Myeongdong ยท 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.
Try: Seolleongtang (regular or large)
Short wait - ๐ฒ
Mugyodong Bugeokukjip ๋ฌด๊ต๋๋ถ์ด๊ตญ์ง
Home-style meals ยท Myeongdong ยท 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.
Try: Dried pollack soup (bugeo haejangguk)
Short wait - ๐ฒ
Munhwaok ๋ฌธํ์ฅ
Soups & stews ยท Euljiro ยท 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).
Try: Seolleongtang (ox bone soup)
Short wait 
Myeongdong Chungmu Gimbap ๋ช ๋์ถฉ๋ฌด๊น๋ฐฅ
Street snacks ยท Myeongdong ยท 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.
Try: Chungmu gimbap
Short wait- ๐
Myeongdong Hamheung Myeonok ๋ช ๋ํจํฅ๋ฉด์ฅ
Noodles ยท Myeongdong ยท 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.
Try: Hoe-naengmyeon
Short wait - ๐
Myeongdong Kyoja ๋ช ๋๊ต์
Noodles ยท Myeongdong ยท 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.
Try: Kalguksu
Short wait - ๐ฒ
Oegojip Seolleongtang ์ธ๊ณ ์ง์ค๋ ํ
Soups & stews ยท Gangnam Station & COEX ยท 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.
Try: Seolleongtang (ox bone soup)
Short wait - ๐
Sinchon Sujebi ์ ์ด์์ ๋น
Noodles ยท Sinchon & Ewha ยท 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.
Try: Sujebi (hand-torn dough soup)
Locals' pickShort wait - ๐ฆ
Taegeukdang ํ๊ทน๋น
Desserts ยท Dongdaemun ยท 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).
Try: Monaka ice cream
No wait - ๐ฅฃ
The Second Best Place in Seoul ์์ธ์๋์งธ๋ก์ํ๋์ง
Home-style meals ยท Seochon & Bukchon ยท 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.
Try: Sweet red bean porridge (danpatjuk)
Short wait - ๐ฅฉ
Buchon Yukhoe ๋ถ์ด์กํ
Market food ยท 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.
Try: Beef tartare bibimbap (yukhoe bibimbap)
Short wait - ๐
Chebu-dong Janchijip ์ฒด๋ถ๋์์น์ง
Noodles ยท 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.
Try: Janchi-guksu (noodles in anchovy broth)
Short wait - ๐
Gohyang Kalguksu ๊ณ ํฅ์นผ๊ตญ์
Market food ยท 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.
Try: Hand-cut noodle soup (son-kalguksu)
30-60 min wait - ๐ฅ
Gubok Mandu ๊ตฌ๋ณต๋ง๋
Street snacks ยท 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.
Try: Gubok traditional dumplings
Short wait - ๐ฒ
Guldari Sikdang ๊ตด๋ค๋ฆฌ์๋น
Home-style meals ยท 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 - ๐
Hyoja Bakery ํจ์๋ฒ ์ด์ปค๋ฆฌ
Desserts ยท 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.
Try: Cornbread
Locals' pick - ๐
Jinju-jip (Yeouido) ์ง์ฃผ์ง
Noodles ยท 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 - ๐
Kkongkal (Noryangjin) ๊ฝ์นผ ๋ ธ๋์ง์
Noodles ยท 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.
Try: Myeolchi kalguksu (anchovy noodle soup)
Locals' pick - ๐ฒ
Masinneun Sundubu Kimchi-jjim ๋ง์๋์๋๋ถ ๊น์น์ฐ
Soups & stews ยท 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.
Try: Sundubu-jjigae (soft tofu stew)
Short wait - ๐
Matjarang ๋ง์๋
Noodles ยท 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.
Try: Kongguksu (cold soy milk noodles)
Short wait - ๐
Mokmyeoksanbang ๋ชฉ๋ฉฑ์ฐ๋ฐฉ
Home-style meals ยท 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.
Try: Yukhoe bibimbap (with raw Korean beef)
Short wait Monyeo Gimbap ๋ชจ๋ ๊น๋ฐฅ
Market food ยท 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.
Try: Mayak gimbap
Short wait- ๐ฅ
Mr. Seo Wang Mandu ๋ฏธ์คํฐ์์๋ง๋
Street snacks ยท 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.
Try: Xiaolongbao (soup dumplings)
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Myeong Guksu ๋ช ๊ตญ์
Noodles ยท 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 - ๐ฅ
Namdaemun Yachae Hotteok ๋จ๋๋ฌธ์ผ์ฑํธ๋ก
Street snacks ยท 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.
Try: Yachae hotteok (savory pancake with glass noodles and vegetables)
30-60 min wait - ๐ฅ
New Mandu-jip ๋ด๋ง๋์ง
Street snacks ยท 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.
Try: Manduguk (dumpling soup)
Short wait - ๐ฒ
Okdongsik ์ฅ๋์
Soups & stews ยท 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.
Try: Dwaeji-gomtang (clear pork soup)
1 hr+ wait - ๐ฒ
Park Seobang Sundae Gukbap ๋ฐ์๋ฐฉ์๋๊ตญ๋ฐฅ ์ผ์ฑ๋ณธ์
Soups & stews ยท 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.
Try: Sundae-gukbap (blood sausage soup)
Locals' pickShort wait - ๐ฒ
Samgyeok ์ผ๊ณ์ฅ
Soups & stews ยท 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.
Try: Basil samgyetang
Short wait - ๐
Seoryung ์๋ น
Noodles ยท 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.
Try: Seoryung sunmyeon
1 hr+ wait - ๐ฒ
Sigol Sundae ์๊ณจ์๋
Soups & stews ยท 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.
Try: Sundae-gukbap
Locals' pickNo wait - ๐
Sigol Yachae Doenjang ์๊ณจ์ผ์ฑ๋์ฅ
Home-style meals ยท 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.
Try: Doenjang bibimbap with vegetables
Locals' pickShort wait - ๐ฒ
Somunnan Seongsu Gamjatang ์๋ฌธ๋์ฑ์๊ฐ์ํ
Soups & stews ยท 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 - ๐ฒ
Songjunok ์ก์ค์ฅ
Soups & stews ยท 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.
Try: Malgeun ppyeo-guk (clear pork bone soup)
Short wait - ๐ฒ
Yaksu Sundaeguk ์ฝ์์๋๊ตญ
Soups & stews ยท 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.
Try: Sundaeguk (regular or large)
Locals' pickShort wait - ๐
Yurimmyeon ์ ๋ฆผ๋ฉด
Noodles ยท 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.
Try: Cold buckwheat noodles (memil-guksu)
Short wait