10 Best Local Restaurants in Seoul

Tosokchon is known for its signature samgyetang, a popular Korean chicken soup with ginseng best eaten during the summertime. A 10-minute walk from Gyeongbokgung Station, it was a favorite spot of South Korea’s late president Noh Muh-hyun, making it an iconic landmark in Seoul. 

Tosokchon’s samgyetang is slow cooked for hours for a sweet and nutty flavor. It’s made with a young spring chicken stuffed with chestnuts, garlic, dried jujubes, ginseng, glutinous rice, and gingko nuts. Aside from its signature dish, Tosokchon also offers roast chicken tongdak, green onion pancakes with seafood called hae-mool pajeon, and agu-jjim, which is a braised spicy monkfish.

The Michelin-rated Goryeo Samgyetang has been serving quality samgyetang since 1960. This local restaurant is about a 2-minute walk from the City Hall subway station. The menu offers many traditional Korean dishes including roasted chicken goryeo tongdak and jeonbok-juk, which is an abalone rice porridge.

Samgyetang is made by boiling a whole chicken with a mix of dates, garlic, glutinous rice, and various Korean medicinal herbs to make a flavorful and energizing soup. Goryeo Samgyetang only uses ginseng that’s grown in Geumsan and 7-week-old chicken from local farms.

Hadongkwan Myeongdong is a popular lunchtime spot in Seoul for savory gomtang, which is beef bone soup with rice, and suyuk, which is boiled beef. Founded in the early 1930s, Hadongkwan relocated from a quiet back alley near Cheonggyecheon to the popular Myeongdong district. 

This city institution is serving a simple classic made to perfection plus excellent kimchi on the side. Hadongkwan opens early and closes when it’s out of beef, so stop by early to get your fill of Seoul’s most true-to-form gomtang.

Operating since 1937, Cheongjinok is a family-run restaurant that serves haejangguk, a hearty beef broth made by stewing ox blood with generous portions of radish, dried cabbage, beef tripe, and a soybean paste named doenjang. Also known as a hangover stew, this flavorful dish is not for the faint of heart. 

Cheongjinok also serves various pajeon pancake dishes and donggeurang-ttaeng, a pan-fried beef and vegetable patties. Drinks range from soju and beer to traditional wines like baekseju rice wine and bokbunjaju, a sweet-bitter black raspberry wine.

Andongjang is the oldest Chinese restaurant in Seoul. A family business in its third generation, this place is friendly and unpretentious. It has 2 floors of seating, clientele both old and young, and serves heaping portions of Korean-Chinese favorites.

If you find yourself struggling to make a choice from the long menu, take a pick from the shortlist of popular dishes on the wall. Jajangmyeon is a crowd-pleaser: noodles in sweet black bean sauce with crisp raw cucumbers. For a mild, nostalgic dish, order the oyster jjamppong. This comforting soup has soft oysters and winter cabbage and doesn’t skimp on the oil.

Myeongdong Kyoja is a Michelin-starred restaurant renowned for its handmade, knife-cut noodles called kalguksu. Located within walking distance from Myeongdong Station, this beloved spot has been delighting locals and visitors since the 1960s with its simple yet flavorful dishes.

Their menu is short and sweet, featuring only 4 items: kalguksu, mandu dumplings, a mixed noodle dish named bibim guksu, and kongguksu, which are bean noodles. Patrons flock here daily for the fresh, in-house-made dishes. With generous portions and affordable prices, it's no wonder this spot is a local favorite.

Goraebul is an old-style Korean restaurant in the Gangnam district that specializes in raw seafood. Sourcing only the freshest ingredients from Gyeongsang Province on the east coast, this eatery serves some of the tastiest sashimi you’ll find in Seoul, including abalone, red snapper, sea urchin, octopus, and gwamegi, a half-dried Pacific herring. 

The atmosphere here is quiet and cozy, and there are several private rooms available to couples and groups. Above-average prices are matched by dishes of exceptional quality. While the staff offer a high level of service, do note that the menu here is only in Korean.

Norang Jeogori is a traditional Korean eatery serving homestyle plates in lunch and dinner set menus. You won’t leave here hungry: expect a table filled with banchan and side dishes surrounding mains like grilled mackerel and bulgogi. Scallion pancakes, stir-fried octopus, and doenjang jigae, a soybean stew, are among the classic dishes typically served. Expect lightly seasoned, heart-warming dishes and a family restaurant atmosphere.

Prices are reasonable considering the generous portions and Gangman location. Be sure to follow the signs when you enter the building, as you’ll need to take an elevator up to the fifth floor. 

Busan Sikdang is where you’ll see locals enjoying baekban, a set menu of rice, soup or stew, and side dishes. Standouts include the cold steamed cabbage with fermented soybeans, cucumbers with hot pepper flakes, soy sauce crabs, and kimchi made with ponytail radish. 

Do note that rice is cooked to order, so you might need to wait for your meal. Busan Sikdang is also known for its spicy pollock maeuntang, a peppery fish soup that is said to be both a great companion to a glass of Korean soju and a hangover cure. 

Changsin-dong puts "spicy" in their name for a reason. The braised, heavily seasoned jokbal, or pig trotters, that the restaurant serves are seriously spicy, although they’ll make a less-so-but-still-spicy version upon request. To temper the hot flavors and round out your meal, add rice balls and steamed eggs to your jokbal order.

The restaurant is tucked in an alley and surrounded by shops selling an assortment of banchan side dishes. This low-ceilinged spot has lots of tables but tends to fill up with locals as the evening rolls on.