Vegan Kitchen is a vegan korean restaurant in Jung Gu, Seoul.
Vegan Kitchen in Jung-gu serves Korean cuisine in the temple food tradition: no meat, fish, dairy, and in the traditional style, often no garlic or spring.
Signature dishes: Korean vegan set, Temple food dishes
Must order: Vegan Korean set meal: a full spread of plant-based banchan built on the Korean temple food tradition, deeply flavoured without any animal products.
Tip: Ask whether the kitchen follows the strict temple food convention (no alliums) or uses garlic; it affects the flavour profile significantly.
Address: 21 Toegye-ro 20-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul
BLU Seoul in Jung-gu runs an organic, vegan and gluten-free menu, rated 5 stars on HappyCow across 85 reviews: one of Seoul's most comprehensive plant-based.
Signature: Organic vegan dishes, Gluten-free plates
Order: Organic vegan set: seasonal ingredients from local farms, prepared without meat, dairy or gluten in a clean, light kitchen near Chungmu-ro.
Tip: BLU is one of the few options in Seoul that caters to both vegan and coeliac requirements simultaneously.
Alt.a between Itaewon and Hannam serves a vegan Korean-Chinese menu that works off the jjajangmyeon and mapo traditions without animal products, rated 4.5.
Signature: Vegan mapo tofu, Korean-Chinese vegan dishes
Order: Vegan mapo tofu: silken tofu in a gochugaru and doubanjiang sauce that has no meat but loses nothing in the process.
Tip: The set lunch is the best-value entry point; the a la carte is worth the price for the full menu.
The Bangi branch of Byeokje Galbi serves premium charcoal-grilled hanwoo short ribs from in-house butchery, the same quality as the flagship since 1986.
Signature: Charcoal galbi, Hanwoo ribeye
Order: Galbi (short ribs) over charcoal: top 1% graded hanwoo, butchered in-house, charcoal-grilled at the table in the Bangi branch's large dining room.
Tip: Lunch is less crowded than dinner; the quality of the beef is identical.
BLU Seoul in Jung-gu runs an organic, vegan and gluten-free menu, rated 5 stars on HappyCow across 85 reviews: one of Seoul's most comprehensive plant-based.
Signature: Organic vegan dishes, Gluten-free plates
Order: Organic vegan set: seasonal ingredients from local farms, prepared without meat, dairy or gluten in a clean, light kitchen near Chungmu-ro.
Tip: BLU is one of the few options in Seoul that caters to both vegan and coeliac requirements simultaneously.
The most visited samgyetang restaurant in Seoul, set across several traditional hanok houses near Gyeongbokgung Palace with a long daily queue before 11:30.
Signature: Samgyetang, Black chicken samgyetang
Order: Samgyetang: whole young chicken packed with glutinous rice, ginseng and garlic inside renovated hanok buildings with courtyard seating.
Tip: Come at opening on weekdays; queues are shortest before 11:30.
The 200-metre stretch in front of Ikseon-dong from Exit 5 to Exit 6 at Jongno 3-ga Station is Seoul's most concentrated pojangmacha (street food tent).
Signature: Tteokbokki, Odeng, Kimchi jeon
Order: Tteokbokki and odeng (fish cake skewer in anchovy broth): the pojangmacha double order since the orange tents opened here.
Tip: Arrive by 19:00 or earlier to find a free stool; cash only at most tents.
Insadong Geu Jib is a hanok-style Korean restaurant set in a narrow Insa-dong alley, serving dolsot bibimbap, beef-tartare bibimbap and bulgogi-and-vegetable rolls at neighbourhood prices.
Signature: Dolsot bibimbap, Bulgogi yachaemari
Order: Dolsot bibimbap in the stone pot with the rice crackling at the rim, mixed thoroughly with the house gochujang.
Tip: The bulgogi yachaemari rolls (pick beef, pork or chicken) are the house specialty: thin meat with vegetables, hand-rolled at the table.
