112 restaurants in the Korea on a Plate guide for eating alone, ranked Monthly 30 first and then by Google rating. Each has hours, a price per person and what to order.
In this guide: Jigang Hansikdang (Jigang Korean Restaurant) Apgujeong Main, 1992 Deopbap & Jjageuri Gangnam Main, Ttukbaegijip (Earthen Pot House), Gosami, Byeolmi Bokkeumjeom.
At a glance: Price per person ₩3,500–₩38,000 (middle ₩12,000). Average Google rating ★4.2. 9 of 112 are open late or 24 hours.
Updated 2026-10-05
Tips before you go
Soups and noodles come as one-person portions. Barbecue places often ask for at least two portions.
In office areas, 12:00–13:00 is the busiest hour. Arrive a little earlier or later for an easy seat.
Jigang Hansikdang's main Apgujeong restaurant is listed on DiningCode for nakgopsae and Korean dishes. Nakgopsae is ₩17,000, with variations such as chadol nakgopsae (₩20,000), plus cheese octopus stir-fry, an octopus bibimbap set and Korean beef yukhoe; DiningCode reviewers most often describe it as clean, generous and casual.
START WITHNakgopsae · spicy stew of octopus, beef intestines and shrimp
This main branch is about 80 m from Gangnam Station and is listed on DiningCode for rice bowls and jjageuri. Every listed dish, from jjageuri stews to Jeolla-style rice bowls and Jeonju bibimbap, is priced at ₩13,500, and reviewers most often call it down-to-earth, casual, clean and good value.
START WITHJjageuri · thick pork stew eaten with rice
Ttukbaegijip is a small stew restaurant near Jongno 3-ga serving four stews in earthenware pots: snail doenjang, plain doenjang, soft tofu and kimchi stew, all priced ₩8,000–₩9,000. DiningCode reviewers most often describe it as unpretentious, good value and popular with locals.
START WITHUreong Doenjang · soybean paste stew with freshwater snails
Gosami is a home-style Korean restaurant near Sinchon Station, listed on DiningCode for grilled fish and stir-fried squid. The menu covers grilled mackerel and Spanish mackerel, ojingeo bokkeum, beef bulgogi and two stews at ₩9,000–₩17,000. Reviewers most often describe it as unpretentious, lively, generous and good value.
Byeolmi Bokkeumjeom near Yeouido Station is listed on DiningCode for jeyuk bokkeum, spicy stir-fried pork. Every main is cooked over direct flame: pork, squid, webfoot octopus, small octopus, or pork paired with squid or octopus. Steamed egg and chilled acorn jelly soup are the sides. Reviewers most often call it down-to-earth, lively, good value and a lesser-known local pick.
Geumseonggwan Naju Gomtang serves Naju-style gomtang made with hanu (Korean beef) near Namdaemun Market, along with galbitang, pan-fried beef slices and boiled beef platters. DiningCode lists it for gomtang and dongdongju rice wine, and reviewers most often call it unpretentious, casual, generous and popular with locals.
START WITHNaju Gomtang · Korean beef soup served with rice, Naju style
A home-style Korean restaurant near Seoul Forest in Seongsu, listed on DiningCode for jipbap, everyday home cooking. Set meals include lettuce wraps, bibimbap with bulgogi, Korean beef tteokgalbi and grilled fish, alongside spicy stir-fried pork and fire-grilled bulgogi. Reviewers most often call it clean, pretty, casual and down-to-earth.
START WITHSsambap jeongsik · lettuce-wrap rice set with side dishes
Pair a visit to Gyeongbokgung Palace with a warming bowl of chicken soup. The traditional hanok setting makes this an inviting introduction to Korean comfort food.
Running since 1949 and now in its third generation, Mapo-ok is regularly named among Seoul's oldest seolleongtang houses. The slow-simmered ox-bone broth is the kind of unfussy, warming meal locals eat any time of day, including breakfast.
One of the best-known pancake stalls inside Gwangjang Market, a covered market that has fed Seoul since 1905. Sit at the counter, watch the pancakes fry a few feet away, and eat on a stool the way market regulars do.
A small noodle restaurant holding a Michelin Bib Gourmand in the Seoul selection. The kitchen builds Korean noodle bowls with some Italian technique, and the menu changes with the season, turning cold in summer and to an ox-head broth in winter. There are only a few tables.
Bapjangin Dwaeji Jjigae's Hongdae branch, about 140 m from Hongik University Station, serves pork stews: jjageuli, pork kimchi stew, soft tofu with potato and soft tofu with brisket, plus bulgogi, stir-fried squid and Spam sets for one or two. DiningCode reviewers most often call it unpretentious, generous and good value.
Hayan Gorae's main Jonggak restaurant is listed on DiningCode for jeotgal (salted seafood) and ssambap. The one-person jeotgal ssambap set costs ₩18,000, with extras such as boiled pork (100 g, ₩10,000), grilled mackerel and spicy braised fish roe; DiningCode reviewers most often describe it as clean, generous and down-to-earth.
START WITHJeotgal ssambap · leaf wraps with rice and salted seafood
Running since 1968 in the old Mukyo-dong office district, this single-menu restaurant serves the mild, clear pollack soup Seoul office workers turn to as a gentle hangover cure. It opens early and is built for a quick, quiet meal rather than a leisurely dinner.
Baekam sundae is a style from Baekam in Yongin, where the sausage is packed with vegetables and glass noodles rather than filler and the broth is a clear pork bone stock. This is the original branch of the Nongmin group and it draws a steady office lunch crowd from the Daechi and Seolleung blocks. The soup arrives with sundae and assorted pork offal already in the bowl.
START WITHSundae-gukbap · pork blood sausage and offal rice soup
Muwol Siktak, near Sinnonhyeon and Gangnam Station, is listed on DiningCode for Korean bansang, a tray of rice, soup and side dishes. The menu on file shows one main: old-style beef bulgogi served with lettuce wraps. Reviewers most often call it clean, casual, lively and pretty.
Opened in 2014 by an owner who mills and cuts his own buckwheat, so the strands are slightly thicker and rougher than at the older Pyongyang houses. The broth is simmered about five hours from Korean beef with medicinal roots, and the house also makes its own pear vinegar, mustard sauce and daily radish kimchi. It appears in the Michelin Guide Seoul selection.
START WITHPyeongyang mul-guksu · buckwheat noodles in chilled beef broth
A samgyetang specialist near Samgakji Station serving whole young chicken in broth, including black-sesame and herbal versions alongside the classic. It is light, warming and an easy first Korean meal; a kimchi pancake on the side is a popular addition.
START WITHSamgyetang · whole young chicken in ginseng broth
A small katsu shop in the residential streets above Mangwon Market, frying pork fillet to order and serving it as a set with rice and soup. It is one of the highest-rated katsu addresses in Mapo-gu on Korean review sites. The room is small and the kitchen works slowly, which is why the waits run long.
START WITHHire katsu set · pork fillet cutlet with rice and soup
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.
