Hello everyone.
Today, I will recommend my top 10 restaurants in Seoul that I visited in 2023. They are my personal picks and they are all Korean food, excluding fusion or foreign restaurants.
Dangsan Yetnal Gopchang
This restaurant is gopchang, a small intestine tripe, place located near Dangsan Station. Gopchang is one of popular food among Koreans. The recommended menu is the combination, which includes different tyeps of beef intestines. Just note that you need to order as much as the number of your party or more. The restaurant is popular, so if you want to avoid long lines, I recommend visiting for lunch or before 5 PM. While it's possible to visit alone, it's better to go during off-peak hours.
✔ Naver: https://naver.me/F6mxxomV
Seomjib
This restaurant is located near Yongsan Station. It's popular for home-cooked style dishes. If you're curious about the taste of Korean home-cooked food, give it a try. The recommended menu is pork kimchi stew and beef jeon. For more details about this restaurant, check out the previous video.
✔ Naver: https://naver.me/5HSEXLiN
✔ Youtube: https://youtu.be/Qinx09ZV-qc
Sonmun Galmaegisal
This restaurant is a meat place located near Yongsan Station and Sinyongsan Station. It has seasoned grilled galmaegisal (skirt meat) with a slightly sweet sauce. Also it is served with spicy makguksu which is buckwheat noodles. One other great thing about this place is that when you order meat, they grill it before serving it a tabel grill. So you don’t need to worry about grilling the meat yourself. The recommended menu is galmaegisal. The spicy makguksu is complimentary for the first meat order which would be enough. But if you want more, then you can order more with extra charge. The restaurant is crowded in between 6-8 PM, so expect a wait during that time. Not a place for solo dining.
✔ Naver: https://naver.me/FuVoMZG2
Namsan Donkatsu
This restaurant is a Korean-style pork cutlet place located between Hoehyeon Station and Namsan. This pork cutlet is made by thinly spreading and deep-frying the meat, and it's eaten with a sweet sauce. The recommended menu is the regular pork cutlet. Just note that the place is very popular so you have to wait in line to eat here but rotation is very fast. You won't wait long. Try going there during weekday for less wait. Possible for solo dining.
✔ Naver: https://naver.me/50107ND0
Samcheondong Sujebi
This restaurant is a handmade sujebi place located around Gyeongbokgung Palace. Sujebi is like a pasta soup made with dough flakes and various vegetables. The recommended menu is sujebi and potato jeon. This place is possible for solo dining, but there are few single seating so just be flexible with the seat.
✔ Naver: https://naver.me/Gw5EaR1A
Yukhoe Jamejib
This place is a yukhoe (raw beef) restaurant located in Gwangjang Market. If you want to try this fresh yukhoe and live small octopus, visit here. The recommended menu is yuktangi and beef jeon. If you can't eat live small octopus, just order yukhoe instead of yuktangi. You can order using the kiosk, which is very convenient for those who don't speak Korean. Also, there are two more branches nearby, so you can eat without waiting. This place is possible for solo dining.
✔ Naver: https://naver.me/GSiHpa1l
Jongsam Yuk
This place is a pork belly restaurant located in front of Jongno 3-ga Station, on the Hanok Street in Ikseondong. There are many Korean bbq places in this Hanok Street, but this one is the largest and most famous for its deliciousness. Especially, the outdoor barbecue vibe is something people love here. The recommended menu is kalmaegisal (pork skirt meat) and pork seasoned ribs. This place is not for solo dining.
✔ Naver: https://naver.me/5AmffTZe
✔ Youtube: https://youtu.be/mje6KxlXPGc
Han River Convenience Store
It's not a restaurant, but I still want to mention here anyways. I mention Han River a lot in my other videos, so you probably know how much I love it. If you come to Korea, definitely visit Han River and get food from convenience store. You can cook ramyon from the convenience store, or you can bring food from nearby restaurants or markets and do a picnic.
✔ Naver: https://naver.me/xZDOpRx3 (Mangwon)
✔ Youtube: https://youtu.be/YihMxGyS498
Puradak
Puradak is a chicken franchise found anywhere in Korea. Korean chicken is really delicious, and among them, I recommend Puradak. Honestly, my favorite chicken place changes every year, and this year it's Puradak. The recommended menu is Black Aglio-Mabulro Devil Half and Half. Black Aglio is Puradak's representative menu with a soy sauce and savory garlic flavor. Mabulro Devil is a spicy seasoning with garlic flakes on top. This half and half sells well because the two flavors go well together. I find boneless more convenient, so I prefer boneless. Puradak is mainly for takeout, but if there are seats in the store, then it's possible to dine alone.
✔ Youtube: https://youtu.be/0KaC54Y2Eds (9:00~)
Boseung Restaurant
This place is a franchise that serves gukbab (rice soup) which is one of the essetial food among Koreans. It's a good place to eat hearty gukbab, and some places are open 24 hours, making it great for late-night or early morning visits. The recommended menu is steamed pork gukbab or sundae gukbab. I prefer the steamed pork. This place is possible for solo dining.
✔ Naver: https://naver.me/G8tUSCgK (Myeongdong)
Today I recommended 10 restaurants I visited in Seoul in 2023. If you have the chance, visit them and enjoy the delicious food. Next time, I'll recommend more restaurants. If you have any foods you want to try or restaurants you want recommendations for, let me know in the comments!
Here is a link to my saved top 10 restaurant Naver Map list: