Seoul · South Korea
The Seoul food cheat sheet
One page from Chef Amazing · November 2026
The dish to eat
Buckwheat noodles in an ice-cold, clear beef broth with radish kimchi, pear, beef slices and a boiled egg.
Best at Woo Lae Oak, Euljiro, Jung-gu. Get: Mul naengmyeon and bulgogi
Five places, and what to order
- Eunjujungfamily-run · Eulji-ro, Jung-gu (Bangsan Market alleys)Get: Kimchi jjigae at lunch (about 10,000 won); grilled pork belly at dinner
- Chanyang-jipfamily-run · Jongno 3-ga, Jongno-guGet: Seafood kalguksu (knife-cut noodles), with the sour and fresh kimchi on the side
- 3rd Samgyetanginstitution · Seocho DistrictGet: Samgyetang, the whole-chicken ginseng soup, finished with mung bean and pine nut purees and mugwort paste
- Guldari Shikdangfor kimchi jjigae · MapoGet: Kimchi jjigae with big pork pieces
- Yukjeon Sikdangfor samgyeopsal · DongdaemunGet: Thick-cut samgyeopsal
The market
Covered market. Bindaetteok, mayak gimbap, yukhoe
The line worth it
London Bagel MuseumAnguk
Get: Potato cheese bagel, and the brick lane bagel
Expect: 1 to 3 hours. Join the online waitlist on a phone. Beat it: Use the waitlist.
In season this November
Mushroom rice (oyster, king oyster, songi) · Korean pear (bae) · Gimjang kimchi
How it works here
Tip: No tipping.
Book: Book fine dining weeks out; barbecue, noodle and market places are walk-in, often with a line.
When locals eat: Lunch 11:30am-1:30pm, dinner 6-9pm; markets and pojangmacha run late.