14 Best Restaurants in Side Trips from Seoul, South Korea

A beautiful 80-year-old Korean home near Jeondeungsa Temple has been beautifully renovated as a cafe. The crooked wooden rafters that support the roof are especially beautiful, demonstrating the Korean preference to leave nature as it is. The drink menu features a wide range of espresso and latte variations, but also Korean teas such as jujube tea and chrysanthemum tea. There are plenty of charming retro decorations around the cafe, too.

This cavernous brunch cafe not far from Paju Book City looks like a factory on the outside, but inside, it's part library, part botanical garden, part public square. The bakery puts out an incredible selection of baked goods, most of them very sweet, along with unique desserts like a "dirty chocolate s'more bingsu." The coffee and non-coffee menu is extensive, though like their desserts, they err on the sweet side. There's also a dining menu, too, with some decent pasta dishes for the brunch crowd.

Hidden in a back alley of the retro but increasingly trendy Gaehangno neighborhood is this old-school tongdak (rotisserie chicken) joint. The place looks like it's been ripped from a 1980s film set, which only adds to the charm. The house specialty is an entire roasted chicken covered in Parmesan cheese, best washed down with inexpensive Korean draft beer. There's also a roasted chicken in rose sauce and a plain roasted chicken served with salad, too. If you're too good for cheap draft beer, they also offer local craft brews from Incheon Brewery. Outdoor seating on plastic seats is available. 

Located in Heyri Art Valley, this beautiful gallery and cafe has a slick modern architectural design, its unadorned concrete walls striking a balance between lines, curves, and mass. They also serve a decent cup of coffee, with the usual choices of espresso variations, but also a decent selection of soft drinks and frappes. The courtyard has appropriately modernist yellow and blue couches for guests to sit and enjoy their coffee in the fresh air of Heyri.

While Ganghwa-do was always a popular destination for its historic sites, it was never considered hip—until Joyang Bangjik, that is. This abandoned textile factory from the early 20th century is now a cafe and bakery, albeit it one stuffed to the gills with so much retro paraphernalia it looks like an antique store. There's plenty of installation art to be seen, too. It's relatively quiet on weekdays, but Seoulites descend on the place on weekends. 

This hip coffee house in a renovated old residential home not only serves great coffee, but also offers fine views of Suwon Fortress and its Janganmun Gate, especially from its rooftop space. The menu features all your favorite espresso variations, including a rich latte made with black sesame. Snacks include scones and croissants.

Suwon is virtually synonymous with galbi (beef ribs), and Kabojung is its most renowned purveyor. This massive place serves high-quality, albeit pricey, servings of Korean hanwoo beef, beautifully marbled and grilled on the bone. If you're not in the mood to splurge, there's imported U.S. beef, too, for much less. Finish your meat with a serving of chilled noodles or rice soup. There's a pretty extensive list of traditional alcohols, whiskeys, and wines, too. There's also a lunch menu that's much easier on the wallet.

The food is worth the wait at this tried and true Chinese restaurant in Incheon's Chinatown. They serve they city's signature jjajangmyeon, Korean noodles in black bean sauce, as well as jjamppong, a Korean Chinese noodle soup with spicy broth packed with seafood and vegetables.

Located down the road from Heyri Art Valley, Mejukkoch is a restaurant inside a flower garden. The flowers are not just for show, though; they also feature prominently in the cuisine as both garnishes and ingredients. The only thing on the menu is the Meju Flower Soban, a Korean table d'hôte meal, albeit with slight modern embellishments, with delights like buckwheat crepes filled with cucumber, lotus root, and sliced pork wrapped in leaves. The dishes are so beautiful you won't want to eat them, but you should.

A popular place near the ferry dock, Namiseom Kkokko Dak Galbi serves two variations of the popular Chuncheon specialty of its namesake, dak galbi (tangy chicken grilled or stir-fried). Chuncheon-style dak galbi is the stir-fried version, with minced chicken mixed with vegetables and noodles cooked in a spicy red pepper sauce; in the grilled version, marinated chicken meat is grilled over charcoals. Either way makes for an excellent meal.

Incheon's Chinatown is lined top-to-bottom with good restaurants, but in terms of longevity, few compete with Pungmi. Run by the same family for four generations, Pungmi serves fine old-school jjajangmyeon, or noodles covered in black bean sauce, an Incheon specialty based on a northern Chinese dish brought to the city by Chinese immigrants in the 19th century. They also serve several kinds of jjamppong (seafood noodle soup) as well as classic Chinese dishes like sweet-and-sour pork. As an added bonus, it's in an old Chinese townhouse with an appropriately Chinese ambiance. As a further bonus, just around the corner is the old Gonghwachun, a historic Chinese restaurant that is now a museum dedicated to jjajangmyeon.

Founded not long after the port of Incheon opened to foreign trade in 1884, this market is now largely known for its delicious street food, especially its dak gangjeong (tangy joints of chicken, in this case boned), Chinese dumplings, and crunchy balloon bread, as well as Korean street classics like tteokbokki and Korean dumplings. Some of the older, more popular places have long lines, especially on the weekend, but the crowds just add to the ambiance. A serving of gangjeong will run you between ₩15,000 and ₩20,000.

After a stroll in Songdo Central Park, grab a bite to eat at this restaurant owned by a Canadian chef. TVs showing sports are a fitting accompaniment to the massive burgers, pizzas, sandwiches, and beer on the menu.

One of many grilled eel restaurants near the port of Deoreomi on the eastern coast of the island, Wonjo Seonchangjip has been serving fine grilled eel since 1979. You can grill the meat as is, or baste it with a tangy sauce; either way is delicious. Finish your meal with a bowl of noodles or a stone pot of rice. A shot or two of soju doesn't hurt the experience, either. The restaurant also enjoys pleasant views over the water.