Korean Food Lovers Guide To Where To Eat In Seoul

Having been a regular visitor to Seoul since 2003 – with 11 trips under my belt over periods ranging from two weeks to a month – I’ve seen the city transform into a vibrant culinary and cultural hotspot by 2025. Though I’m not one for the super touristy routes or overly planned itineraries, my laid-back approach to travel has allowed me to discover a selection of favourite eateries that truly capture the essence of Seoul.

Wondering where to eat in Seoul? These are the places I recommend to friends whenever they ask where to eat in this dynamic city: A city where traditional Korean flavours meet modern innovations in dining, and where a late start to the day is the perfect excuse to savour every bite.

Also read: 10 Restaurants in Seoul That K-Pop Stars Love

1. Saemaeul Sikdang Korean BBQ

Address: 30 Eulji-ro 43-gil, Jung District, Seoul, South Korea

Where to eat Korean BBQ in Seoul? Everyone who goes to Seoul ought to have at least one Korean BBQ meal. I recommend Saemaeul Sikdang. ‘Sae’ means ‘new’, ‘maeul’ means village, and ‘Sikdang’ means restaurant. It is a local chain and is a superb value for money. Lots of locals patron this restaurant and increasingly, more and more tourists are making their way here too. This is actually a 24-hour chain of BBQ restaurants and I believe they have English menu, so do ask for it.

Anyway. the food quality here is good for the prices they are charging. I highly recommend the Yeoltan Bulgogi with the cold noodles. Super shiok! I love the kimchi pork rice thingy, the salted grilled pork, and also the pig skin. One extra tip for you when looking for barbecue meat restaurants in Seoul: There’s actually a BBQ restaurant alley in the Mapo district! Yea, the Koreans seem to have an alley for all the food they like, so do check it out.

Back to Saemaeul Sikdang, there are numerous outlets spread across the city, from Yonsei to Gangnam, so it really isn’t all that elusive! Do check it out (and of course, pig out incessantly!)

2. Running Man Haha’s 401 BBQ Restaurant

Address: 23 Jandari-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Any Running Man fans? Me, me, me! Some of you might have heard that Gary and Haha both own restaurants selling grilled intestines. In actual fact, Haha has actually renovated his restaurant some years back, changed the name and is now selling black pork BBQ. The new restaurant is called 401 and it is located in Hongdae. So, go ahead and and head over to 401 for a taste of Haha’s culinary delights – you won’t be disappointed!

3. Seoga & Cook

Address: 15 Yeongjung-ro, Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul, South Korea

Where to eat Korean-Western fusion in Seoul? I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Actually it isn’t that big a secret amongst Seoulites, but relatively few foreign travellers know about this place. If you or your travel buddies can’t really stomach eating Korean food everyday, Seoga & Cook is a fabulous place for an alternative cuisine. Seoga & Cook serves Western food (more Italian actually) at very generous portions!

A few things to note when dining at Seoga & Cook: Portions are huge – I am not exaggerating.. Each dish can be shared among 2 to 3 people, so be careful not to over-order. All mains are all priced at ₩19,800 (approx. S$23) . Specialty dishes here include the pork steak salad and pilaf. If you look up Seoga and Cook on Google for food reviews, you will read a lot of ‘ooooohs and aaaaaaahs‘ about how nice and how great value-for-money this place is. The pork steak salad comes with three slabs of pork, and it felt as if we had ordered pork steak with salad, rather than a salad dish. The lemony beer is a great item to order on a hot summer’s day (or night for that matter).

4. Tosokchon Samgeytang

Address: 5 Jahamun-ro 5-gil, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea

One of the most famous Korean dishes has got to be the samgeytang, or ginseng chicken. Strangely, the Koreans particularly like to eat samgyetang during the hot summer months, believing that it will help them with their stamina and strength in the hot weather. I, on the other hand, prefer to have steaming hot soupy stuff during winter.

Where to eat samyetang in Seoul? Look no further than Tosokchon. It’s one of the best in Seoul, and the location is really fantastic. If you are planning to go to the Gyeongbokgung Palace, then you might want to fit this into your itinerary as well. Tosokchon is a really short walk away from the subway station. It is housed in a hanok, so you can also get to see what a traditional Korean home looks like if you have a meal here.

Other than samgyetang, many people also like the black chicken version. You may see some people order the roast chicken, but I really wouldn’t recommend it. If you want roast or fried chicken, there are better places to have them. You can try their seafood pancake (haemul pajeon) which is not bad.

The queue can get pretty long during meal times, so you might want to go slightly earlier before the usual meal times. However, since the place is big and the service is fast, don’t get deterred even if you see a queue. It is also one of those places where you have to remove your shoes and sit on the floor to eat, so don’t put on holey socks for the day.

5. Jin Ok Hwa Dakhanmari

Address: 18 Jong-ro 40ga-gil, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea

Next up is still… chicken! Dak means chicken in Korean and Dakhanmari translates literally into one (whole) chicken; how imaginative! This is the very first Dakhanmari restaurant and it opened its doors back in 1978. Thirty over years later, it continues to be a very much-loved restaurant by the locals, and increasingly, by foreigners too. It’s located at the Dongdaemun area, so you can pack shopping and dining here on the same day.

The restaurant uses only fresh young chickens which are about 35 days old. What people like about this dish is the minimal seasoning used. The whole idea is to let diners enjoy the tenderness of the meat and not be distracted by the seasoning. So it’s a case of you either love it A LOT, or you just find it bland. But hey, you can always add chilli (a very nice and very special marinade sauce) if you fall into the latter category.

I know of people who love it so much that they went back to eat this dish THREE times in the 10-odd days they were in Seoul. Personally, I do like how tender the chicken is, and I also love the rice-cakes and the kalguksu noodles!

6. Myeongdong Gyoja

Address: 29 Myeongdong 10-gil, Jung District, Seoul, South Korea

This is yet another favourite restaurant of mine. They have been around for a long time, and the two outlets are both in Myeongdong. Myeongdong Gyoja is listed as one the top restaurants in Seoul. It is usually quite busy but because place is big and table turnaround is fast, so the wait is not too long. I like to go there at 11-ish for brunch, before the restaurant gets too crowded.

The menu is really simple (which I like!) with only three items, namely, the kalguksu, the chilli cold noodles and the mandu (which is gyoja or what we call dumplings). The portion is quite big, so three people can share two mains. What’s nice? Everything’s nice and I really love the kimchi here.

7. Bonjuk Porridge

Address: 6 Myeongdong 8ga-gil, Jung District, Seoul, South Korea

You might be familiar with this porridge chain if you’re a K-drama fan and have watched the classic series Boys Over Flowers. More important than that, this Bonjuk porridge concept is actually part of the whole ‘slow food’ philosophy which I endorse! I think in this Internet age, too much of ‘ppali ppali’ is not necessarily good for us! Sometimes, we really need to slow down and take in the simple beauty of life. Anyway, this porridge chain is quite big in Korea or at least I see quite a lot of it in Seoul, so it shouldn’t be hard for you to chance upon it.

On a cold winter day or on days when you just don’t have much appetite, Bonjuk is a great choice. It is healthy and nutritious too. Many people recommend the pumpkin porridge, but I personally like the oyster and also the seafood – I love seafood! The portion’s quite big, so you might want to share. If there are two of you, you can order one porridge, and if there are three of you, you can order two. Strangely, some outlets don’t let you order two if there are four of you. In that case, just sit separately or order takeaway!

8. Two-Two Chicken

Address: 20-1 Myeongdong 7-gil, Jung District, Seoul, South Korea

Did you know that some Koreans like to have three-stop dinner rounds? They usually start at a BBQ restaurant, move on to either a KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) outlet or makgeolli bar, and then to karaoke or maybe a pojangmacha. Checking out the Two-Two Chicken at Myeongdong after some very intense shopping would be fabulous! Truth be told, KFC has never meant the same to me ever since I was introduced to chimaek!

Since my friends and I tend to stay at the Myeongdong area, we always pack chicken back to eat in our room and chat the night away. Heart-to-heart talk with girlfriends with chimaek is the bomb! Actually, I love Kyochon KFC even more, but the Kyochon outlets don’t seem to pop up within my line of sight conveniently enough. If you are lucky enough to come across a Kyochon, don’t hesitate to tuck in!

9. Soy Crab (Ganjang Gejang Alley)

Address: South Korea, Seoul, Seocho-gu, Jamwon-dong, 27-1

Finally it’s time to talk about one of my absolute favourite food in Korea: the soy crab! Ganjang Gejang is marinated raw crabs with lots of roe. My Korean friend told me that there are some Koreans who can’t take soy crab because it’s too raw for them, but those who love them really love them to bits. For me, it was love at first bite! I don’t actually this incident, but my friend Emz told me that the first words to come out of my mouth after sinking my teeth into the crab for the first time were: Oh my god!

Where to eat soy crab in Seoul? There’s actually a Ganjang Gejang alley in Sinsa-dong. It is so unthinkable that an area so chic has an alley selling this very strong-flavoured dish! I guess that’s the beauty of Seoul. This outlet was the one I’d been to – it’s called Masan and it is open 24 hours. Masan also has a long history. It’s pretty much the first soy crab restaurant at the beginning of the alley. It’s among one of the biggest there, and also one of the most patronised. They also have Mandarin-speaking staff in case you need help with the ordering.

10. Kimbap Cheonguk

Address: 114-3 퇴계로 Jung District, Seoul, South Korea

Some of you might thank me for this. Kimbap Cheonguk is a local chain of 24-hour eateries that you can find at practically every suburb in Seoul. Do yourself a favour and try and remember how the logo looks like. There’s one in Myeongdong, one in Anguk, one in Hyehwa and more.

For days when you don’t know what to eat, for days when your group of travel companions can’t agree on where to eat, for days when you just feel like having some hearty Korean food, Kimbap Cheonguk is the answer. Their menu is extensive and prices quite reasonable: each main is below S$10.

I like the tuna kimbap (cham-chi kim-bap) here, and I also like a whole host of other dishes here too! Like the spicy beancurd stew (soondubu chigae), the cheese ramyeon, the spicy beef soup (yukgaejang), the omelette rice, etc. Also, never tried cheese ramyeon? It’s not as weird as it sounds and it actually tastes nice! On a cool or even cold day, the piping hot cheese ramyeon is a great choice!

Kimbap Cheonguk have an English menu, so don’t worry about worrying. Also, the water and banchan (side dishes) are on self-service mode here.

11. Kwonsooksoo

Address: 4F, 37 Apgujeong-ro 80-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06016, South Korea

Where to eat fancy in Seoul? Chef Kwon Woo-joong’s homage to tradition is evident in every facet of Kwonsooksoo, from its name – which nods to the archaic term for a professional cook – to its menu. Inspired by time-honoured cooking methods, Kwon scours the country for rare seasonal ingredients and transforms even the most humble fare into something extraordinary. Here, diners experience not just a meal, but a passionate and innovative culinary journey that celebrates Korea’s rich heritage.

Also read: Shopping in Seoul: Top 16 Places You Have to Explore

And there you go! These are the places where you can eat in Seoul. Seoul in 2025 is as much about the experience of food as it is about the flavours themselves. From the sizzling Korean BBQ at Saemaeul Sikdang to the comforting bowls of porridge at Bonjuk, the city’s eateries reflect its rich history and contemporary vibrancy. Whether you’re sampling ginseng chicken at Tosokchon Samgeytang, indulging in the delicacies of soy crab in the trendy Ganjang Gejang Alley, or simply grabbing a bite at a 24-hour local chain like Kimbap Cheonguk, each meal in Seoul offers a slice of the city’s soul.

So next time you’re in town and you’re wondering where to eat in Seoul, follow these recommendations and let your taste buds lead the way. You may just find that, in this city, the best way to waste time is by enjoying every delicious moment.