Hallyu Stars’ Favorite Restaurants (1) Seoul/Metropolitan Area

Seoul/Metropolitan Area

GOLDPIG Restaurant

There are places where celebrities, who don't usually show themselves in public places, often pay a visit: it's their favorite restaurants. Even if it is the same food you can find elsewhere, if it is a restaurant that many stars continue to visit, it becomes more special. From BTS' regular meat restaurants to IVE's brunch cafes and OH MY GIRL's bakeries, we've compiled a list of must-visit restaurants to include when visiting Seoul.

GOLDPIG Restaurant

BTS’ regular meat restaurant with delicious briquette grill

It is a grilled pork belly restaurant that has been selected as a Bib Gourmand (restaurant that provides great food at a reasonable price) in the “Michelin Guide” for four consecutive years since 2019. It is also famous as a BTS restaurant. The YouTube channel “Your Korean Friend Angoo” introduced that it was a restaurant where Jung Kook visited for three months in a row on. The signature menu is “Bone Grilled Pork Belly,” which is made by aging 1+ grade pork belly with the bone in it for 15 days at a low temperature and then grilling it sizzling over a briquette fire. Jung Kook’s favorite “Grilled King Oyster Mushrooms” is also popular for its chewy texture.

Daehan Gopchang Jangan Branch

A popular gopchang restaurant visited by Hwa Sa of MAMAMOO

This is a restaurant specializing in grilled beef gopchang (small intestines) where Hwa Sa of MAMAMOO ate at an outdoor table in the entertainment program I Live Alone. The menu consists of a variety of clean, high-quality grilled beef small intestines. Assorted grilled beef small intestines that can be eaten together with various parts and vegetables are the best menu. Ssamjang, curry, cheese, and onion come with four sauces, and it tastes even better when you dip it according to your taste. Blow away the greasiness with the spicy hot pot and finish off your meal with fried rice.

Sinuiju Sweet Rice Sundae Cheongdam Branch

SHINee's Key and Minho's favorite restaurant

It is a sundae and rice soup restaurant that SHINee's Key and Minho chose as their soul food to eat after their busy schedules during their trainee days. The rice soup can be enjoyed simple with only salted shrimp in the soup, or with minced seasoning. You can empty a bowl in no time by adding julienne radish fresh salad to a plain soup without the smell of pork. The stuffed squid that Key ordered is also a delicacy. It opens at 5AM and is perfect for an early breakfast.

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A brunch cafe visited by IVE’s Ahn Yu-jin and Jang Won-young

This is the brunch cafe that IVE’s Ahn Yu-jin and Jang Won-young stopped by after Pilates class in the entertainment program Point of Omniscient Interfere. It exudes a fresh yet exotic image with turquoise paint and an outdoor terrace. The menu is quite diverse, including salads, sandwiches, and salmon dishes. Among them, the most popular menu, onion soup, is served in a pottery cup. Their carrot cake is also famous, so be sure to try it with coffee.

Yujeong Restaurant

The leaf wraps and rice that BTS enjoyed eating when they were trainees

When BTS were trainees, they said they often ate at this restaurant in the same building. Since it is a space with such a meaning, fans come and decorate it with photos, messages of support, and souvenirs. The restaurant is literally plastered with BTS up to the ceiling. The most popular menu items are hot stone pot bibimbap with stir-fried pork and ssambap (leaf wraps and rice), which were often ordered by the members. You can enjoy a happy meal with neat side dishes and hearty hospitality.

Chosun Hwaro Gui

A place where celebrities from YG Entertainment often visit

It is a restaurant specializing in charcoal grill that celebrities from YG Entertainment often visit. Autographs of celebrities including BIGBANG adorn the walls, and it is always full of customers. Only 1++ grade Korean beef and pork are used, so the taste is guaranteed. Boneless Korean galbi is the most popular, and grilled marinated pork galbi is also a steady seller. All of the kimchi and side dishes are made with care, and the galbi soup for meals is also delicious.

Happy Bakery

The bakery OH MY GIRL loves

In OH MY GIRL’s Fandom Tour, it was introduced as a bread restaurant that Mimi accidentally discovered in Bangbae-dong when she was a trainee. Menus that OH MY GIRL members like are marked with a sign that reads “OH MY GIRL pick.” It is said that Mimi likes chocoholic, and Seung-hee likes cheese mochi, which is called “baby buttocks.” It started as a rice cake shop in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi-do in 1987, and its signature item is sweet rice cake with red bean filling mixed with nuts.