Michelin Bib Gourmand and Michelin Guide Restaurants in Seoul
Michelin's Seoul guide is full of humble noodle and soup houses, not just fine dining. These are the Michelin-listed places in our guide, with what to order, how long the line is and how to eat.
27 places in our guide
- 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 - ๐
Halmaejip ํ ๋งค์ง
Jokbal & bossam ยท Seochon & Bukchon ยท 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.
Try: Jokbal (braised pig's trotters)
30-60 min wait - ๐ฅฉ
Hanilkwan (Apgujeong) ํ์ผ๊ด ์๊ตฌ์ ์
Korean BBQ ยท Gangnam ยท 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.
Try: Seoul-style bulgogi
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
Mapo-ok ๋งํฌ์ฅ
Soups & stews ยท Yeouido & Mapo ยท 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 - 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
Samcheongdong Sujebi ์ผ์ฒญ๋์์ ๋น
Noodles ยท Seochon & Bukchon ยท 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.
Try: Sujebi (hand-torn dough soup)
30-60 min wait - ๐
Woo Lae Oak ์ฐ๋์ฅ
Noodles ยท Euljiro ยท 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.
Try: Traditional Pyongyang naengmyeon
1 hr+ wait - ๐ฅฉ
Yeokjeon Hoegwan (Mapo) ์ญ์ ํ๊ด ๋งํฌ๋ณธ์
Korean BBQ ยท Yeouido & Mapo ยท 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 - ๐ถ
Ahn's Makgeolli (Hanguk Suljip) ํ๊ตญ์ ์ง ์์จ๋ง๊ฑธ๋ฆฌ
Pubs ยท 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 - 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 - ๐ฅ
Gaeseong Mandu Koong ๊ฐ์ฑ๋ง๋ ๊ถ
Street snacks ยท 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.
Try: Gaeseong meat dumpling soup
30-60 min wait - ๐ฅฉ
Geumdwaeji Sikdang ๊ธ๋ผ์ง์๋น
Korean BBQ ยท 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.
Try: Bon-samgyeop (bone-in pork belly)
1 hr+ 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 - ๐ฆ
Hwahaedang (Yeouido) ํํด๋น ์ฌ์๋์
Home-style meals ยท 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 - ๐
Hwangsaengga Kalguksu ํฉ์๊ฐ์นผ๊ตญ์
Noodles ยท 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.
Try: Beef bone broth kalguksu
30-60 min 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 - ๐
Nampo Myeonok ๋จํฌ๋ฉด์ฅ
Noodles ยท 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.
Try: Eobokjaengban (beef hot pot on a brass platter)
Short 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 - ๐ฅฉ
Samwon Garden ์ผ์๊ฐ๋
Korean BBQ ยท 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.
Try: Samwon traditional marinated galbi
Short wait - ๐ฅ
Sandong Gyojagwan ์ฐ๋๊ต์๊ด
Korean-Chinese ยท 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.
Try: Gun-mandu (pan-fried dumplings)
Locals' pick30-60 min wait - ๐
Seokyonanmyunbang ์๊ต๋๋ฉด๋ฐฉ
Noodles ยท 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.
Try: Seogyo nanmyeon
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 - 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