Best restaurants in Korea for every situation
13 restaurants in the Korea on a Plate guide for group dinners in Hongdae, ranked Monthly 30 first and then by Google rating. Each has hours, a price per person and what to order.
In this guide: Mapo Somunnan Wonjo Jokbal, Durumi Haejangjip, Gonaengji, Gaksi Bossam (Bride's Bossam), Jin Jin.
At a glance: Price per person ₩7,000–₩38,000 (middle ₩19,000). Average Google rating ★4.2. 4 of 13 are open late or 24 hours.
Updated 2026-10-05
| Restaurant | Area | Order | Per person | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mapo Somunnan Wonjo Jokbal | Hongdae | Jokbal · braised pig trotter, sliced to share | ₩34,000 | ★4.3 |
| Durumi Haejangjip | Hongdae | Haejangguk · beef and cabbage hangover soup | ₩12,000 | ★5 |
| Gonaengji | Hongdae | Kimchi-jjigae · kimchi stew | ₩9,000 | ★4.3 |
| Gaksi Bossam (Bride's Bossam) | Hongdae | Bossam · boiled pork slices wrapped with kimchi and greens | ₩38,000 | ★4.2 |
| Jin Jin | Hongdae | Menbosha · deep-fried shrimp toast | ₩26,000 | ★4.2 |
| Nambuk Tongil | Hongdae | Jjin-mandu · steamed hand-folded dumplings | ₩12,000 | ★4.2 |
| Yeonnamdong Jumak (Yeonnam-dong Tavern) | Hongdae | Teolleogi sujebi · hand-torn dough soup | ₩24,000 | ★4.2 |
| Janggang | Hongdae | Jangeo-gui · eel grilled over charcoal | ₩25,000 | ★3.9 |
| Chuncheonjip Dakgalbi Makguksu | Hongdae | Boneless dakgalbi · chicken stir-fried at the table | ₩14,000 | ★4 |
| Yeokjeon Hoegwan | Hongdae | Bassak bulgogi · beef grilled until the edges crisp | ₩21,000 | ★3.9 |
마포소문난원조족발
₩34,000 per person
Hours Daily 07:00–24:00
One of the long-standing trotter shops in the jokbal alley inside Gongdeok Market, where several similar houses sit side by side. The pig trotter is braised, sliced and served warm with salted shrimp sauce, wrapping leaves and soup. It keeps unusually long hours for the style.
두루미 해장집
₩12,000 per person
Hours Daily 11:00–22:00
A plain Korean soup house on a side street between Hongik University Station and Hapjeong. The single-bowl haejangguk, a beef and cabbage soup served with rice, is the lunchtime order, while the tripe and boiled pork hotpots are what evening groups share. It gets a queue at lunch.
고냉지
₩9,000 per person
Hours 10:30–21:30
Gonaengji is a Sinchon diner listed on DiningCode for kimchi-jjigae and bossam. The menu runs from kimchi-jjigae (₩9,000) and rolled omelette to a Gonaengji set meal (₩16,000) and a bossam platter (₩35,000), and DiningCode reviewers most often call it down-to-earth, good value and generous.
각시보쌈
₩38,000 per person
Hours 11:00–22:00
Gaksi Bossam near Hapjeong Station is listed on DiningCode for bossam and the bossam set meal. Plates come half-and-half in medium and large sizes, with oyster bossam, fresh oysters and kimchi bossam, plus jaengban guksu, a platter of cold spicy noodles. Reviewers most often call it lively, down-to-earth, good value and generous with portions.
Main Hall
진진
₩26,000 per person
Hours Mon–Sat 11:30–21:30; Sun 12:00–21:30
A Chinese restaurant in Seogyo-dong run by chef Hwang Jin-sun and listed in the Michelin Guide Seoul as a Bib Gourmand address for several years. The kitchen works in a Cantonese-leaning style rather than the usual Korean-Chinese delivery menu, and dishes are plated for sharing. The main hall is small and fills quickly at lunch.
남북통일
₩12,000 per person
Hours Mon–Sat 11:00–21:30
A dumpling and noodle house working in the northern Korean style, where the filling is crushed tofu, pork, mung bean sprouts and courgette rather than glass noodles. The wrappers are folded by hand each morning, and the same kitchen makes beef bone noodle soup and mung bean pancakes. The seasoning is deliberately restrained.
연남동주막
₩24,000 per person
Hours 11:00–21:30
Yeonnamdong Jumak is a Yeonnam-dong restaurant listed on DiningCode for namul (seasoned greens) and teolleogi sujebi. The menu includes teolleogi sujebi (₩24,000), webfoot octopus and jeyuk set meals for two (₩22,000 each), mung bean pancake and barley rice; DiningCode reviewers most often call it down-to-earth, generous and good value.
장강
₩25,000 per person
Hours Daily 15:00–22:00
A freshwater eel house on the Yonggang-dong eel strip near Mapo Station, where several grill restaurants sit in a row. Live eel is prepared to order and grilled over charcoal at the table, served with salt or a soy-based sauce and wrapping leaves. The cheap noodle dishes are there to finish the meal.
춘천집 닭갈비 막국수
₩14,000 per person
Hours Tue–Sun 11:00–22:30
A dakgalbi house in the student streets behind Sinchon Station, with a sign advertising thirty years of trading. Marinated chicken, cabbage, sweet potato and rice cake are stir-fried on a hotplate at the table, and staff manage the cooking and tell you when to eat. Prices are set for students.
Mapo Main Branch
역전회관
₩21,000 per person
Hours Tue–Fri 11:00–21:50; Sat–Sun 11:00–21:20
A bulgogi restaurant trading in Mapo since 1962 and named a Michelin Bib Gourmand address. Its signature is bassak bulgogi, thin marinated beef grilled until the edges go dry and crisp rather than served in broth. The set meal arrives with rice and side dishes, so no ordering skill is needed.
Mapo Main Branch
청학동부침개
₩17,000 per person
Hours Sun–Mon 09:00–24:00; Tue–Sat 09:00–01:00
A two-floor pancake house in the Gongdeok Market jeon alley, the closest thing in the area to a street stall with proper seating. Fried items are laid out at the front and you can point at what you want or take the set assortment. The makgeolli list is long and cheap, and the kitchen runs to one in the morning most nights.
Main Branch
마포진짜원조최대포
₩19,000 per person
Hours Daily 11:00–22:50
A three-floor charcoal grill house descended from the Mapo pork restaurants that gave this district its reputation. The menu is marinated ribs, plain salted pork and skirt meat, all cooked over charcoal at the table. Staff handle most of the grilling.
동교국수포차
₩7,000 per person
Hours Mon–Sat 17:00–04:00
A late-opening noodle and boiled-meat place a minute from Hongik University Station exit 3, serving until four in the morning six nights a week. The noodles are cheap and plain; the larger plates of boiled beef knuckle and pork head are what the drinking tables order. The front folds open in warm weather.
In this guide: Mapo Somunnan Wonjo Jokbal, Durumi Haejangjip, Gonaengji, Gaksi Bossam (Bride's Bossam), Jin Jin.
Donggyo Guksu Pocha, about ₩7,000 per person.
Mapo Somunnan Wonjo Jokbal: ★4.3 from 780 reviews.
Mapo Somunnan Wonjo Jokbal, Cheonghakdong Buchimgae, Mapo Jinjja Wonjo Choedaepo, Donggyo Guksu Pocha.
Every place is in the Korea on a Plate guide, written by an editor who runs four restaurants in Seoul. The list is filtered from published hours, prices and tags; nobody pays to be listed.
More situations: Where to eat in Hongdae, Seoul · Solo dining in Hongdae, Seoul · Cheap eats in Hongdae, Seoul · Late-night food in Hongdae, Seoul
What a Seoul restaurant owner ordered, paid and noticed.