5 Most Amazing Places For Food In Myeongdong

Discover where to go for food in Myeongdong – from budget street eats to glamourous hotel restaurants.If you know Seoul, you know that Myeongdong is synonymous with one thing: shopping. A bustling downtown area in the heart of the city, it’s the place to go for beauty products, clothes and skincare. Up to 2 million people visit here every day.

Whether you’re hunting for bargains at the underground market, trawling through high-end brands in a mall, browsing international stores or simply here to soak up the atmosphere, you’ll need all the energy you can get. Here’s your guide to the best places to fuel up, whatever your budget (and whatever the time of day).As Myeongdong is such a popular destination for foreign tourists, a few places on this list cater mainly to international palates. Others will give you a taste of traditional Korea, and a few are so hidden away that (almost) only residents patronise them. What do they all have in common? Mouthwateringly good food.

* Myeongdong Food Street

If you’ve never eaten in Myeongdong before, this should be your first port of call. Fill up on traditional Korean snacks, such as hotteok (sweet, chewy pancakes), tteokbokki (rice cakes in a spicy sauce) and gimbap (fillings, rice and seaweed rolled into a cylinder), or try more exotic treats, like strawberry mochi, grilled lobster and matcha ice cream – the choice is yours. It’s best experienced in the buzz of the early evening. Alleys leading off the main street are just as exciting, and food can be a little cheaper than along the main drag.

* Myeongdong Kyoja

This well-known spot is a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant, meaning that it’s been singled out as offering great value food. Expect to pay around 10,000 Korean won (£6.91) for a meal here. It has unassuming decor and a simple menu, comprising just four dishes. But people don’t come here for the ambience – they come for the quality of food. Everything’s made in-house, including the kimchi (which is seasoned with liberal quantities of garlic and sea salt, and fermented for at least three years). Myeongdong Kyoja claims to be the origin of kalguksu (a soup made with flat, knife-cut noodles), which is the restaurant’s speciality dish. It’s been a family-run establishment since its opening in 1966, and today, it has a second branch nearby (8 Myeongdong 10-gil).

* Gobong Samgyetang

It’s a swelteringly hot summer’s day. What do you feel like eating? Well, if you’re Korean, you might go for a steaming bowl of samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup). Koreans say that you should “fight heat with heat” – essentially, sweat it out, which is believed to have numerous health benefits. The samgyetang here is unique, with a yellow-tinged, thicker broth. Its rich taste is due to a secret combination of herbs and mushrooms – with medicinal properties and flavours to bring people back for more. At Gobong Samgyetang, the samgyetang comes with a cup of ginseng wine. You can either pour this into the broth for added flavour or shoot it back neat.

* Yuk Tong Ryeong

Many residents say this is the best barbecue restaurant in Myeongdong, and it is targeted at them, evidenced by the fact that the sign is only in Korean. It’s worth searching for; look for traditional roof tiles and a black-and-white sign. It serves regular and black pork, plus beef, and the staff grill the meat in front of you. It’s a great place to try traditional samgyeopsal (grilled pork belly), served with salad and side dishes. Eat it the Korean way by wrapping the cooked meat in a lettuce leaf, with a dash of spicy gochujang (hot pepper paste). Yuk Tong Ryeong is generally busy – expect to wait for a table.

* Toh Lim

Looking to splash out? Head to Toh Lim, Lotte Hotel’s swanky fine-dining Chinese restaurant, for a meal with views over much of central Seoul, Namsan Mountain and Namhansanseong Fortress. Delicate Cantonese-style dishes appear on the menu alongside Korean-Chinese classics such as jajangmyeon (black-bean noodles – traditionally eaten by single people on 14 April to console themselves after not receiving gifts on either Valentine’s Day or White Day). Dress to impress, and expect to pay upward of 100,000 won (£69.03) per person. Private rooms are available.