• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to footer navigation
  • Skip to footer-bottom navigation
  • Skip to privacy navigation
  • Skip to recipes navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Kimchimari

Authentic Korean recipes even YOU can cook!

Free Korean BBQ Cookbook! TAP HERE to GET IT
POPULAR: our 10 takeout favorites
Facebook Instagram Pinterest Twitter YouTube

Authentic Korean Recipes Anyone Can Cook

  • New to Korean cooking? Start Here
  • Recipes
    • Recipe Index
    • Recipes by Alphabet
    • Latest on the Blog
  • Ingredients
    • Korean Ingredient Glossary
    • Pantry Essentials
    • Pantry – Beyond Essentials
    • Korean Ingredients in Depth
  • How To
    • Cooking Basics + Tips
    • Buy + Use
    • Meal Plan
    • Make from scratch
    • Korean Veg Garden
  • Travel
  • Videos
    • Video Recipes
    • Web Stories
  • About
    • About Me
    • Press Interviews and Mentions
  • New to Korean cooking? Start Here
  • Shop
  • Free Korean BBQ Cookbook! TAP HERE to GET IT
  • Facebook Instagram Pinterest Twitter YouTube
Home Living in Korea

Best restaurants in Itaewon, Seoul

Posted:11/17/20154 Comments
pork belly bulgogi with 3 side dishes - lunch at Parc, Itaewon
Pork belly bulgogi with 3 side dishes – jipbap (home food) lunch at Parc, Itaewon
pork belly bulgogi
pork belly bulgogi topped with perilla leaves

Because so many young people in Korea eat out all the time, the newest trend in restaurants is serving Jipbap (집밥) which literally means ‘home food’. Food that taste like mom’s cooking. No MSG, less salty and less sweet, the food doesn’t jump at you like most restaurant food does but the more you eat it, you just feel good about eating it. The chef also uses the freshest ingredients possible and also offer organic My friend took me to a restaurant in Itaewon called Parc. This restaurant is located near the main area of Itaewon near Leeum Art Musuem. They just have three different lunch menu sets everyday and the other two besides pork bulgogi was grilled white and black soybean tofu and also grilled spanish mackerel. You could also order antibiotics free egg fry on the side.

If you wanted to make something similar at home I have recipes for most of the dishes:

  • my pork bulgogi recipe – substitute pork belly slices and top with perilla leaves
  • miyeok guk recipe
  • sauteed burdock roots (woowong bokkeum)
  • minari and tofu – i don’t have recipe but you can simply blanch minari, add crumbled tofu and season with salt, pepper, sesame oil 
  • dried squid (ohjingeo chae) – will have to put up a recipe soon. 🙂

   PARC http://www.parcseoul.com/

I also LOVE the ambience of the dining hall. Very bright and airy. Although I realized we are looking right at the side of someone’s home. I would not like to be living in that house.. haha..

Parc dining area with a view
dining area with a view – Parc, Itaewon

Before meeting my friend for lunch, I started the day early and walked around areas near my sister’s house (where I’m staying). My sister lives in Itaewon and more specifically near one of the hottest part of Seoul called Gyeongnidan or Kyungridan Gil. Gil means street and it starts from Noksapyeong station (this is the closest subway station) area up to Namsan, Hotel Hyatt area. It is also right across from Yongsan’s US Army base area where new trends are turning over old homes and stores into cafes and multi-cultural restaurants. A part of me is excited to see new restaurants in Itaewon but a part of me is sad that the old mom and pop stores like dry cleaners, little markets and mini Home Depots like this one are disappearing one by one…

Old Korean mini hardware store
Old Korean mini hardware store

I guess I must be getting old since I’m starting to say thing like “I miss the old..”.

Parellel and one block over from Gyeongnidan Gil is another street that used to be just an old neighborhood but is in the process of transforming to a very unique area. It all got started with a photographer (Chang Jinwoo) who loved to cook for his friends in his studio. And with the suggestion from his friends, he transformed the concept into a restaurant that only has 1 large table (seating less than 20 usually). The restaurant was such a success that they now have several restaurants open on the same street with different cuisines.

Jang jinwoo restaurants in Gyeongnidan Gil
Jang jinwoo restaurants in Gyeongnidan Gil
Inside of Grand Blue in Itaewon
Inside of Grand Blue in Itaewon
Mathilda (Cuisine de Chang) interior, Itaewon, Seoul
Mathilda (Cuisine de Chang) interior, Itaewon, Seoul – looks very french, n’est ce pas?
Happy Pumpkin outside Jangjinwoo Restaurant, Itaewon Gyeongnidan
Happy pumpkin outside Jangjinwoo Restaurant, Itaewon Gyeongnidan
  • Grand Blue – M-Th dinner only, Fri – Sun lunch and dinner, 1670-0872
  • Mathilda – M-W, Fri dinner only, Thu, Sat-Sun lunch and dinner 1670-0872
  • Jangjinwoo Shikdang – the first original, by reservation only 1670 – 0872 and you need to rent the whole restaurant

The other unique aspect about Chang’s restaurants are that most of them have no sign in front of the restaurant and because they are never open for lunch, I somehow missed the opportunity to eat at his places so I don’t have photos of the food but only the best restaurants in Itaewon survive longer than couple years so I know the food must be pretty good.

On the same street, there are also some good bakeries (which I have actually tasted) which I will write in my next post.

If you ever visit Itaewon or Gyeongnidan area, be sure to check out these places and more!

More good food coming soon~

 

 

 

Similar Recipes

  • Korean Northern Style Steamed Dumplings at Pildong Myeonok restaurant
    Best restaurants in Seoul - Day 1 -Pildong Myeonok
  • Fig pie at By92 dessert cafe at Itaewon
    More Best Restaurants in Seoul - Itaewon!
  • Korean Soy Sauce Crab - Kanjang Gejang (간장게장)
    Best Restaurants in Seoul - Day 2 - Kanjang Gejang
  • Kimchimari Podcast Blog Post image
    Korean Food Basics and Traveling in Korea (Podcast with Our Food Adventures)
Previous Post
Next Post

Reader Interactions

Leave a Review Cancel reply

I LOVE hearing from you! Submit your question or recipe review here. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe:




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

4 Comments
  1. Tracy says

    Posted on 29 August 2018 at 9:48 am

    Hubby was stationed there on a remote tour for one year. My two visits there were soooo amazing! I’m not a shopper and I shopped all the time! And the food?! My absolute favorite cruisine ever since.

    Reply
    • JinJoo says

      Posted on 29 August 2018 at 5:32 pm

      I know!! Love shopping at Itaewon! And now it has totally become International- had the best Kabab there last time I visited. Thanks for the comment!

      Reply
  2. michelle says

    Posted on 17 November 2015 at 8:26 am

    Thank you JinJoo, I really enjoy reading your posts. My mom went to Ewha too!

    Reply
    • JinJoo says

      Posted on 17 November 2015 at 7:04 pm

      So awesome that your mom went to Ewha too!! Thank you~ so happy to hear that you enjoy my posts. 🙂 Always so encouraging to hear it. All the best,

      Reply

Primary Sidebar

JinJoo from KimchiMari

Welcome

Hi! I'm JinJoo! Thank you for visiting my Korean Food blog where I share detailed Authentic Korean recipes that even YOU can cook!

My Story

browse by type

gf Gluten Free df Dairy Free pc Pressure Cooker Recipes vg Vegan lc low carb <30 30min or less kf Kid-Friendly ls low-salt
  • by Course
    • Drinks
    • Soup+Stew
    • Appetizers
    • Salads
    • Main Dishes
    • Side Dishes
    • Desserts and Snacks
  • by Ingredient
    • Beef
    • Chicken
    • Pork
    • Seafood
    • Rice
    • Noodles
    • Tofu
    • Vegetables
    • Egg
    • Paste/Sauces
  • by Korean Basics
    • Eumryo 음료
    • Bap 밥
    • Bokkeum 볶음
    • Gui 구이
    • Guk 국
    • Hangwa 한과
    • Jang 장
    • Jeon 전
    • Jeongol 전골
    • Jjigae 찌게
    • Jjim 찜
    • Jorim 조림
    • Kimchi 김치
    • Myeon 면
    • Namul 나물
    • Tteok 떡
  • by Type
    • Easy Meals
    • 30 Minutes or Less
    • Kid-Friendly
    • Lunchboxes
    • Condiments and Sauces
    • Cooking for One
    • Street food
    • Pressure Cooker Recipes
Free Korean BBQ Favorites ebook
free recipe book!

Join to get my FREE cookbook + monthly newsletters + recipe updates!

join now!

Nutritional facts, MSG & gluten free

Nutritional Facts in my recipe cards are provided PER SERVING and it’s an estimate and may not be accurate. Due to different brands of ingredients having different nutritional values, the values I provide here may be different from your preparation.

– Gluten-Free recipe assumes you are using gluten-free soy sauce (since many soy sauces contain gluten or wheat) and/or gluten-free gochujang.

– MSG & Corn Syrup FREE – these are never used in my recipes

Opens in a new window Opens an external site Opens an external site in a new window
baked chicken on parchment paper with onions caramelized

닭고기

Chicken

소고기

Beef

Spicy Pork BBQ - Korean Pork Bulgogi

돼지고기

Pork

Garlic Scape Stir Fry with Shrimp (Maneuljjong Bokkeum 마늘쫑 볶음)

해산물

Seafood

Soondubu Jjigae or Soft Tofu Stew

두부

Tofu

곡식

Rice

READER FAVORITES

Trending Now

Mini Kimbap tray - kimbap two ways

Mini Kimbap (Mayak Kimbap) with Carrot or Cucumber

Chicken Bulgogi Rice

Easy Chicken Bulgogi (Dak Bulgogi) for Korean BBQ

After stew has boiled for 15 min with cheese melted on top

Budae Jjigae (Korean Army Stew)

Korean Sweet Pancake - Hotteok/Hodduck (호떡) www.kimchimari.com

Hotteok (호떡)- Korean Sweet Dessert Pancake

featured on
ny times logo
  • COOK
    • Recipe Index
    • Pantry Items
    • Videos
  • LEARN
    • Starter Guide
    • Korean How To’s
    • Travel
join the kimchimari family
Receive Free Cookbook and New Recipes by Email
join now
  • Back to Top
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 Site Credits Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled

free recipe ebook!

Join to get my FREE cookbook + monthly newsletters + recipe updates!

Thank you for subscribing!

You will receive an email shortly.

  • 6