When in Korea, you may be convinced that you need to try all the food while you're here. But beyond Korean BBQ and bibimbap, you may be wondering where to start. That's why we'd like to take this chance to introduce you to Namdo Sigaek, a restaurant that specializes in short ribs that are braised with an aged-kimchi and served with a variety of side dishes that create a meal experience you won't forget. If this sounds good to you, follow us on our visit to Namdo Sigaek in Insadong.
Information
Location: 서울 종로구 인사동길 47-6
47-6 Insadong-gil, Jongro-gu, Seoul
Directions: It's about a 7 minute walk from subway Line 3's Anguk Station (455 m) or about a 5 minute walk from the Jogyesa bus stop (322 m).
Hours: M - Sa 10am - 9pm (Sunday OFF)
Why We Recommend It
It's located right Ssamgil Alley, so it's a perfect place to eat when visiting Insadong.
It is a chance to try traditional and authentic Korean food.
Not only is it delicious, but it's affordable.
You can eat their famous Braised Short Ribs and and Gungjung Beef Short Ribs.
Our Visit
Namdo Sigake is a Korean restaurant located right in Insadong, famous for its traditional Korean food. Two dishes that have become quite famous at the restaurant are the Braised Short Ribs and the Yukjeon Cold Noodles.
You can find the restaurant by in Ssamgil Alley. The alley is located near O'Shellock Tea House.
When you arrive at the entrance, you will see a menu being shown with pictures and descriptions in English, Chinese and Japanese.
The restaurant interior is decorated as traditional Korean style-house, very fitting for the Insadong location. Despite the furniture and structure being made of wood, it is done in a modern way without jeopardizing the antique feeling of the place.
When we finally sat down at our wooden table, we couldn't help but think how perfect this place was for Insadong.
The menu was filled with many Korean dishes, the signature menu items being the Braised Short Ribs and the Hand-Seasonded Gungjung Braised Short Ribs.
Insadong is known for being a bit pricey since it is a major tourist attraction, but despite that, everything on the menu as reasonably price. Besides the Gungjung Braised Short Ribs, you can have any item on the menu for under 10,000 KRW.
Of course we had to order the Hand-Seasoned Gungjung Beef Braised Ribs (36,000 KRW for 2-3 people), the signature menu. You're also able to add rice cake, udon or glass noodles to the dish if you want to make the dish even more filling!
When our food came out, it was served with a myriad of colorful side dishes including picked onions, bean sprouts, radish kimchi, spinach and seaweed soup. And is expected with many Korean means, we both received our own bowls of rice.
The dish also included other ingredients such as carrots, mushrooms, rice cake, and green onion. The braise had a salty and sweet sauce that complimented all of the ingredients very well. This is dish that any meat lover would enjoy.
The short ribs were very soft and tender and went perfect with every ingredient that came in the dish. Taking a bite with meat and vegetables on top of some rice was so delicious. We recommend you try it that way as well!
The main dish was very good so we eat happily. The seaweed soup that was served as well was savory as well so it went well with the meal.
Faster than we expected, all the meat was gone 😅. We were still a bit hungry so we put our rice in the pot to make our own fried rice.
Just as we expected, the seasoning from the braise was a perfect addition to our rice so we ate it happily. Not a single bit was left over when we finished.
And that concludes our visit to Namdo Sigaek in the Insadong area. We hope you found this review helpful and we can't wait to get back to you with more useful blogs to help make your time in Korea an enjoyable one. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at help@creatrip.com and make sure to follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook to stay tuned on all things Korea!
