When in another country, trying that countryโs food is a must. Through the delicious local foods, we hope that you will experience Korean culture and make unforgettable memories. The popular restaurants introduced below were on various TV programs, like Baek Jong Wonโs Three Great Kings. These best Korean restaurants in Seoul city center have been in business for a long time so most of them are small and hard to find. Thus, make sure you have the Naver Map app downloaded before you go that works better than Google Maps in Korea.
Best Korean Restaurants in Seoul City Center, Jung-gu & Jongno-gu
Jongno Spicy Pork :ย ์ข ๋ก๋ถ๋ผ์ง
This small authentic Korean BBQ restaurant is highly favored by locals.ย You can see many of the restaurantโs ownerโs photos with famous Kpop stars.ย ย We recommend trying the thick garlic bee house 5layered pork belly first. After, try the restaurantโs signature dish the fire pork belly. It is marinated with spicy red pepper paste sauce and grilled on briquette fire, which adds an extra smoky taste. You can find this restaurant 5 minutes from the Jonggak Station exit number 4.ย
- Address:ย 67 Cheonggyecheon-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoulย |ย ์์ธํน๋ณ์ย ์ข ๋ก๊ตฌย ์ฒญ๊ณ์ฒ๋กย 67
- Open hours: 11:30 โ 01:00ย
- Phone:ย 02-734-1190
Wonjowon Halmae Somunnan Chicken Hanmariย :ย ์ํ ๋งค์๋ฌธ๋๋ญํ๋ง๋ฆฌ
Dakhanmari is a dish that is eaten in a large pot with broth, chicken, noodles, rice cake, mushrooms, vegetables, and potatoes. There are several other chicken restaurants in this alley, but this place has been loved for more than 30 years. It is located at the local market so you can experience other traditional Korean foods here. There are also Chinese, Japanese menus, and you can also walk down to Jongno 5-ga or Dongdaemun Station from here.
- Address: 26 Jongno-gu 40ga-gil Jongno-gu Seoul ย |ย ์์ธํน๋ณ์ย ์ข ๋ก๊ตฌย ์ข ๋ก40๊ฐ๊ธธย 25
- Open hours: 10:00 โ 24:00ย
- Phone: 02-2279-2078
Euljiyuk Branch :ย ์์ง์ก์
This restaurant specializes in pork specialties and matured meat. A place we strongly recommend if you want to experience a different taste from the normal Korean barbeque. There is white pork belly, gold pork belly, temple pork belly, and also red pepper paste pork belly. You can walk down from Euljiro 3-ga station and stop by a hidden trendy bar nearby after the meal and enjoy the Seoul nightlife!ย
- Address:ย 48-17 Supyo-ro, Jung-gu, Seoulย |ย ์์ธํน๋ณ์ย ์ค๊ตฌย ์ํ๋กย 48-17
- Open hours:ย
- Mon.-Fri. 11:00 โ 22:00 | Break time 14:00 โ 17:00ย
- Sat. 17:00 โ 22:00ย
- Sun. Closed
- Phone: 02-2269-3398
Samcheongdong Sujebi : ์ผ์ฒญ๋์์ ๋นย
This popular Korean restaurant is listed in the Michelin guide 2020. Their signature menu is sujebi which is hand-pulled dough soup, and also jeon, which is Korean style pancake. We also recommend Korean traditional alcohol, Makgeolli, as itโs the perfect combination to these foods.
- Address:ย 101-1 Samcheong-ro Jongno-gu Seoulย |ย ์์ธํน๋ณ์์ข ๋ก๊ตฌย ์ผ์ฒญ๋กย 101-1ย
- Open hours: 11:00 โ 21:00ย
- Phone: 02-735-2965ย
Pyeongando Pigโs Feet |ย ํ์๋์กฑ๋ฐ์งย
Jangchung-dong is a famous alley known for jokbal (pig hocks)! There are many jokbal restaurants there, but amongst them, we recommend Pyeongan-do Jokbal restaurant. It was also recommended by several TV programs with the best quality. Other countries do not eat this part of the pig but after one taste youโll see why itโs Koreaโs representative late-night food.
- Address:ย 174-6ย Jangchungdan-ro Jung-gu Seoulย |ย ์์ธํน๋ณ์์ค๊ตฌย ์ฅ์ถฉ๋จ๋กย 174-6
- Open hours:
- The. โ Sun. 12:00 โ 22:30ย
- Mon. Closedย
- Phone: 02-2279-9759
Seorin Octopus : ์๋ฆฐ๋์ง
Seorin Octopus is the perfect place to try Korean spicy stir fried octopus. Their signature menu is octopus stir fried with scallions, vegetables, and other popular menu is sausage with bean sprouts and vegetables that are fired pan. Many Korean people order 2 sides and grill them both on the fired pan. Lastly, do as the locals do and add rice to make spicy stir fried octopus rice! You wonโt regret once you try it!
- Address:ย 19ย Jong-ro Jongno-gu Seoul |ย ์์ธํน๋ณ์ย ์ข ๋ก๊ตฌย ์ข ๋ก19
- Open hours:ย 11:30 โ 22:30ย | The second Sunday Closed
- Phone: 02-735-0670
Honam Restaurant :ย ํธ๋จ์๋น
Honam restaurant is a hidden Korean barbeque house. It has a shabby exterior but this restaurant is a jewel that locals love. Unlike typical galbi, which is grilled over charcoal, the meat here is cooked over slowly boiled water. Not to mention, they have various side dishes and ssam! Or vegetables used to wrap the meat in. Make sure you eat the unforgettable iron plate fried rice made by the restaurantโs owner.ย
- Address: 9 Toegye-ro 41-gil Jung-gu Seoul |ย ์์ธํน๋ณ์ย ์ค๊ตฌํด๊ณ๋ก41๊ธธย 9ย
- Open hours: 12:00 โ 22:30 | Sun. Closed
- Phone: 02-2273-1348ย
Jungnimjang Ox Bone Soup :ย ์ค๋ฆผ์ฅ์ค๋ ํย
This restaurant only sells ox tail bone soup and boiled meat. It is one of the five most popular ox tail bone soup restaurants in Seoul. Plus, it is especially popular with the ox tail bone soup manias. If you want a deep and savory taste, visit this restaurant for a hearty and healthy meal. You can walk from Chungjeongno Station but make sure you donโt get lost because the entrance is hard to find.
- Address: 459-1 Cheongpa-ro Jung-gu Seoul |ย ์์ธํน๋ณ์ย ์ค๊ตฌ์ฒญํ๋กย 459-1
- Open hours:ย
- Mon. โ Fri. 08:00 โ 22:00 | Break time 15:30 โ 17:00ย
- Sat. โ Sun. 08:00 โ 21:00ย
- Phone: 02-392-7743
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