The best restaurants South Korea

This address is a real institution in Seoul. This great restaurant, which spans several traditional houses, specializes in chicken dishes - including an exceptional ginseng chicken, samgyetang (삼계탕), probably one of the best in the whole city but certainly in all of Korea. The prices are very reasonable, and it is recommended by the city of Seoul. Always full to bursting point with an endless queue, it is known to all Seoulites. For a truly unforgettable 100% Korean experience.

Located in the F1963 cultural complex, this delightful restaurant, affiliated with the Boksoon makgeolli brewery, offers a divine combination of drinks and dishes. The menu of rice wines is breathtaking, their mastery of this art is perfect, and if there's one place to come in Korea to enjoy this beverage, it's here! Sparkling, bitter or smooth: rediscover it in all its complexity. And to accompany it, an original cuisine, notably based on ingredients fermented on site. The very elegant architecture and decor are the crowning touch.

This restaurant is a must for lovers of healthy, creative and ethical cuisine. Chef Kim Min-Joo sources almost all her ingredients from farms that are certified organic, respectful of the environment and animal welfare, pesticide-free and practice biodynamic agriculture. We appreciate the setting, with its wooden tables, pretty crockery and relaxing decor. Vegan options available.

This restaurant offers vegan temple food in a charmingly renovated old house. The chef, who speaks excellent English, is originally an academic with a passion for Buddhist culture, and knows a lot about the traditions that have shaped this cuisine. Today, she reinterprets it in her own way, much to our delight. We recommend choosing the set, which allows you to sample a multitude of delicious small dishes based on fresh, local ingredients, as well as delicacies fermented with patience and love on site.

In a refined and charming setting, talented chef Mimi Lee invites you to discover a sensitive cuisine that can only be described as artistic. The dishes on offer are crafted from local and seasonal ingredients of exceptional quality, fused with flavors from elsewhere, to the delight of our taste buds. A poetic culinary experience, complemented by a fine selection of wines and flawless service! It's good, it's beautiful, it's original: you can't go wrong. Advance reservations are recommended.

Chef Yim Jungsik, owner of a restaurant in Seoul and New York, revisits traditional Korean cuisine with inventiveness and creativity. He masterfully transforms and sublimates the greatest Korean culinary classics: kimbap, bibibap..... They then become, under the chef's fairy fingers, real edible works of art. Auréolé of two Michelin stars, the restaurant invites you to dream with very elegant dishes. A moment of discovery, grace and delight. Given the quality of the dishes, the prices are reasonable.

This newly opened restaurant specializes in Joseon-era food but also offers some of the most traditional Korean dishes. The famous bossam, boiled pork cut into thin slices; jongugjang, fermented soybeans that are boiled. To the indisputable quality of the food is added the kindness and attention of the family who hold this restaurant hand in hand: the son in front of the stove, the daughter in the dining room. Be careful, however, the restaurant does not serve very late.

Specialized in meat, including oriroseu (grilled duck meat), famous enough.

This establishment offers us dishes around the sea, as its name, bada, indicates. At the restaurant's command, two adorable old women who prepare stews and cassolettes of all kinds, each with a more bewitching smell than the other. Be careful it is better to appreciate and support spicy dishes because they are all very spicy. The very neat setting, in a traditional house, does not detract from the pleasure of dining here, as do the prices, which are not excessive. An excellent address, then!

This restaurant has long been known throughout the city for its Hanjeongsiks, traditional Korean menus. Indeed, it could hardly be more traditional. You can enjoy raw or well-cooked beef, fish, but also dozens of banchan (side dishes), all more typical than the others. It is recommended to go together. Of course, it is on the ground that we eat here. Many families come to celebrate their children's 2nd birthday. If you are lucky you will be able to see this charming ceremony.

A place not to miss! It is a large grilled meat restaurant in a pleasant traditional setting. There are piri concerts, the Korean flute. It is a little hard to find (in an alley across the street that runs along the lively district of the centre; show the address or call).

This restaurant is certainly the business of the neighborhood, if not of the whole city. It has been famous for many years and never fails! This establishment specializes in hanjeongsiks, traditional Korean menus. Its celebrity lies as much in the choice of banchans (small side dishes), more than 25 are served per table (among which, in addition to the usual kimchi of all kinds, small melting crabs, boiled duck, seaweed soups ...) as the price of the derisory meal that is offered! Unbeatable!

It is not true India but it remains correct. The frame is impersonal, which makes it a restaurant for lunch or a quick dinner before making a canvas.

This is one of the places not to be missed to eat an original, user-friendly and tasty dish: a rice-filled duck and dozens of types of seeds and roots, cooked to suffocation in a furnace heated to bread épines. The result is delicious and a duck (50 000 won) will be enough for three people. Especially with one of the traditional alcohols proposed by the house (about 6 000 won). You must reserve, otherwise the waiting for the cuissson will be 30 min.

You can enjoy snake soups (baemtang) in the restaurant opposite.

Restaurant specializing in barbecue and smoked meat (chicken, pork, duck, pheasant, etc.) and teriyaki. Offers some very correct wines. Cheap. A broche can be reserved 2 days in advance. The boss is very nice.

Everything's good in the pig! And in this establishment, we come to taste one of the Korean specialties: jokbal, or pig's feet. You can enjoy them braised, with soy sauce or spicy sauce, and garnished with sesame seeds. To accompany all this, we advise you to also order one of the fish cake soups: the earth-sea mixture surprises and detonates! A small glass of soju will also be perfect with it. As this is a franchise, you can find them everywhere in the city and all over Korea as well.

Typical and well-known Korean barbecue. Excellent pork recipes.

This restaurant has the specificity of being run by Buddhist monks (whose kindness and human warmth are unrivalled). No fuss, here we are offered a buffet (very copious) which includes a good part of the basics of Korean food: rice, noodles, soups, raw or marinated vegetables. It is totally suitable for vegetarians (which is rare in South Korea) but satisfies carnivores just as much. For a buffet the quality is really there. This restaurant is good, cheap, it's a must-see in the city.

Charming setting and decoration for this two-in-one establishment! It is both a restaurant offering international cuisine and a café, where you can relax with a drink. The homemade hamburgers and salads are delicious and very generously served. So don't hesitate. If you just want to have a good hot drink then the caramel hot chocolate should make you succumb. The prices are rather reasonable considering the quality!