7 Best Restaurants in Gwanghwamun and Around, Seoul

Cold buckwheat noodles are the specialty at this famed Gwangwahmun staple, where there's usually a wait to get inside. Despite its Michelin-star status the restaurant is nothing fancy, but visitors often take their food to-go and eat at the nearby Cheonggyecheon Stream.

Although Seoul’s love of coffee has now boomed in the past decade, and the city often tops lists of most cafes per capita, Namusairo was a game changer when it first opened its doors in 2002. The cafe (its name means “through the trees”) boasts specialty beans from all over the world and an airy, elegant aesthetic. Built around a hanok, the cafe has a modern storefront that hides a traditional Korean setting. In recent years, the cafe’s owner Bae Jun-sun has become even more involved in the sourcing of his beans, and the cafe’s Instagram outlines each coffee’s origins and the stories of its farmers.

The definition of a hole-in-the-wall, Gwanghwamin Jip (jip meaning house) is a two-story kimchi-jjiggae (kimchi stew) and jeyuk-bokkeum (spicy, stir-fried pork) restaurant in a back alley. While tucked away, it’s immediately noticeable as the sign in front dates back to the 1950s. The location has long been a restaurant although the current iteration dates back to the ’80s. Today, its signature is the rich, spicy kimchi-jjiggae made with a thirty-year-old recipe by a group of grandmas. Served with bowls of plain, white rice and gyeran-mari (fried egg and scallion omelet) for extra, the food is simple but delicious and the ambiance is authentically vintage. To get the full feel of the place, ask to sit on the second floor. You’ll be led up a flight of rickety stairs and served on floor tables warmed up with ondol (underfloor heating) in the winter.

A favorite among nearby businesspeople, Gwanghwamun Ttukgam is a gamja-tang (pork back stew) and pork belly barbecue restaurant. The intoxicating smell of the latter, especially when cooked alongside sizzling, fried kimchi, is tempting but save yourself for the former and you won’t be disappointed. Their signature stew, a popular hangover dish, is served bubbling over portable gas for larger parties and as single-servings in stone pots for one. While some gamja-tang fanatics prefer meatier portions than the ones served here, Gwanghwamun Ttukgam’s stews are heavy on garlic and topped with perilla leaves, making for a more fragrant dish overall. Avoid weekday lunch and night hours as you’ll often see office workers in line for their entire teams, and grab a piece of mint at the register on your way out.

In business since 1993, Jaha Son Mandu specializes in gourmet mandu or Korean-style dumplings. Both the house that the restaurant is in and the recipes used have been passed down to owner Park Hye-kyung from her grandparents. Until recently, you could catch glimpses of her grandmother overseeing quality control in the kitchen. While their prices are approximately double that of other restaurants in the area, Jaha Son Mandu is distinctly different, as many of the ingredients are made on site (son means hand, and in the case of the restaurant's name, handmade). They even ferment the soy sauce themselves and don’t use a single drop of artificial flavoring. Some of their dishes, like their mandu-guk (dumpling soup), are elevated takes on classics while other dishes, like their pyeonsu (dumplings with beef, mushrooms, and cucumbers) are hard-to-find gems. 

One of the city’s best chicken restaurants, Mirak Chicken serves fried chicken three ways: regular, sweet and spicy, and garlic. While the garlic chicken is undoubtedly their signature, be warned that the dish can be a lot to handle, even for fans of the herb, as the garlic is stir-fried and not oven-roasted. The other two options, while overlooked, are great alternatives and pair perfectly with cold, local beer on tap here. Mirak is popular for late-night bites on an evening out, so keep in mind that from 8 pm onward will be quite crowded.

Housed in a large, red-brick building, this sunny coffee shop located in Seochon serves coffee and quick bites. While their menu includes a decent array of pound cakes, seasonal brunch items, teas, lattes, and Americanos, Staff Picks fans are more likely to point you to its merchandise for sale at the cafe’s entrance. Knick knacks like high-end pencils, vintage china, and other decorative items are popular picks. Outside, seats are arranged around a tall gingko tree. Because the cafe is dog friendly, you’ll often come across pet owners with their furry friends.