Most of this site is research: prices, data, menus, sources. This page is different. These are my regulars: places I go back to again and again, and the answer I give when someone asks, “Okay, but where do you eat?” Nobody paid for these picks. No sponsorships.
Tank’s regulars at a glance: Hangaram for a proper Korean set meal near Seoul City Hall · Sob&Co (소브앤코) for beer and live sports in Bundang · Hwangje Chapssal Kkwabaegi in Ikseon-dong for hotdogs and twisted donuts · Ihwagol for an affordable Korean set meal in Ikseon-dong for the best street snack in the neighborhood.
1. Hangaram (한가람), near Seoul City Hall: my pick for a real Korean meal
If you’re around City Hall or Myeong-dong and want one sit-down Korean meal that feels like the real thing, this is where I’d send you. Hangaram serves hanjeongsik-style set meals built around “yakseon” cooking (Korean food prepared with medicinal herbs in mind). The table fills up with side dishes, rice and soup around your main.
- What to order: the soy-marinated crab set (간장게장 정식) is the signature. Abalone and braised beef shank, grilled LA galbi, eel and Jeju tilefish sets are also on the menu.
- Price: roughly ₩22,000–39,000 per person for a set (2026 listings).
- Hours: listed as weekdays 11:00–22:00 with a 15:00–17:00 break, weekends 11:00–21:00. Check before you go.
- Tip: reservations are recommended for groups, especially at weekday lunch when the office crowd arrives.
- Address: 25 Namdaemun-ro 5-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul (서울 중구 남대문로5길 25), Bukchang-dong, a short walk from City Hall Station. Naver Map · Google Maps
2. Sob&Co (소브앤코), Bundang: beer and live sports
If you’re in Bundang and want a beer, this is my spot. Sob&Co is a relaxed neighborhood pub with good drinking food (anju), and here’s the part I love most: it’s a sports pub. On days when there’s a game, you can watch it live right there, and the whole pub cheers together. You get your beer, the match and a crowd that’s actually into it.
- Go for: beer with friends, fried anju, and a bubbling pot of ramyeon to finish the night.
- Best time: game days. Arrive a little early if you want a good view.
- Address: 1F #110, 79 Dolma-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do (경기 성남시 분당구 돌마로 79 1층 110호). Naver Map · Google Maps
3. Hwangje Chapssal Kkwabaegi (황제찹쌀꽈배기), Ikseon-dong: hotdogs & twisted donuts
Ikseon-dong’s hanok alleys are packed with trendy cafés, but my favorite snack there is simple: Hwangje Chapssal Kkwabaegi (황제찹쌀꽈배기, “Emperor Sticky-Rice Twisted Donuts”), a small shop right next to the neighborhood community service center (dong office), that sells Korean-style hotdogs and kkwabaegi, twisted donuts rolled in sugar. Both are genuinely excellent. If you’re anywhere nearby, go.
- What to get: one hotdog and one kkwabaegi. Eat the kkwabaegi while it’s still warm.
- How to find it: head for the Jongno 1·2·3·4-ga-dong Community Service Center in Ikseon-dong; Hwangje Chapssal Kkwabaegi is right beside it. Naver Map · Google Maps
- Combine it with: a walk through the Ikseon-dong hanok alleys, or Seoul’s old-school nopo restaurants around Jongno 3-ga.
4. Ihwagol (이화골), Ikseon-dong: affordable Korean set meals
Ikseon-dong is full of photogenic cafés with prices to match, which makes Ihwagol a real find: proper Korean home-style food at a price that’s cheap by Ikseon-dong standards. I had the jeyuk ssambap: spicy stir-fried pork with a basket of lettuce for wrapping, a bubbling stew, purple multigrain rice and a plate of banchan. Everything else on the menu I’ve tried is good too, which is why it’s one of my regulars.
- What to order: jeyuk ssambap (spicy pork with lettuce wraps). Wrap a piece of pork with rice in a lettuce leaf and eat it in one bite.
- Why go: a full, filling Korean meal in a neighborhood where most places charge café-premium prices.
- Combine it with: a hotdog and kkwabaegi from Hwangje Chapssal Kkwabaegi for dessert.
- Find it: Naver Map · Google Maps
Want to make jeyuk at home? Try our jeyuk bokkeum recipe.
Why trust these picks?
I live in Seoul, and these are places I keep going back to myself. I’ll keep this list updated: if a place changes or closes, I’ll say so here. Want more local recommendations? Browse our Where to Eat guides.
