Donghwagohok | Gangnam N Branch

Do you know what the essence of Korean food culture is? At Donghwagohok, you can experience modernized traditional Korean royal cuisine. Let's check it out!

Donghwagohok | Gangnam N Branch

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Information

Hours: Every Day 11:30-22:00 (Break Time 15:00-17:00 / Last Order 21:00)

Available Reservation Hours: 11:30-13:00 / 17:00-20:00 (Reservation Unit: 30 minutes)

Available Languages: Korean, English (Basic communication)

Address: B2, 129 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (Gangnam N Tower)

Why We Recommend It

Donghwagohok is a restaurant modernized traditional Korean palace cuisine and reenacted the beautiful food culture of Korea.

You can freely choose a course that suits your taste.

Located near Gangnam Station, it has good accessibility and you can explore the Gangnam area after your meal.

You can experience the taste of Korea in a luxurious and private space.

Things To Keep In Mind

Please strictly adhere to the reservation date and time.

If you are more than 10 minutes late for your reservation, it will be automatically canceled.

Reservation cancelation and refunds are possible up to 4 days in advance.

If you would like to add other items in addition to your reserved product, please make on-site payment.

The last order is one hour before closing time.

Please select the exact date and time on the reservation page for smooth processing.

For reservation changes or any other inquiries, please contact help@creatrip.com.

Price

Please be sure to make a reservation at least 3 days in advance.

The duration of each course is a minimum of about 2 hours. 

All courses are available for a minimum of 2 people, so please keep this in mind when making a reservation (minimum purchase quantity of 2 when reserving).

Refund Policy

How To Reserve

Our Visit

We made a visit to Donghwagohok Gangnam N Branch, where you can get a taste of traditional Korean royal cuisine. It is located between Yeoksam Station and Gangnam Station, making it very accessible. Donghwagohok (동화고옥) means 'ancient floral house'.

It is located on B2 of Gangnam N Tower, in the innermost part. Even though it's in the basement, it doesn't feel like it.

The Gangnam N Branch is the main branch of Donghwagohok, and all seats are composed of private rooms, so you can have a private meal. Many foreigners actually reserve this place for meetings or gatherings.

We were guided to a 4-person room with a clean interior. The beige tones are clean and sophisticated, like a high-end traditional Korean restaurant.

Also, there is a hanger on the wall, so it's convenient to hang heavy and thick coats during the winter. We made a reservation for Dinner Course C for two people, so we were immediately seated and just waited for our food to come out without needing to place a separate order. There is even a wireless charger built into the table! When you place your phone on it, it will automatically charge your phone. It's really convenient!

Peanut Pumpkin Porridge

The appetizer was a Peanut Pumpkin Porridge. It is topped with cream and pumpkin oil, which can be mixed with the porridge to eat. Please note that you should stir it quickly before the cream settles. When the cream and porridge are mixed together, it adds an extra spoonful of softness to the pumpkin porridge.

Mokseokchohwa

The next dish is a four-component dish called Mokseokchohwa. This gourmet dish came with sophisticated dishes and decorations that matched the visual appeal of the food. The first thing I ate was a tart that was standing tall, topped with cod meat, cheese powder, and finished with lemon zest.

Next was a mini truffle short rib sandwich topped with thinly-chopped chives and edible flowers.

The buckwheat pancake was simple and delicious, and was topped with a unique leaf-like decoration. The skate tripe didn't have a fishy smell and was really chewy like jelly.

Beef & Shrimp Pancakes

Royal Fish Salad

The Royal Fish Salad is a dish made with raw red snapper served in a savory soy sauce and various sides. The red sea bream was soft and seemed to melt in the mouth.

The Beef Pancake was crispy and paired well with when topped with the seasoned vegetables and garlic chives.

You can also dip the Shrimp Pancake in the leftover soy sauce from the Royal Fish Salad. The shrimp was plump and chewy, and the aroma of soy sauce went well with it.

Alcohol Steamed Abalone

Then came the Alcohol Steamed Abalone. This abalone was a premium type that is different from your typical abalone. It would be difficult even to fit the whole thing in your fist! This dish is made by steaming the abalone in alcohol, and then a broth was poured over it after being served. When eaten with fried squid and mushrooms, the chewiness of the seafood fills your mouth. 

Seafood Soft Tofu Clay Pot

Next was the Seafood Soft Tofu Clay Pot, which was a spicy seafood tofu soup served in a mini pot. The plating was really unique and even came topped with a thin layer of potato.

Just crush the covered potato with a spoon and put it in the soft tofu soup to eat together.

The layer of potato was chewy and delicious when dipped in the soup. It really felt like a high-class Korean traditional restaurant because they do not skimp on the ingredients for each menu, along with the soup. In the jar, there were cockles, shrimp, mussels, tofu, and other ingredients, and the broth was really flavorful. However, I thought it would taste better if I ate it with rice.

Marinated Banquet Short Ribs

The main dish, which is seasoned with 12 different ingredients, is here!

It also comes with side dishes, which are perfect for eating with the short ribs. The seasoned perilla leaves and the cucumber side dish were especially excellent.

The staff will grill the meat for you and serve you the meat. The short ribs were incredibly juicy, tender, and perfectly marinated. It was definitely worth the price!

The staff will also grill the vegetable garnish and neatly place it in a dish. The course meal was so diverse that it was more than enough for the two of us to eat!

Seasonal Soup

Then, the seasonal soup was served. The soup changes according to the season, and the day we went it was beef radish soup. The soup came with chewy white rice, salted octopus, and seaweed. The beef in the soup was Korean beef (Hanwoo), and the combination of Hanwoo, radish, and the seasoning made the deep flavor of the soup stand out even more.

The salted octopus is made with fresh octopus, so it has the chewiness of octopus and the seasoning is well balanced. Placing the salted octopus on top of rice and wrapping it with seaweed creates a delectable rice dish.

Gohok Cold Noodles

For the final course, you can choose between two types of cold noodles, Gohok Naengmyeon and Donghwa Goldongmyeon, so we ordered one of each. The naengmyeon was very refreshing, and was made with Jeju buckwheat noodles and lamb broth. The staff informed us that it's essentially the same as Pyongyang cold noodles! Even if you add mustard and vinegar, it may not have any taste, but if you like Pyongyang Naengmyeon, we recommend it!

Donghwa Goldongmyeon

This dish comes with Jeju buckwheat noodles combined with beef, eggs, whole sesame seeds, and black sesame seeds.

You can mix it up in the savory sesame oil and top the noodles with crunchy cucumber and pear. 

Okseolhwa, Dasobangwa

Okseolhwa refreshed my mouth with a fresh sherbet and a juicy slice of orange, which was tangy. The Dasobangwa is composed of sweet walnut tea and refreshing Omija tea. Even though the walnut cake was very sweet, I could still taste the sweetness of the Omija tea. Dessert was the perfect way to end the meal!

Experience satisfying palace cuisine with a neat and diverse menu, including grilled Hanwoo beef, at Donghwagohok! If you want to taste authentic Korean food, don't miss the opportunity!

How To Get There

Leave through Exit 12 of Gangnam Station.

Exit the building and continue straight ahead.

After going straight for about 200m, you will see Gangnam N Tower building in front of you after passing the intersection.

Enter through the entrance and take the escalator down to the basement 2nd floor.

When you go inside, you can see Donghwagohok

You made it!

Donghwagohok | Gangnam N Branch

Reserve Here

We hope that you can enjoy this amazing traditional meal! If you have any questions or concerns, please leave a comment below or send us an email at help@creatrip.com. You can follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook to stay updated on all things Korea!