Ido Gomtang • 이도곰탕 계동 직영점

Ido Gomtang (이도곰탕 계동 직영점) is a Korean restaurant that specializes in Korean beef soup (한우곰탕). If you’re not familiar with this particular Korean dish, gomtang (곰탕)—or beef bone soup—is a Korean hearty soup made by slowly simmering various beef parts on a low flame. The result is clear beef broth with a rich and hearty taste and served with thinly sliced beef and rice. Gomtang is commonly eaten with kimchi and kkakdugi (깍두기 or cubed radish kimchi).

The secret recipe that Ido Gomtang uses is supposedly made by a Doctor of Oriental Medicine who was the 18th grandchild of King Sejong and has been passed on through three generations (at least that’s what’s written on the ‘About Page’ of the restaurant on Naver). As a result, the soup of their signature Hanwoo Gomtang (한우 곰탕) is a clean and rich broth with deep flavors.

Located 175 meters away from the famous Cafe Onion Anguk, Ido Gomtang’s entrance is quite hidden from the main Gye-dong street. But after you turn left on the alleyway where it’s located, you’ll immediately see the entrance to the restaurant in front of you (see the last photo of this post).

The interior of the restaurant is pretty simple and modern. The kind of place that office workers frequent for a quick, no frills, healthy lunch where they can just come, get their food quickly and go back to their busy day. And I’ve actually encountered many people from this certain group during the multiple times I was there. 

Their menu is pretty straight forward too. There are only 3 items on the board:

1. Gomtang (곰탕) :  Thinly sliced beef served in clear beef broth with chopped onions.
   Regular Gomtang with Rice (곰탕) ₩13,000
   Large Gomtang with Rice (특곰탕) ₩16,000
   Regular Gomtang with Rice Noodles (쌀면곰탕) ₩13,000
   Large Gomtang with Rice Noodles (특쌀면곰탕) ₩16,000
   

2. Beef Suyuk (수육) ₩49,000 — Thin boiled beef slices served with mushrooms, chives, and Napa cabbage in a pot of broth. Served with a side of the Spicy Raw Pollack Salad (명태회무침).

3. Spicy Raw Pollack Salad (명태회무침) ₩9,000

*There has been a ₩1,000 increase in price for each menu since I took the photo below.

Gomtang (곰탕) ₩13,000 | 9.5/10

The menu that I always order is the regular gomtang. The regular portion is pretty generous and enough to fill my stomach for one meal. The broth of the gomtang is light yet savory with that deep beef flavor you get from boiling beef for a long period of time. It’s very comforting with subtle hints of the chopped onions mixed in the soup. 

Unlike seolleongtang (설렁탕 Korean Ox Bone Soup) which you have to seasoned the soup yourself before eating it, gomtang’s soup is already seasoned when served. It’s more like galbitang (갈비탕 Beef Short Ribs Soup) but without the hassle of taking the meat off of the bones. And Ido Gomtang’s soup is always nicely seasoned and served pipping hot with soft and tender sliced meat and well-cooked rice. They also provide you with dipping sauce and wasabi on the side for you to dip your meat into (and yes, you should dip it if you want to add another layer of flavor into the dish).

Also, a little bit of disclaimer, if you came from Southeast Asian countries, the flavor of gomtang might not be as strong or bold as soups in your country since Southeast Asian food tend to have bolder seasoning and flavor profile in my opinion.

Their kimchi and kkakdugi are also really good. They are on the spicier side for my personal taste, but the flavors are wonderful and they give a nice acidity to the bite when eaten with the gomtang.

Ido Gomtang Gyedong is probably one of the restaurant I visit quite often every time I’m in Seoul. Due to its location, I usually ended up frequenting this place when I have to meet up with family or friends who are visiting Seoul for the first time since it’s close to Anguk Station (안국역) and Bukchon Hanok Village (북촌한옥마을, a popular tourist spot for first-time visitors in Seoul). This restaurant has also become one of my go to place every time anybody ask me for a restaurant recommendation around Bukchon Hanok Village. And pretty much everybody—both adults and kids—who I’ve taken or recommended this place to said they like the gomtang. If you go with a big group, I would also recommend the suyuk since it’s also delicious.

If you’re looking for a simple, hearty and comforting meal around Anguk Station, Cafe Onion Anguk or Bukchon Hanok Village, I would definitely recommend you to check this place out. 

 

Ido Gomtang (이도곰탕 계동 직영점)

Address: 서울 종로구 계동길 33-8
Telephone: 02-762-0524
Hours: Mon-Fri 10:00-22:00 | Sat & Sun 10:00-21:00

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Cafe Onion Anguk • 카페 어니언 안국

At this point in time, I think Cafe Onion has became one of the more popular cafe to visit in Seoul. Having been to their main branch in Seongsu (Click here to see my post on Cafe Onion Seongsu), Cafe Onion Anguk (카페 어니언 안국) is the second branch that I visited and is the third location that they opened in Seoul. If I’m not mistaken, Cafe Onion Anguk was opened to the public in early March 2019 and I visited the place during mid April 2019, just a month after its opening. Back then, just like any other popular place that just opened, the cafe was pretty crowded. I went during a weekday so the crowd wasn’t as bad and I didn’t really have to line up to enter. But still, the place was pretty packed and I had to wait for a couple of minutes to get a table.

Compared to its Seongsu location, the interior of the Anguk location is definitely different. Although the design of their coffee bar/ordering area still resembles their Seongsu location’s, which is also a nice touch for branding consistency, the vibe of the rest of the cafe is heavily dictated by the traditional hanok structure the cafe is housed in. I personally always find hanok cafes to be charming because of the combination of the old traditional aspect of Korea and the more modern day coffee/cafe culture of today’s generation. And this place is no different. The first thing you’ll be greeted with when you enter the main area of the cafe is a view of an open sand yard with hanok structures standing on four sides of it. The hanok area is divided into two sections, half for ordering area and half for seating area. There are definitely plenty of seatings around the cafe and even more chairs are available on the garden area near the front entrance of the cafe.

Other than their coffee, Cafe Onion also has an abundant selection of delicious baked goods and pastries you can choose from. During my visit, I tried their honey seaweed fulvescens bread (허니매생이감태). The name is pretty weird and I honestly didn’t know what I was putting on my tray at the time. But I felt like trying new things that day so I ended up picking the toasted bread with the weird name. Turns out, it actually tasted pretty good! I remember thinking of getting seconds but because I was there quite late in the afternoon, I opted not to since I didn’t want to be too full for dinner. And per usual, I also ordered milk tea and their milk tea was pretty solid too.

All and all, Cafe Onion Anguk is probably one of those places I would recommend people to go visit, especially if you’re visiting Bukchon Hanok Village since it’s around the area. They have nice interior and good food and drinks. The only downside is the place might be a little crowded if you’re coming on a busy time or during the weekends. But hey, at least there are plenty of spaces for you to wait around and take interesting photos at.

Here’s the video of the place:

Note: The photos and video were taken before the pandemic.

 

Cafe Onion Anguk • 어니언 안국

Address: 서울 종로구 계동길 5 카페 어니언
Telephone: 070-7543-2123
Hours: Monday to Friday 07:00-22:00 | Saturday to Sunday 09:00-22:00

Instagram: @cafe.onion

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Fritz Coffee Company Anguk • 프릳츠 원서점

Opened in 2015 by Park Geunha and five of his friends, Fritz Coffee Company (프릳츠) has became one of South Korea’s famous specialty coffee brand that is well known for its wide variety of house roasts. The iconic seal holding a cup of coffee brand even has a growing international following these days since a lot of coffee drinkers are fond of Fritz’s house roasts. Apart from a good cup of coffee, you can also enjoy a wide range of delicious French and Korean baked goods that are available at the cafe.

This is actually their second location in Seoul that I’ve visited after their main branch in Dohwa-dong (프릳츠 도화점) and I have to say after finding out about this location, I frequent this location a lot more than the other one just because of their convenient location that’s close to Anguk Station (안국역).

Just like their main branch, the mix of old and new concept is carried over to this location as well. The main area where the pastries are displayed and where you place your order is located inside a more modern building opposite the Arario Museum in Space Theater (아라리오뮤지엄 인 스페이스), while the seating area is mostly inside the small hanok structure building as well as the outdoor seating in the yard area.

If you find yourself looking for a caffeine fix or perhaps a good pastry when you’re visiting Bukchon Hanok Village (북촌한옥마을), Samcheongdong neighborhood (삼청동), or even the Arario Museum in Space Theater (아라리오뮤지엄 인 스페이스), I would definitely recommend this place.

Here’s the video of the space:

Note: These pictures & video were taken before the pandemic.

 

Fritz Coffee Company Anguk • 프릳츠 원서점

Address: 서울 종로구 율곡로 83 아라리오 뮤지엄
Telephone: 02-747-8101
Hours: 10:00 - 21:00 Everyday

Instagram: @fritzcoffeecompany

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