Eating out in Korea: a practical guide for visitors

Most restaurant meals in Korea are easy once you know a handful of local habits. This guide collects the things our readers ask about most, roughly in the order you will run into them: finding the place, getting a table, ordering, eating and paying. The individual restaurant guides on this site assume you have read it.

1. Opening hours, break time and closing days

Many independent restaurants close between lunch and dinner for a break time (브레이크타임), commonly somewhere between 3 pm and 5 pm. Kitchens often stop taking orders 30 to 60 minutes before closing (라스트오더, “last order”). Small, family-run places frequently close one day a week, often Monday or Sunday, and many close for a few days around Seollal (Lunar New Year) and Chuseok.

Every guide on this site lists hours, break time and closing day, but these change. On the day, check the restaurant's listing in a Korean map app, which owners update themselves.

2. Finding the place

Use Naver Map or KakaoMap. These are the apps people in Korea use, and they give much better walking, bus and subway directions than Google Maps does here. Naver Map also has an English interface.

Search the Korean name. English spellings of Korean names vary (Jeju Yeontan Jip, Jejuyeontanjip…), so the most reliable search is the Korean name, which we print next to every English name. Copying the address works too.

Read the floor. Many restaurants are upstairs or in basements of mixed-use buildings. “2F” means second floor and “B1” means first basement level; look for the sign at street level and the lift or stairs behind it.

3. Reservations and queues

Most casual restaurants don't take bookings: you walk in, and if it is full you wait. Popular places run a waiting list (웨이팅) through a tablet at the door or an app such as Tabling, which sends you a message when your table is ready. Higher-end and chef-run restaurants usually take reservations through CatchTable, often opening bookings a month ahead.

Some of these apps need a Korean phone number. If you don't have one, ask your hotel to book, or arrive 20 to 30 minutes before opening – the first seating is the easiest table to get.

4. Ordering

Servings. At barbecue restaurants meat is priced per serving (인분, inbun), usually around 150–200 g. Many places require at least two servings per order, and some count servings per person at the table.

One dish per person. At soup and noodle restaurants, each diner normally orders their own bowl. Sharing large stews or hot pots is common, but the price is often listed by size (small, medium, large) or by number of people.

Tablets and bells. More and more restaurants take orders on a tablet at the table, usually with an English option. Otherwise, press the call bell on the table or say “yeogiyo” (여기요, “over here”) – waving and waiting for eye contact is not the custom.

Rice and drinks. At barbecue places, rice, noodles and stews are usually ordered separately at the end of the meal. Soju and beer are sold by the bottle.

5. At the table

Side dishes (banchan) are free, and you can ask for refills. Some places have a self-service corner (셀프코너) for refills, water and lettuce. Water is free and often self-serve from a dispenser.

Cutlery – metal chopsticks and a spoon – is usually in a drawer built into the side of the table, along with paper napkins.

Scissors and tongs are normal kitchen tools here: staff use them to cut meat, noodles and kimchi at the table. At many barbecue restaurants the staff will grill the meat for you; at others you grill it yourself.

At floor-seating restaurants you take your shoes off before stepping up onto the raised floor.

6. Paying

In most casual restaurants you pay at the counter on the way out; tell the cashier your table number if asked. Splitting the bill is possible – say “ttaro gyesan” (따로 계산, “separately”) – but one person paying for the table is common.

Tipping is not expected and is not added to bills. Credit and debit cards are accepted almost everywhere, including small amounts; traditional market stalls and some small snack bars may prefer cash. Some self-order kiosks do not accept foreign cards, in which case staff can take payment at the counter.

7. Eating alone

Eating alone (혼밥, honbap) is completely normal in Korea, especially at lunch. Soup-and-rice places (gukbap, haejangguk), noodle shops (kalguksu, naengmyeon), set-meal restaurants (백반, baekban) and anywhere with counter seating are the easiest. Barbecue restaurants with a two-serving minimum are the hardest; some will let a solo diner order two servings, and a growing number offer single portions (1인 세트).

8. Dietary needs

Vegetarian eating takes some planning. Many soups and stews use anchovy or beef stock even when there is no visible meat, and most kimchi contains fish sauce or salted shrimp. Temple-food restaurants and dedicated vegan places are the safest choices; asking for “no meat” (gogi ppae juseyo, 고기 빼 주세요) removes visible meat but not the stock.

If you have a serious allergy, carry a card written in Korean that names the ingredient, and show it when you order.

9. What things cost

As a rough guide from the restaurants in our guides: a bowl of kalguksu or gukbap costs around ₩9,000–13,000; a serving of pork for barbecue around ₩15,000–20,000 (beef considerably more); a café drink ₩4,500–7,000; and a chef's set lunch at a well-known restaurant from about ₩50,000. Prices rise every year, so treat any price in an older guide as a minimum.

10. Useful phrases

Where to go next

Pick a city in the region list on our homepage, or browse all guides. If something here is out of date, please let us know.