22 Great Restaurants in Seoul

La Yeon at The Shilla Seoul serves traditional Korean delicacies in a fine-dining setting. Award-winning chef, Kim Sung Il uses the highest quality local and seasonal ingredients to create an extensive range of haute Korean cuisine. 

Located on the 23rd floor, the restaurant overlooks the bustling downtown Seoul. Its sophisticated interior features white furnishing and wooden fixtures. La Yeon has 4 set menus that change according to the season, each consisting of mains, desserts and Korean tea, as well as optional wine pairings. 

Jungsik is a Gangnam restaurant that offers a unique take on Korean dishes. The service here is impeccable and unobtrusive, making it a popular venue for romantic dinners. The tasting menu is priced at 150,000 won onwards. 

You can enjoy sea urchin bibimbap (traditional dish of rice, meat, and vegetables), samgyeopsal (crispy pork belly with assorted pickled vegetables and trumpet mushrooms), and Jeju crispy snapper. For dessert, Jungsik’s signature chocolate mousse is a must try - served in tiny traditional kimchi pots, this beautiful treat is decorated with cake crumbs and edible flowers. 

Pierre Gagnaire a Seoul is a top-notch French eatery on the 35th floor of Lotte Hotel Seoul. Offering spectacular views of Bukhan Mountain and downtown Seoul, the restaurant has 4 stylish dining rooms for privacy, while the section is fashioned after the Palace of Versailles’ secret garden. 

Food-wise, Pierre Gagnaire a Seoul serves artistic French cuisine – standouts include sea bass gravlax with celeriac and bean sprouts, pork loin with creamed pear, and honey-balsamic vinegar sorbet. The restaurant also offers an impressive collection of over 250 French wines from the Bourgogne, Loire, and Alsace regions.

Ryunique presents Korean delicacies with heavy influence from France, Japan, Spain, and Italy. This award-winning restaurant features blond wood tables, fresh flowers and plenty of natural light, exuding an unpretentious fine-dining ambience. 

Its five-course lunch and dinner menus cost between 38,000 won and 120,000 won – dishes are made with contemporary cooking methods and avant-garde presentation. Standouts include soy marinated shrimp (with a side of dried green mustard leaf with fried crosne) and roasted pork belly with sous-vide king shrimp. 

Congdu Restaurant serves traditional Korean cuisine that’s adapted to a more modern palate. The restaurant is located inside the Seoul History Museum (behind Deoksugung Palace), but finding it can be rather challenging as there’s no signage. Look out for a traditional Korean building between the US and UK embassies. 

Congdu’s food offerings are subtle in flavour with impeccable presentation. Standout dishes include the Jeju Island black pork that’s slow-roasted for 48 hours, barley bibimbap with brown bean paste, and pork belly with marinated oysters and kale wrap. For dessert, Congdu Restaurant’s tofu cream tiramisu with espresso and pine nut puree is a must-try.

Tosokchon is one of the best places in Seoul for samgyetang (chicken ginseng soup), a popular Korean dish usually eaten during summer. A 10-minute walk from Gyeongbokgung Station, it was a favourite spot of South Korea’s late president, Noh Muh-hyun, making it as an iconic landmark in Seoul. 

Tosokchon’s samgyetang is slow-cooked for hours for a sweet and nutty flavour, consisting of a spring chicken (that’s no more than 49 days old) stuffed with chestnuts, garlic, dried jujubes, ginseng, glutinous rice, and gingko nuts. Tosokchon also offers tongdak (roasted chicken), hae-mool pajeon (green onion pancake with seafood), and agu-jjim (braised spicy monkfish).

Fried chicken is a conventional after-work snack in Seoul, and Gangnam’s Han Chu Korean Fried Chicken is one of the best place to get your hands on this crispy morsel. This modest restaurant is located at Garosugil Street, a high-end fashion street near Apgujeong Station. 

Best accompanied with a cold beer, Han Chu’s signature fried chicken (prices start from 17,000 won) is juicy on the inside while the lightly battered skin is crispy with each bite. Other popular dishes here include the fried whole green pepper with pork fillings, and seasoned clams with noodles.

Enjoy a full course dinner with a spectacular view of Seoul at N Grill, a rotating restaurant within the iconic N Seoul Tower. Located on the highest level, the ambience here is very exclusive and intimate – you’ll often see couples enjoying a romantic dinner, especially on special occasions.  

N Grill has an extensive wine list and quality French dishes, such as marinated lamb cutlets with wilted rocket, cumin infused jus, seabass with courgette and fennel salad and grilled whole lobster with fresh pasta and a green salad.

Maple Tree House is a Korean BBQ eatery with several branches in Seoul. The outlet in Itaewon is well-frequented for its succulent grilled meat. The wine bar-like restaurant has warm lighting, wooden furnishings, rustic décor, and floor-to-ceiling windows.

The menu consists of authentic Korean cuisine, such as naengmyeon (cold noodle) and kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew) as well as grilled beef, pork, and seafood. Maple Tree House’s signature dish is cheongyeop (pork grilled over a charcoal fire and wrapped in fermented sesame leaves).

Na Ri Sik Dang, located in Itaewon, attracts locals with its inexpensive yet authentic Korean BBQ dishes. A 2-minute walk of the Hangangjin train station, this neighborhood eatery is rather hidden, so its clientele is mostly residents of the Itaewon neighbourhood. 

Na Ri Sik Dang is also quite affordable compared to most BBQ restaurants in Seoul – its signature BBQ pork belly is priced at around 11,000 won and 7,000 won for bean paste stew. 

Gaon is one of the most refined restaurants in Seoul. The 3-storey restaurant has been meticulously designed with each floor featuring different motifs and designs. One wall is made up with glowing colour bars, another is built using old newspapers, and the 3rd with clear plastic cases filled with beans. 

The menu consists of some of the best Korean classics. The radish kimchi with oysters and hae-mool pajun – a thick pancake full of scallops, squid and octopus – are some of Gaon’s signature dishes. They also have an extensive collection of wine and traditional Korean drinks. 

Gwangjang Market is one of the 1st permanent street markets in South Korea. Located near Jogno-ga Station (Exit 8), this market is known for its range of traditional Korean food.

The ground floor has dozens of food stalls and restaurants serving authentic Korean dishes when you’re shopping at Gwangjang Market. Tailor shops occupy the 1st floor, where you get to buy folk clothing at reasonable prices. 

Hongik Sutbul Galbi is an affordable Korean BBQ restaurant near Hongik University. The standout dish here is the high-quality galbi (beef ribs), which is cooked using charcoal stoves instead of hotplates. 

The staff usually does most of the cooking for you, but it’s pretty straightforward – place the meat on top of the heated stove. Once it’s cooked, wrap the meat and your choice of sides in lettuce, before enjoying it in a single bite. When you leave the restaurant, you’re bound to smell like roast meat – and we mean that in a good way!

Myeongdong Hamheung Myeonok is a great place for a casual meal in Seoul. The restaurant dates back to the 1980s and is located near the Myeongdong Cathedral. Its signature dish is the North Korean-style naengmyeon (chilled buckwheat noodles). You can also enjoy this dish with thinly sliced raw meat on top of the spicy noodles.

Sanchon is the place to visit for vegetarian dishes cooked in Buddhist-temple style. Founded by a former Buddhist monk, this rustic restaurant is decorated with Buddhist artworks, traditional pottery, and paper lanterns – it feels like you’ve stepped inside a real shrine rather than a dining spot. 

Sanchon has an ala carte menu, but it’s popular for its 16-course lunch and dinner menus, which vary from season to season. The restaurant also hosts Korean dance performances every night at 8pm.

Woolaeoak serves North Korean-style buckwheat noodles in cold broth (pyeongyang naengmyeon). The restaurant has no break times between lunch and supper, so it’s a good idea to go between the usual meal times to avoid crowds. The dish is seasoned just right and richly garnished, meaning that it’s suitable for those who are new to this style of noodles, as well as those who enjoy Hamheung-style buckwheat noodles.

Maillet in Seorae Village proudly serves desserts made by a French pâtissier. Among the desserts that are almost too colourful and beautiful to eat, the creamy, rich mille-feuille is the most popular item that often sells out before business hours are over. The desserts here are just as much for your eyes as they are for your mouth, so they make for great casual gifts for just about anyone.

Mongmyeok Sanbang is known for its high-quality yet affordable Korean dishes. Once a Mount Namsan staple, the restaurant has moved to another spot but is popular as ever among Koreans and foreigners. Your vegetables of choice are served on top of rice in a traditional brass bowl. It’s so popular that long queues can be seen throughout the day. Luckily, the turnover rate is high, so you shouldn’t have to wait too long to be seated.

Namdo Bunsik is a retro casual eatery located in a narrow alley in Ikseon-dong. If you’re Korean, you’ll be happy to see food served in old-fashioned green melamine bowls, and the classic radio hits playing through speakers will add to the atmosphere. The popular spicy rice cakes with dried radish (siraegi tteokbokki) aren’t too spicy, so be sure to try some. The servings are generous, perfect for ordering lots of different items with a larger group.

Better Than Beef on Garosu-gil specialises in pork-based dishes that are elegant and stylish. The entrance is unassuming, but the interior is so large that you’ll question the possibility of it. Plus, its unique interior decoration will have your eyes so busy that your order will be served before you know it. The names on the menu might have you scratching your head, but they’re very delicious. Be sure to try their homegrown traditional Korean rice wine (makgeolli). Visiting with your significant other or a close friend is highly recommended.

Taegeukdang Bakery first opened in Myeong-dong in 1946 and relocated to Jangchung-dong in 1973. It’s just as popular today as it was back then. The bakery offers modern creations and classic staples that made it so popular when it first opened. Their display makes it easy to pick out the ones you want. The retro interior may feel fresh for the younger crowds, but those of an older generation will certainly welcome the nostalgia.