Mingles ★ 4.9
One of South Korea's three-Michelin-star restaurants, where chef Mingoo Kang weaves jang (fermented pastes) and cho (vinegars) into contemporary modern.
30 korean restaurants worth the trip across South Korea, editor-ranked. All cuisines in South Korea.
Jungsik ★ 4.8
The restaurant that coined New Korean fine dining, where chef Jung Sik Yim's avant-garde plating and Korean pantry ingredients earned two Michelin stars.
La Yeon ★ 4.7
On the 23rd floor of the Shilla Seoul, La Yeon serves royal-tradition Korean tasting menus against a panorama of the Han River basin, holding two Michelin.
Kwonsooksoo ★ 4.7
Two Michelin stars in the ES Building's fourth floor: seasonal tasting courses where Kwonsooksoo treats Korean fermentation tradition as a living canvas.
Onjium ★ 4.7
One Michelin star for a cultural research institute disguised as a restaurant: chef Cho Eun-hee studies Joseon royal court recipes and reinterprets them.
Le DORER ★ 4.6
Le DORER won Busan's newest Michelin star in 2026, a Marine City tasting room where a young local chef reworks traditional Korean courses in miniature.
OrderThe seasonal tasting course; the late meat course and traditional dessert reworks stand out.
TipReserve through Catchtable and ask about parking at the Hanil Ordew building when you book.
Soigne ★ 4.6
Two Michelin stars for a seasonal tasting menu structured like a narrative, each course titled as an act in chef Jun Lee's signature Episode format.
Evett ★ 4.6
Australian chef Joseph Lidgerwood and his Korean wife Ginny Kim opened Evett in 2019; in 2025 it was elevated to two Michelin stars for its ingredient-led.
Restaurant Allen ★ 4.6
Chef Allen Suh, formerly of Eleven Madison Park, brings a Francophile sensibility to Korean ingredients at his two-Michelin-star table in the Centerfield.
Jeongjitgan ★ 4.5
Jeongjitgan cooks Busan-style dwaeji gukbap around the clock in Sinpyeong, a Michelin Bib Gourmand shop whose name is Gyeongsang dialect for kitchen.
OrderUiseong garlic gukbap, the house twist on Busan's pork and rice soup.
TipIt sits by Sinpyeong Station with its own car park, and the kiosk ordering moves fast.
Hapcheon Gukbapjip ★ 4.5
Hapcheon Gukbapjip has ladled old-style Busan dwaeji gukbap in Yongho-dong since 1999, a Bib Gourmand noteworthy for its clear, repeatedly basted broth.
OrderTtaro gukbap, the broth and rice served separately in the old style.
TipThe red-signed dining room fills at lunch; the Hanaro Mart car park over the road gives an hour free.
Pyeongsanok ★ 4.5
Pyeongsanok has fed Choryang, Busan for more than a century, a family-run Michelin Guide noodle and suyuk house a short walk from Busan Station.
OrderA 10,000 won plate of suyuk with the thin wheat noodles to finish.
TipIt can shut early when the suyuk runs out, so treat it as a lunch stop rather than a dinner plan.
Anmok ★ 4.4
Anmok rethinks dwaeji gukbap for Namcheon-dong, Busan, a Bib Gourmand room where the pork soup comes clean and composed rather than heavy and cloudy.
OrderThe head-meat dwaeji gukbap with a half bottle of soju, as the locals order it.
TipNo parking of its own; join the Catchtable waitlist from 17:00 on busy evenings.
Hanwolgwan ★ 4.4
Hanwolgwan simmers heifer hanwoo into a clear, restrained gomtang near Gwangalli in Busan, a Bib Gourmand kitchen that also plates Pyongyang naengmyeon.
OrderThe clear gomtang, 15,000 won of unhurried heifer hanwoo broth.
TipThe Gwangan Signal car park across the road gives a coupon hour; weekday mornings are quietest.
Buda Myeonoak ★ 4.4
Buda Myeonoak presses pure buckwheat Pyongyang naengmyeon near Haeundae Beach in Busan, a Bib Gourmand shop with a light, umami-led chilled broth.
OrderMul naengmyeon in the icy hanwoo broth, with the suyuk taster plate.
TipNaengmyeon here is subtle by design; taste the broth before reaching for vinegar and mustard.
100.1 Pyeongnaeng ★ 4.4
100.1 Pyeongnaeng began as a hundred-day naengmyeon pop-up in Busan in 2023 and now holds a Bib Gourmand for its Pyongyang cold noodles in Namcheon.
OrderThe 13,000 won Pyongyang naengmyeon with a plate of northern-style mandu.
TipSeoul naengmyeon obsessives travel down for this bowl; register on the Catchtable waitlist first.
Halmae Gaya Milmyeon ★ 4.4
Halmae Gaya Milmyeon ladles Busan's wheat-noodle milmyeon on Gwangbok-ro, a busy Nampo-dong hall where the queue moves as fast as the kitchen.
OrderMul milmyeon with the broth kept icy; add mandu for 4,000 won.
TipSit anywhere and order fast; the kitchen turns bowls around in minutes even at peak.
Woo Lae Oak ★ 4.4
Open since 1946, Woo Lae Oak is Seoul's canonical address for Pyongyang-style naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles), the broth made from hanwoo foreshank.
OrderPyongyang naengmyeon: hand-pulled buckwheat noodles in cold hanwoo bone broth.
TipThe broth is clear and mild; if you want spice ask for bibim naengmyeon. Bulgogi is the other order.
Imun Seolnongtang ★ 4.4
Korea's first registered restaurant, open since 1904 in Jongno, still serving a single dish: 17-hour ox bone seolleongtang with sliced brisket.
OrderSeolleongtang: 17-hour ox bone broth poured over sliced beef and soft wheat noodles.
TipSeason the broth yourself with the salt provided; adding too much at once is the only mistake you can make.
Woo Lae Oak ★ 4.4
Open since 1946, Woo Lae Oak is Seoul's institution for Pyongyang-style naengmyeon: cold buckwheat noodles in clear hanwoo bone broth, in the Michelin Guide.
OrderPyongyang-style naengmyeon: the original cold noodle bowl.
TipAdd the thin slices of cold beef from the side dish to the noodle bowl; it is part of the intended eat.
Imun Seolnongtang ★ 4.4
Korea's first registered restaurant, open since 1904 in Jongno, serving one dish unchanged: 17-hour seolleongtang. Michelin Bib Gourmand recognised.
OrderSeolleongtang: the 1904 recipe unchanged, ox bones for 17 hours.
TipThe breakfast crowd is small; a morning bowl before the palace opens is one of the best starts to a day in old Seoul.
Imun Seolnongtang ★ 4.4
Seoul's oldest continuously operating restaurant, first licensed in 1904: ox bones boiled for 17 hours, broth poured over sliced beef and soft wheat.
Songheonjip ★ 4.3
Songheonjip chars thick tteokgalbi patties over charcoal near Gwangalli Beach in Busan, a Bib Gourmand second act from the team behind Sonnae Hyangmi.
OrderGalbisal tteokgalbi off the charcoal, with the half-and-half crab rice if you are two.
TipRemote waiting opens at 11:00 and the house-turned-dining-room is small; queue early on weekends.
Moemiljip ★ 4.3
Moemiljip mills Korean buckwheat in-house for its Marine City noodle bowls in Busan, a Bib Gourmand room prized for the chew of fresh memil guksu.
OrderThe perilla oil buckwheat noodles, milled in-house from Korean memil.
TipThe Orange Plaza building gives two hours of parking; the perilla bowl beats the bibim for a first visit.
1969 Buwondong Kalguksu ★ 4.3
1969 Buwondong Kalguksu has hand-cut its own noodles since 1969 in Busan's Nampo-dong, a Michelin Guide shop selling only kalguksu and mandu.
OrderBuwon kalguksu, 9,000 won, with the juicy gyoza mandu on the side.
TipIt sits steps from Nampo Station exit 1; the summer kongguksu is a local ritual worth timing.
Choryang Milmyeon ★ 4.3
Choryang Milmyeon keeps the old Choryang style alive near Busan Station, its milmyeon bowls from 7,000 won closing out rail journeys the local way.
OrderBibim milmyeon under its peanut dust, 7,000 won the small bowl.
TipPair it with Pyeongsanok's suyuk two streets over for a Choryang double lunch.
Meerok Super ★ 4.3
Meerok Super seats six for a set course in Busan's Millak-dong, in the Michelin Guide, with vegetables from its own patch and carefully aged fish and meat.
OrderThe full course; the aged-fish dishes are where the tiny kitchen shows its hand.
TipSix seats means booking is everything; solo diners fit more easily than groups here.
Tosokchon Samgyetang ★ 4.3
The most visited samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) restaurant in Seoul, set in a cluster of traditional hanok buildings near Gyeongbokgung Palace.
OrderClassic samgyetang: whole young chicken stuffed with glutinous rice.
TipCome at 10:00 on a weekday to walk straight in; the broth is identical morning and night.
Hadongkwan ★ 4.3
Hadongkwan has been open since 1939 in Myeongdong and is in the Michelin Guide for a bowl of seolleongtang that has not changed: slow-cooked ox bone.
OrderSeolleongtang: ox-bone broth cooked until milky-white without additives.
TipThe kitchen closes at 15:30 sharp; arrive for an early lunch to guarantee a bowl.
Vegan Insa ★ 4.3
Vegan Insa in Ikseon-dong Hanok Village serves fully plant-based Korean food in a traditional courtyard house, including vegan bibimbap and banchan spreads.
OrderVegan bibimbap: the full Korean banchan spread reimagined without animal products.
TipThe outdoor courtyard seats fill quickly on warm evenings; weekday lunch is the quietest window.
Book food experiences in Seoul
