Seoul area guide
South of the river: Gangnam, Sinnonhyeon, Nonhyeon, Apgujeong, Cheongdam, Seocho and the Express Bus Terminal. Office towers and nightlife mean long opening hours — this is where Seoul eats beef soup at 3 a.m. and Korean barbecue after work.
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Sinnonhyeon
해화옥 신논현 직영점
₩20,000 per person
Open 24 hours
Haehwaok is a 24-hour Korean restaurant near Sinnonhyeon Station in Gangnam, Seoul. Visit for Hanwoo beef soup, beef shank and tendon hot pot, bulgogi and Korean beef barbecue, from breakfast to late-night dining.
Nonhyeon
용용선생 논현점
₩30,000 per person
Hours Sun–Fri 17:00–02:00; Sat 17:00–05:00
A Hong Kong-style pub in Nonhyeon for a table of bold, shareable dishes. Start with the signature volcano mala hot pot.
육미안 강남점
₩27,000 per person
Hours 12:00–22:00
Yukmian's Gangnam branch, near Sinnonhyeon Station, is listed on DiningCode as a beef barbecue restaurant. Cuts include angchang galbi and bon galbi (250 g, ₩27,000 each) and pork galbi (200 g, ₩16,000), with fried rice and a truffle galbi sotbap to finish; DiningCode reviewers most often describe it as clean, pretty and casual.
지강한식당 압구정본점
₩17,000 per person
Hours 11:00–22:00
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.
1992 덮밥&짜글이 강남본점
₩13,500 per person
Hours 10:30–23:00
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.
밍글스
₩320,000 per person
Hours 12:00–22:00
A fine-dining restaurant in Cheongdam serving set tasting menus at lunch and dinner, with wine, Korean liquor (uri sul), signature and selected drink pairings offered at varying prices. DiningCode reviewers most often describe it as upscale, formal, clean and pretty.
삼원가든
₩80,000 per person
Hours Mon–Sat 11:30–21:30; Sun & holidays 11:00–21:00
Opened in 1976, Samwon Garden is a garden-style barbecue house that has hosted generations of Seoul families and business dinners over grilled short ribs. Private rooms and a landscaped courtyard make it feel like an occasion rather than a quick meal.
Main Branch
농민백암순대 본점
₩11,000 per person
Hours Mon–Fri 11:10–21:00; Sat 11:10–15:30
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.
무월식탁
₩16,500 per person
Hours 11:00–22:00
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.
봉밀가
₩15,500 per person
Hours Mon–Sat 11:00–21:00
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.
정식당
₩230,000 per person
Hours 12:00–22:00
Jeongsikdang is a fine-dining restaurant in Cheongdam, listed on DiningCode for fine dining and gimbap. Only two prices are listed, a lunch course and a dinner course, and reviewers most often describe it as upscale, formal, quiet and clean.
꿉당
₩35,000 per person
Hours Mon–Fri 15:00–22:50; Sat–Sun 12:00–22:50
Ggupdang is a pork neck specialist directly in front of Sinsa Station. The meat is aged about fifteen days and cooked quickly on a custom aluminium plate over binchotan charcoal. A separate rice dish, developed with a Japanese chef, is meant to be eaten with the pork.
중앙해장
₩14,000 per person
A haejangguk house that has fed Gangnam's after-drinks crowd for about thirty years, running almost round the clock near Samseong Station. The signature bowl combines beef tripe and seonji, the mild blood curd, in a beef broth. There is also a clear brisket gomtang for anyone who would rather skip the offal.
Starfield COEX Mall
플랜튜드
₩18,000 per person
Hours Mon–Sun 11:00–21:00
A fully vegan restaurant on the basement level of Starfield COEX Mall, opened by the Korean food company Pulmuone. The menu is about a dozen dishes that lean Korean, including a bibimbap with crumbled tofu, a tomato-based sundubu stew and tofu katsu over rice. Tablets at the table show each dish with its nutritional information.
강남 원주추어탕
₩15,000 per person
Hours 10:00–22:00, Monday–Saturday
Running for roughly four decades near the Gangnam/Sinnonhyeon office district, this specialist serves chueotang, a hearty mudfish soup considered a classic restorative dish across Korea. It's a good change of pace from Gangnam's newer restaurants, a genuine old-school lunch spot rather than a trend-driven one.
김북순 큰남비집 본점
₩12,000 per person
Hours 10:30–21:30
Gim Buk-sun Keunnambijip's main restaurant, on the Garosu-gil side of Sinsa-dong, is listed on DiningCode for kimchi-jjigae and rolled omelette. Pork, tuna and Spam kimchi-jjigae and seafood soft tofu stew are ₩12,000 each, alongside rolled omelette (₩10,000) and grilled dried pollock; DiningCode reviewers most often call it down-to-earth, good value and casual.
면서울
₩14,000 per person
Hours Mon–Sat 11:00–22:00
The second restaurant from chef Kim Do-yun of Yun Seoul, opened because guests asked to buy the house-made noodles on their own. The noodles are milled from a blend of wholewheat with mung bean and soybean and use no chemical additives. It holds a Bib Gourmand in the Michelin Guide.
진미평양냉면
₩18,000 per person
Hours 11:00–21:30
One of Gangnam's most consistently recommended Pyongyang naengmyeon houses, regularly named alongside the city's best in Korean food media. The broth is subtle and savory rather than sweet, meant to be tasted plain before any condiments go in.
외고집설렁탕
₩15,000 per person
Hours Mon–Sat 11:00–21:00
A long-running seolleongtang house in Samseong that has appeared in the Michelin Guide Seoul and the Korean Blue Ribbon Survey. The broth is boiled from beef bones to a pale, clean finish rather than a heavy one, and the room is large and plainly furnished. One bowl of rice per person comes with each order.
홍명
₩12,000 per person
Hours Mon–Sun 11:30–21:30
An old-school Korean-Chinese restaurant off Nonhyeon-ro that has been running for over twenty years and became much busier after appearing on Korean food television. It covers the familiar repertoire of black bean noodles, spicy seafood noodle soup and fried sweet-and-sour pork. Hand-made fried dumplings are only available in the evening.
Express Bus Terminal
반포갈비 고속터미널점
Hours 12:00–23:00
A charcoal beef-rib house inside Banpo Shopping Town at Express Bus Terminal. Raw galbisal and top blade arrive on a steel tray to grill yourself; every staff member greets you at the door, and many customers are foreign.
고운님 포스코사거리점
₩12,000 per person
Hours 11:00–22:00
A restaurant near Seolleung serving Namdo-style (southwestern Korean) food, from a daily set meal and octopus stone-pot rice to yellow croaker spicy stew and three omakase courses. DiningCode reviewers most often describe it as clean, casual, generous and good value.
딸부자네불백 신사본점
₩11,000 per person
Hours 00:00–24:00
Ttalbujane Bulbaek's Sinsa main branch is open 24 hours and serves bulbaek, flame-grilled bulgogi set meals, in spicy pork and beef versions, along with stir-fried octopus, kimchi stew, beef rib meat and naengmyeon. DiningCode reviewers most often describe it as unpretentious, casual, good value and lively.
빨간의자집
₩69,000 per person
Hours 11:00–22:00
Ppalgan Uijajip near Gangnam Station is listed on DiningCode as a barbecue restaurant with a camping theme. The menu runs from a two-person set (₩69,000) and a barbecue and lobster platter (₩168,000) to charcoal-grilled whole cuttlefish (₩25,000) and kimchi fried rice; DiningCode reviewers most often describe it as lively, casual and down-to-earth.
Jamwon
서울쭈꾸미 잠원점
₩16,000 per person
Hours Mon–Thu 11:00–22:00
A webfoot-octopus restaurant between Sinsa and Nonhyeon. Octopus and pork belly in red chili sauce are cooked in a pan on the burner built into each round steel table. The kitchen is open to the room.
전주해장국
₩10,000 per person
Hours Daily 07:00–22:00
A small, worn-in soup shop on a back street between Gangnam and Sinnonhyeon stations that has been serving the same pork spine soup for decades. The broth is doenjang-based with potato, greens and meaty neck bones, and it opens at 07:00 for people coming off a night out or heading to work. The menu is essentially one dish.
Gyodae Branch
황금콩밭
₩20,000 per person
Hours Mon–Fri 11:30–21:30; Sat–Sun 11:30–21:00
A soybean specialist near the courts at Gyodae that makes its tofu daily from Sobaeksan beans and has been recognised by the Michelin Guide. The kitchen builds everything around that tofu, from a strong-smelling cheonggukjang stew to hotpots for sharing. It also keeps a list of Korean craft makgeolli.
곰바위
₩60,000 per person
Hours Daily 11:00–22:00
Gom Ba Wie started in 1983 as a small place near Bongeunsa temple in Samseong-dong and now runs a three-storey annex behind the original building. It specialises in Korean beef offal, mainly tripe and large intestine, trimmed by hand and grilled over charcoal. Cuts such as ribeye, galbi and brisket are on the same menu.
Seocho Main Branch
버드나무집
₩85,000 per person
Hours Daily 11:00–21:30
Beodeunamujip has grilled beef on the same Seocho corner since 1977, starting with jumulleok before adding short rib and specialty cuts. The beef galbi is seasoned only with sea salt, with no soy sauce in the marinade. Side dishes are plainly seasoned and made without MSG.
Nonhyeon Main Branch
리북집
₩25,000 per person
Hours Mon–Sat 11:00–01:00; Sun 11:00–23:00
Ribukjip is an old-style jokbal house in the Yeongdong Market alleys of Nonhyeon-dong, serving braised pig trotter sliced to order. It also does a cold-dressed version and a spicy one. The dining room is noisy and busy, with terrace seating outside.
만두집
Hours Mon–Sat 12:00–20:00
A small family house that has been folding large Pyongan-style dumplings on the same block for over thirty years, now run by the second generation. The signature is mandu-guk, dumplings served in a clear broth simmered from beef brisket. It holds a Bib Gourmand in the Michelin Guide.
임병주 산동칼국수
₩12,000 per person
Hours Tue–Sun 11:00–21:00
Open since 1988, this is a plain, high-turnover kalguksu house where the noodles are rolled and cut fresh each day and the broth is drawn from clams. Alongside the noodles it sells Pyongyang-style large dumplings, chilled soybean noodles in summer, and a fresh kimchi made with ground green chilli. It holds a Bib Gourmand in the Michelin Guide.
영동설렁탕
₩15,000 per person
Open 24 hours
A long-running ox bone soup house behind the main road in Sinsa that stays open around the clock. The menu is two items, seolleongtang and a platter of boiled beef, and the soup arrives unseasoned with salt, spring onion and kimchi on the table. It is a standard last stop for people leaving the bars around Sinsa and Gangnam-daero.
설매네
₩12,000 per person
Hours 11:30–21:30
A Korean restaurant by Apgujeong Station known locally for bossam (boiled pork) and tangpyeongchae, also serving mandu-guk, kalguksu, a dumpling hot pot and pancakes such as oyster jeon and mung-bean bindaetteok. DiningCode reviewers most often describe it as down-to-earth, casual, lively and popular with locals.
청담제주물항
₩45,000 per person
Hours Mon–Fri 11:30–23:00; Sat–Sun 11:30–22:00
A Jeju seafood specialist in Cheongdam working with Jeju-landed fish, served either braised with radish in a chilli and soy sauce or grilled whole. There are private rooms on the second floor and the dining room is larger and more formal than most fish houses. It ranks first on DiningCode's Gangnam hairtail list.
쭈불앤쭈불 코엑스몰점
₩25,000 per person
Hours 11:00–21:30
Jjubul & Jjubul's COEX Mall branch specialises in jjukkumi (webfoot octopus) bulgogi, served in sets paired with beef brisket doenjang stew, beef tripe or budae-style sausage, plus a one-person jjukkumi set meal and yukgaejang. DiningCode reviewers most often describe it as unpretentious, casual and good value.
Apgujeong Main Branch
한일관
₩45,000 per person
Hours Mon–Fri 11:30–21:30; Sat–Sun 11:00–21:30
Hanilkwan opened in Jongno in 1939 and moved to Apgujeong in late 2008 after its original building was cleared for redevelopment. It is widely treated as the reference point for Seoul-style bulgogi, thin sirloin in a light soy marinade cooked at the table. The same kitchen also serves a sharp, cold Seoul-style naengmyeon.
새벽집
₩22,000 per person
Open 24 hours
Saebyeokjip built its reputation as one of Cheongdam's few round-the-clock restaurants, drawing club-goers, night-shift workers and early risers for hot beef soup at any hour. The name means 'dawn house', and it lives up to it.
Gangnam Branch
소호정
₩16,000 per person
Hours Mon–Fri 11:00–21:30; Sat–Sun 11:00–21:00
Sohojung serves Andong guksi, a northern Gyeongsang style of hand-rolled wheat noodle cut very thin and served in a clear beef broth. The Gangnam branch sits on the second floor of a building opposite Samsung Town by Gangnam Station and turns tables quickly at lunch. From spring to autumn the kitchen also grinds its own soybeans for kongguksu.
Main Branch
서초면옥
₩18,000 per person
Hours Daily 11:00–21:20
A Hamheung-style noodle and beef house that has been in the same spot behind the Seocho courts for about twenty years, used mainly by local office and legal workers. Alongside the cold noodles it serves a clear galbitang of short ribs and a beef bone dumpling soup. Warm broth is brought to the table free of charge.
Nonhyeon
혼마찌 논현
₩55,000 per person
A tuna house near Yeongdong Market in Nonhyeon, run single-handedly by its owner. The set arrives as cuts of tuna divided in a wooden box, nigiri on a board, and a warm dish alongside.
Nonhyeon
논현돈 논현점
A pork-belly house between Nonhyeon and Sinnonhyeon stations. Thick belly is grilled on a round cast-iron lid (sotttukkeong) with kimchi, sprouts and garlic cooking in the fat beside it. A wall sign says the pork is grade-1 Korean pork. Round steel tables, exposed ducts and football on the TV.
Samseong
맛찬들 삼성직영점
The visitor singled out the quality of the pork, the taste and the friendly service. Staff grilled the meat at the table.
By Google rating with at least 300 reviews: Yukmian Gangnam branch (★4.9, 1,460 reviews), Jigang Hansikdang (Jigang Korean Restaurant) Apgujeong Main (★4.7, 1,700 reviews), 1992 Deopbap & Jjageuri Gangnam Main (★4.8, 755 reviews).
Open late: Haehwaok Sinnonhyeon (Open 24 hours), Yongyong Seonsaeng Nonhyeon (Sun–Fri 17:00–02:00; Sat 17:00–05:00), 1992 Deopbap & Jjageuri Gangnam Main (10:30–23:00), Jungang Haejang.
Easy first stops: Haehwaok Sinnonhyeon, 1992 Deopbap & Jjageuri Gangnam Main, Nongmin Baekam Sundae Main Branch, Bongmilga.
What a Seoul restaurant owner ordered, paid and noticed.