10 Great Restaurants in Pyeongchang

Migayeon is a popular restaurant that serves buckwheat noodles (memil guksu) in Pyeongchang. The owner makes noodles everyday using only buckwheat powder without adding any other ingredients. As a result, the noodles retain the original taste of buckwheat.

Migayeon's menu includes a variety of dishes using buckwheat and buckwheat sprouts, such as spicy buckwheat noodles with beef tartare (yukhoe bibimguksu), beef tartare with buckwheat sprouts (memilssak yukhoe), buckwheat jelly salad (muk muchim), and buckwheat crepe (jeonbyeong). In particular, spicy buckwheat noodles with beef tartare will entertain your palate with a delightfully unique taste, topped with a generous portion of soft and buttery beef tartare (yukhoe), which is well blended with bitter buckwheat noodles. Side dishes including seasoned wild herbs, which are picked by the owner in the mountains of Gangwon-do, add to the seasonal vibe to the table. It is a must-visit restaurant for anyone who wants to taste the pure flavour of buckwheat dishes.

Chogajip Yetgol is a restaurant specialising in buckwheat dishes that retain the original taste of buckwheat and have a non-irritating, healthy taste. Chogajip Yetgol serves authentic buckwheat dishes in a renovated old hanok (traditional Korean house). The menu includes noodles, chilled buckwheat jelly soup (muksabal), buckwheat jelly salad (muk muchim), buckwheat pancakes (buchim), buckwheat crepes (jeonbyeong), and pasta.

Buckwheat noodles, which have a uniquely firm and chewy mouthfeel and are served in rich-flavoured broth are one of must-try dishes. Buckwheat pancakes (memiljeon) or napa wraps with pork (bossam) make an excellent pairing with the noodles. Not only main dishes but also side dishes are prepared and cooked with much care, recharging your body and soul. Buckwheat tea and homemade-style buckwheat cookies served as desserts are also delicacies. If you want to taste authentic buckwheat dishes with your family and friends, this restaurant is the one you must go to.

Chukhyeop Daegwallyeong Hanu Town serves fine dishes made with Daegwallyeong Korean beef. The meat comes from cattle that are raised in the wild, resulting in high quality and excellent flavour. At Chukhyeop Daegwallyeong Hanu Town, you can purchase fresh and savoury Daegwallyeong Korean beef or taste it by cooking it yourself on grills built into the table.

The first floor houses a butcher shop and a dining space for those who want to grill the meat themselves, and the second floor is a quite large dining area where the staff grills the meat for customers. Choose the cut you want to taste at the butcher shop, sit at a table, and then order other dishes, desserts, or drinks to pair with the meat. Daegwallyeong Korean beef boasts a rich and juicy taste. Savoury soybean paste stew (doenjang jjigae) or cold noodle soup (naengmyeon) makes an excellent paring with the beef. The restaurant is recommended to anyone who wants to taste fresh Korean beef directly from the producer.

153 Shabu-Shabu Kalguksu is a great place to replenish after an exciting day of skiing in Pyeongchang. Numerous autographs of celebrities and athletes displayed on the walls tell how popular this restaurant is. The menu consists of beef shabu-shabu, seafood and beef shabu-shabu, and Daegwallyeong Korean beef shabu-shabu, along with various side dishes including cold bean noodles, cold noodles, spicy noodles, and dumplings.

In Korea, shabu-shabu is usually enjoyed as a three-course meal: you eat meat and vegetables first, noodle soup the next, and porridge at the end. The meat and various vegetables such as bean sprouts, chicory, and mushrooms you instantly cook on the table by dipping it in the boiling broth have a rich yet light taste and a buttery texture. The noodles kneaded by hand are pleasantly firm to the bite and fit the savoury broth nicely. In summer, noodles in cold soybean soup made by grinding soybeans are also available as a seasonal dish, which is a must-try.

Yujeong Sikdang, located in the middle of the mountain, is a restaurant famous for healthy and hearty wild vegetable dishes. Against the backdrop of a high mountain, a stream flows behind the restaurant, so customers can enjoy the clean air and beautiful scenery here, as well as a tasty meal. The restaurant serves rustic, homemade-style dishes that are not strong-tasting, only using wild vegetables picked from the mountain by the owner.

A seasoned wild vegetable set meal includes various seasoned vegetables―so varied that you can't even remember their names―grilled fish, and grilled deodeok, along with steamed rice and soybean paste stew (doenjang jjigae). Mix all the seasoned vegetables and rice together in your bowl and eat it with the savoury soybean paste stew. As you finish the meal, you will feel revitalised from the inside. If you want to have a healthy and light meal prepared with much care in a scenic place, Yujeong Sikdang is the one you are looking for.

Pyeongchang Hanu Maeul Myeonon Branch, located near the ski slopes, is a good Korean beef speciality restaurant to visit after enjoying winter sports. Furnished with large, long tables, it is perfect for family gatherings or staff dinners. The restaurant is also equipped with an outdoor gathering space where you can have a barbecue party while watching cultural performances, along with a foot volleyball court and a futsal court.

Pyeongchang Hanu Maeul is a Korean beef producer and distributor that operates its own system for raising, slaughtering, processing, distributing, and selling Korean beef. As all its beef products are distributed and stored at constant temperatures, you can trust in the freshness of the meat served at its restaurants. The restaurant also sells various Korean beef cuts and grilled beef rib patties (tteokgalbi) at reasonable prices, allowing customers to enjoy premium Korean beef economically. If you want to recharge yourself after skiing or other activities, don't forget to visit this restaurant.

Unduryeong Songeo Hoejip is an attractive restaurant where you can enjoy sliced raw trout in an antique hanok (traditional Korean house). The fact that Pyeongchang is Korea's first region to successfully raise trout and that the restaurant has served sliced raw trout for 31 years raise your expectations.

The menu consists only of sliced raw trout and grilled trout, which makes your choice easier. The representative menu item, sliced raw trout, is served on a cold stone plate covered with traditional Korean paper, so it retains its freshness as if it were freshly sliced even after a long time. To eat like locals, mix the trout slices with various vegetables, sesame oil, and soybean powder, and make a wrap with lettuce or other green leaves. You will love the harmony of different tastes. The spicy stew made with freshwater fish (minmul maeuntang) that is served as the last course will bring a perfect end to your meal.

Samjeong is a restaurant specialising in aged Korean beef where you can savour the rich flavour of Korean beef. Popular with epicures from across the nation, the restaurant accepts only three reservations at a round, so an advance reservation is indispensable. As if proving its 25-year history, regular customers always fill the tables of the restaurant.

A full-course meal here includes grilled sirloin as a main course, along with sliced raw beef (yuk sashimi), beef tartare (yukhoe), and grilled brisket that can be added by choice. Every table is attended by the staff who grills the beef for customers. They also provide information on Korean beef and how to cook it best. Since they quickly cook the outside of the meat so that the juices are retained, you can savour the rich taste of Korean beef, which is crispy outside and moist inside. Visit Samjeong and experience the original taste of Korean beef prepared and cooked by experts.

Yongpyeong Hoegwan is a famous Korean beef speciality restaurant that is always crowded with customers at meal times. It has a simple menu, consisting mainly of grilled sirloin, grilled brisket, spicy stir-fried marinated meat (jumulleok), and pollack stew (saengtae jjigae), but the composition of each set meal is anything but simple. Every set meal includes the main dish and a variety of tasty side dishes that cover the entire table.

You can grill sirloin over a charcoal brazier built into your table. Cooked moderately, it has a slightly buttery and savoury taste with a chewy mouthfeel. Jummulleok, which is beef or pork marinated in sweet garlic soy sauce and is also grilled on the table-top brazier, melts away in your mouth. The soybean paste stew served at the end of the meal has plenty of bean curd and potatoes, and its broth has a deep flavour. The pollack stew of the restaurant, which contains beef unlike usual pollack stew, has a rich and refreshing taste. If you want to enjoy Korean beef along with various kinds of side dishes, this is a must-visit restaurant.

Daebak Sikdang, always crowded with diners, is a 50-year-old restaurant specialising in Korean beef sirloin. From the entrance to the restaurant, the walls are covered with photos and autographs of athletes and other sports celebrities who visited, further raising your expectations about the restaurant.

The restaurant provides a wide range of meat dishes, including grilled Korean beef sirloin, sirloin steak, sliced and seasoned barbecued sirloin, grilled brisket, and grilled pork belly. Among them, grilled Korean sirloin is especially popular for its exquisite quality and taste though it is priced more reasonably than in other restaurants. To enjoy the sirloin with fine marbling even more deliciously, cook it moderately and dip it in the sauce made with salt and sesame oil. You can also eat the thinly sliced tender meat with soybean paste (doenjang), garlic, and other vegetables. After finishing the meat, be sure to try the crispy and spicy stir-fried rice with kkakdugi (diced radish kimchi), which is served at the end of the meal.