Restaurant guides for Korea · since 2023
We write restaurant, café and short-trip guides for people visiting Korea. Every place comes with its Korean name, address, opening hours, break time and closing day, so you can paste it into a map app or show it to a taxi driver.
Six guides we would send a friend first: the ones with the most first-hand detail, prices and photos.
North Korean cooking from chef Choi Ji-hyung, known from Netflix's Black and White Chef. Jessie goes through the set course (weekday lunch ₩50,000) dish by dish, from the sundae that made the restaurant's name to the rice pot, and explains how to book on CatchTable.
Gongju grows some of Korea's best-known chestnuts, and this bakery facing Gongsanseong fortress puts them in pies (₩2,500), éclairs, tarts and yanggaeng. Prices for every item and 16 photos from the visit.
A one-night stay in a private hanok in Gongju: the contactless check-in, the jacuzzi that takes about two hours to fill, and what the kitchen does and doesn't have. Read it before you book.
Five places in Seoul's old printing district, from charcoal-grilled blowfish at Cheolcheol Bokjip to Jeju-style pork belly in Inhyeon Market. Address, phone number and break time for each.
Where people in the old Silla capital actually eat: jokbal braised in an iron cauldron, buckwheat makguksu near Bunhwangsa Temple, octopus-and-pork jjamppong and squid bulgogi.
Six Jeju restaurants where locals queue, including reservation-only Nansanri Restaurant (lunch course ₩35,000) and DooRooDooRoo near the airport for a last meal before your flight.
Netflix's Culinary Class Wars (흑백요리사, “Black and White Chef”) put 80 little-known “black spoon” cooks up against 20 established “white spoon” chefs when it aired in autumn 2024. Ever since, the contestants' restaurants have been some of the hardest tables to book in Seoul.
Jessie has been working through them: what each chef is known for, which dishes to order, set-course prices, and how reservations work. Start with Lee Buk Bang above, then try the list on the right.
Most of what we write is about Seoul, but some of our favourite guides are a train ride away.
Euljiro mixes 1970s print shops with pubs and blowfish restaurants. Mullae is a steelworks district where machine shops share alleys with cafés. Gangnam is where offices go for group dinners, and the Hamhung-style cold noodle houses in Ojang-dong are worth a detour in summer.
Jeju has its own food vocabulary: black pork, bomal (sea snail) kalguksu, seafood stews and tangerine everything. Restaurants are spread around the island, so most visitors rent a car; Hamdeok on the northeast coast makes an easy base.
Busan is the home of dwaeji gukbap (pork and rice soup) and a serious specialty-coffee scene, and Yeongdo island has both. Gyeongju, the old Silla capital, is about an hour away by road and has its own local dishes.
From Sokcho down to Samcheok the coast is a seafood trip: red crab, cod, raw-fish rice bowls and buckwheat makguksu. Gangneung adds a coffee street on Anmok Beach, and Yangyang is Korea's surf town.
In Yeosu and Mokpo the menu follows the fishing boats: eel soup and raw fish in Yeosu, octopus and seafood stews in Mokpo. Both are a direct KTX ride from Seoul.
Gongju was a Baekje capital and is famous for chestnuts. Daejeon, about an hour from Seoul by KTX, is known for kalguksu and for its bakeries.
Day trips: barley-rice set meals in Yeoju, riverside restaurants in Gapyeong, galbi in Pocheon, tofu houses inside Namhansanseong fortress and seaside cafés on Yeongjongdo near Incheon Airport.
The questions readers ask us most, answered in short. The full guide has more detail and a phrase list.
Many restaurants close between lunch and dinner, usually somewhere between 3 and 5 pm, and smaller places often close one day a week. Our guides list both, but hours change, so check the restaurant's map listing on the day.
Most people in Korea navigate with Naver Map or KakaoMap, and both handle walking and transit directions better than Google Maps here. Searching the Korean name is the most reliable way to find a place, which is why we print it next to the English one.
Barbecue restaurants price meat by the serving (1인분, about 150–200 g), and many ask for at least two servings per order. Eating alone? Gukbap, kalguksu and set-meal places are easier.
Banchan (side dishes) come with the meal and refills cost nothing. Water is often self-service, and cutlery is usually in a drawer at the side of the table. Press the call bell or say “yeogiyo” to get a server's attention.
In most casual restaurants you pay at the counter on the way out. Tipping isn't expected. Cards are accepted almost everywhere, though some market stalls prefer cash, and many places now take orders on a tablet at the table.
Sought-after restaurants take reservations through CatchTable and run waiting lists through apps such as Tabling. Some need a Korean phone number, so ask your hotel to book or arrive before opening.
Menu words that come up again and again in our guides, with the Korean so you can spot them on a sign.
Are you planning a trip to Gongju, Chungcheongnam-do? There's a dessert you must try when you're in Gongju. It's based on "chestnuts."
Read More »For my year-end vacation, I decided to take a trip to Gongju, Chungcheongnam-do. Among the highlights of my getaway was staying at …
Read More »Remember Chef Choi Ji-hyung, the "White Spoon" chef from Netflix’s hit cooking show “Black and White Chef”?
Read More »With season 1 of Black and White Chef wrapped up and season 2 already stirring up excitement, the buzz around the show …
Read More »Chef Choi Hyun-seok, who gained attention on the Netflix original show Black and White Chef for his daring ingredient choices and unique …
Read More »The recent Netflix hit Black and White Chef is totally taking over, with fans all over the world hooked! One standout chef, …
Read More »korea visit has been publishing restaurant, café and short-trip guides since December 2023. The site is run by Connecton Inc., and the guides are written by Jessie, Alex, Chris, Mandy and Santi.
We try to make every guide usable on the street: Korean names next to English ones, addresses you can paste into a map app, opening hours with break times and closing days, and prices where we have them. Restaurants change their hours and sometimes close without notice; if you spot something out of date, email help@connecton.co.kr and we will correct it.
Guides are written in English. The Korean, Japanese, Chinese and Spanish versions are machine translations, so if a translated sentence reads oddly, the English page is the reference.
