The restaurants worth a reservation in Seoul, from neighbourhood bistros to the new classics.
The restaurants worth the trip in Seoul: bistros, neo-classics, neighbourhood favourites, and the rooms locals book first.
20 places
Order Aged hanwoo sirloin, cooked tableside over charcoal and served with perilla wraps.
Maple Tree House in Itaewon serves premium hanwoo (Korean beef) and Jeju black pork belly over charcoal in a polished room frequented by international guests.
Order Classic samgyetang: whole young chicken stuffed with glutinous rice.
The most visited samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) restaurant in Seoul, set in a cluster of traditional hanok buildings near Gyeongbokgung Palace.
Order Dodam warm-steamed bibimbap: farm-direct vegetables on rice in the house build.
Insa Dodam is a renovated hanok off Insadong-gil that runs a lunch-only bibimbap programme, capping bowls per day to lock in same-morning vegetable delivery.
Order Pyongyang naengmyeon: hand-pulled buckwheat noodles in cold hanwoo bone broth.
Open since 1946, Woo Lae Oak is Seoul's canonical address for Pyongyang-style naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles), the broth made from hanwoo foreshank.
Order Galbi (short ribs) over charcoal.
In the Michelin Guide and on 50Best Discovery, Byeokje Galbi has served premium charcoal-grilled hanwoo short ribs since 1986, handling its own butchery.
Order Bibim naengmyeon: chewy starch noodles in a sweet-spicy sauce with cold beef slices and a halved boiled egg.
Family-run since 1953, Ojangdong serves Hamheung-style cold noodles: the noodles are made from potato starch and are notably chewier than Pyongyang-style.
Order Hanwoo beef tasting set: three cuts of heritage Korean cattle served in the original house that started the Maple Tree brand.
The original Maple Tree House, in a restored hillside house in Samcheong-dong, with a more intimate setting than the Itaewon branch and a view of the old.
Order Seolleongtang: ox-bone broth cooked until milky-white without additives.
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.
Order Seolleongtang: 17-hour ox bone broth poured over sliced beef and soft wheat noodles.
Korea's first registered restaurant, open since 1904 in Jongno, still serving a single dish: 17-hour ox bone seolleongtang with sliced brisket.
Order Steamed mandu (dumplings) with kimchi and pork filling, thin pleated skin.
A hanok courtyard dumpling kitchen in Bukchon, selling hand-formed mandu (dumplings) by the basket to a patient queue of Seoulites who find the 20-minute.
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Order Charcoal-grilled yangnyeom galbi (marinated short rib).
Hongik Sutbul Galbi runs a charcoal-grill galbi room a block from Hongik University's main gate, with thick-cut marinated short rib and pork belly cooked.
Order Gamasot seolleongtang: broth from ten different beef cuts.
Near Dongdaemun Fashion Market, Bonga cooks its seolleongtang in a traditional gamasot (iron cauldron) from ten beef cuts for 24 hours straight.
Order Plant burger with house-made patty, fresh aioli and seasonal greens.
Plant Cafe and Kitchen in Itaewon is one of Seoul's most established fully vegan restaurants, running a menu of American-leaning comfort food alongside.
Order Vegan bibimbap: the full Korean banchan spread reimagined without animal products.
Vegan Insa in Ikseon-dong Hanok Village serves fully plant-based Korean food in a traditional courtyard house, including vegan bibimbap and banchan spreads.
Order Seasonal plant-based baked goods.
ByTOFU is a vegan cafe and bakery in Yongsan serving Western-style pastries and cafe food without any animal products, rated among Seoul's top vegan spots.
Order Seasonal vegan tasting menu: the only fully vegan restaurant in Korea to receive a Michelin star.
Legume is Asia's first Michelin-starred vegan restaurant, chef Sung Si-woo's one-star room in Gangnam delivering a plant-based tasting menu.
Order Halal Korean BBQ platter: marinated beef and chicken prepared according to Islamic dietary law by a Korean.
EID Halal Korean Food on Usadan-ro is one of Seoul's most respected halal restaurants, operated by a Korean Muslim family serving authentic Korean cuisine.
Order Vegan mapo tofu: soft silken tofu in an intensely flavoured gochugaru and doubanjiang sauce.
Alt.a between Itaewon and Hannam-dong delivers a vegan Korean-Chinese menu playing off jjajangmyeon and mapo traditions without meat, fish or dairy.
Order Nasi lemak: fragrant coconut rice with sambal, fried anchovies and hard-boiled egg.
Makan serves Malaysian and Indonesian halal-certified food on the Usadan-ro mosque strip of Itaewon, with nasi lemak, rendang and satay that draw a devout.
Order Vegan Korean set meal: the full spread of plant-based banchan with rice and a warming jjigae (stew) made.
Vegan Kitchen in Jung-gu serves Korean cuisine free of meat, fish and dairy in the temple food tradition, rated 4.5 stars across over 400 HappyCow reviews.
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