KOREAN FOOD GUIDE
Korean fried chicken is a crisp, shareable meal often served with sauces and refreshing pickled radish.
FOOD CATEGORYFIND A TABLE
Current restaurant guides connected to this food. Open a guide for practical visit details and the full signature menu.
01 LOCAL TABLEDakdonggari is a casual Korean chicken pub near Gangnam Station, combining old-school Korean fried chicken with the atmosphere of a retro pojangmacha, or street-food tent bar. The restaurant is best known for its large whole chicken, while the menu also includes chicken feet, tteokbokki, seafood and late-night snacks. Outdoor seating adds to the casual Korean night-out atmosphere.
View restaurant02 LOCAL TABLEKkanbu Chicken Seocho is a casual Korean fried chicken restaurant near Seoul National University of Education, offering an easy way to experience the Korean chimaek combination of fried chicken and beer. The menu includes familiar favorites such as crispy chicken, original fried chicken, garlic soy chicken and grilled whole chicken, along with sides for sharing. Its relatively spacious interior makes it suitable for relaxed meals and drinks.
View restaurant03 LOCAL TABLEGangnamtongdakhopeu is a casual Korean chicken-and-beer spot in Yeoksam, close to Gangnam Station. Rather than presenting the polished image of a major fried-chicken franchise, it has the feel of an old-school Korean “hof” — a place where people come after work for fried chicken, beer, soju, and simple drinking snacks. The menu goes beyond chicken, with Golbaengi Somyeon (whelk with spicy noodles), tofu with kimchi, fish cake soup, tteokbokki, dried seafood, and other familiar Korean drinking foods. For travelers, this is less about finding an elaborate Korean meal and more about experiencing a very ordinary Korean night out. The restaurant is particularly suited to a casual second stop after dinner, when you want fried chicken and drinks rather than another full meal. The chicken is relatively approachable in price for central Gangnam, and the combination of chicken with Golbaengi Somyeon is one of the restaurant's defining choices. It is a useful option if you want to experience the Korean “chimaek” culture in a neighborhood-style hof rather than at a large chain.
View restaurant04 LOCAL TABLESeocho Tongdak is a casual Korean fried-chicken and hof-style restaurant near Gangnam Station. Its defining menu is Seocho Old-Style Whole Chicken, served with a relatively thin, crisp coating rather than the thick, heavily seasoned crust found at some modern fried-chicken restaurants. The restaurant also offers familiar Korean drinking foods such as yangnyeom chicken, soy sauce chicken, cream-onion boneless chicken, golbaengi salad or noodles, and tteokbokki. It also has a selection of draft beers, including styles such as IPA, Pilsner, and Weizen. For travelers, the appeal is less about a polished restaurant experience and more about seeing a familiar part of Korean evening food culture. Located on Gangnam-daero and within walking distance of Gangnam Station, it works particularly well for a casual beer-and-chicken stop after work or as a second restaurant of the evening. The relatively broad seating area and hof-style atmosphere also make it suitable for small groups or casual gatherings.
View restaurant05 LOCAL TABLESamdeok Tongdak Sinnonhyeon is a Korean fried-chicken restaurant near Sinnonhyeon Station, bringing the style of Daegu's Samdeok Tongdak to central Seoul. The restaurant's chicken is cooked in a traditional cauldron-style frying method, and the signature Sammi Tongdak combines sweet honey with Cheongyang chili and garlic. The result sits somewhere between classic fried chicken and the sticky, savory-sweet character of Korean dakgangjeong, while still keeping the crisp texture of fried chicken. The restaurant is particularly suitable for travelers who want to experience Korean chimaek culture rather than simply have a quick chicken meal. The location is extremely convenient for visitors around Gangnam and Sinnonhyeon, and the late evening hours make it suitable for a casual dinner, drinks after sightseeing, or a second stop after another meal. Alongside chicken, the menu includes familiar Korean drinking foods such as tteokbokki, fish cake soup, fried gizzards, chicken feet, and shrimp fritters.
View restaurant06 LOCAL TABLEBHC Chicken Seoul City Hall is a branch of one of Korea's major fried chicken chains, located near Seoul City Hall and the Namdaemun shopping area. For travelers, it offers an easy introduction to Korean fried chicken, a food culture that is closely connected with beer, casual group dining, and late-night eating. Unlike a traditional Korean restaurant, the experience is informal: order a whole chicken or half-and-half combination, share it at the table, and pair it with beer and pickled radish. The branch is particularly useful for visitors because it is located in an area where tourists naturally pass through, with City Hall, Deoksugung Palace and Namdaemun Market nearby. A recent visitor review specifically describes stopping in after shopping at Namdaemun and ordering a half-and-half chicken, while another recent local blog review noted a large proportion of foreign customers at the restaurant
View restaurant07 LOCAL TABLECheolin 7ho is a Korean fried-chicken restaurant known for its signature chicken made with a 48-hour low-temperature aging process. The original chicken has a relatively thin coating, giving it a lighter, crisp texture than heavily battered fried chicken. The restaurant also offers several sauces and seasonings, including soy sauce, spicy soy, garlic, curry and spicy flavors. The Hongdae branch is located near Sangsu Station and operates mainly from the late afternoon into the early morning. It is geared toward casual evening dining and drinking, with combination menus designed for sharing. The three-flavor set is particularly useful if you want to try several Korean fried-chicken flavors in one order.
View restaurant08 LOCAL TABLEOutdark Hongdae is a Korean fried-chicken restaurant known for serving fried chicken with a generous amount of fries and fried rice cakes on the side. The Original Princeton Fried Chicken is one of the main menu items, while soy sauce, garlic, spicy and seasoned versions offer different flavor profiles. Current listings show the chicken using 100% domestic chilled chicken thigh meat. The restaurant is located close to Sangsu Station and operates into the early morning on Fridays and Saturdays. It is designed more for casual evening dining and drinking than for a quick takeaway meal. The combination of chicken, fries, fried rice cakes and dipping sauces makes it particularly suited to sharing with friends over beer.
View restaurant09 LOCAL TABLEJadam Chicken Seoul Hongdae is a Korean fried-chicken restaurant serving both classic fried chicken and strongly seasoned varieties. Its best-known menu includes Mapsheulang Chicken, which combines a creamy mayonnaise-style sauce with Cheongyang chili peppers for a sweet, creamy and noticeably spicy flavor. The restaurant also offers Hot Fried Chicken, black-garlic-based Mapssoikick Chicken and seasoning-style Ppusheulang Chicken. The Hongdae branch is a relatively compact neighborhood shop on Wausan-ro, with both takeaway and some dine-in seating. It is particularly convenient for visitors staying around Hongdae who want to try Korean fried chicken without going to a large pub-style restaurant. Current local listings show the branch operating from around 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. and identify Wednesday as the regular closing day in some recent listings, although the current business listing shows daily opening hours, so checking before visiting is advisable.
View restaurant10 LOCAL TABLEGoobne Chicken is different from conventional Korean fried chicken because the chicken is oven-baked rather than deep-fried. This produces a lighter, less oily style of chicken with a roasted flavor. The Hongdae Red Road branch offers Goobne's major menu items, including Original, Gochu Basasak, Volcano and Galbi Cheonwang. Current listings show the Original at ₩20,900 and several signature flavors at ₩22,900. Located on Jandari-ro 2-gil near Hongdae's busy nightlife area, the branch operates until 3 a.m., making it suitable for a late-night chicken-and-beer stop. The menu is familiar to Korean diners but offers a useful alternative for visitors who find deep-fried chicken too heavy.
View restaurant11 LOCAL TABLEDouble Play Chicken is a Korean fried-chicken restaurant built around a sports-pub concept. Its biggest attraction is not just the chicken but the large number of screens showing live sports, particularly Korean professional baseball. The Hongdae location is designed so that customers can watch games from multiple parts of the dining area, making it a popular meeting place for baseball fans. The menu focuses on familiar Korean chicken styles, including Original, Hot Original, Mild Crispy, Hot Crispy and seasoned chicken. Tteokbokki and other pub-style dishes are also available, and combination sets make it easy to share several items. The restaurant is particularly suited to an evening with beer, chicken and a live game rather than a quiet meal.
View restaurant12 LOCAL TABLEDouble Play Chicken Hongdae No. 2 is a Korean fried-chicken pub with a strong sports-bar identity. The restaurant has multiple TVs positioned around the room, allowing customers to follow Korean professional baseball games while eating chicken and drinking beer. During the 2026 WBC, visitors reported that five games could be shown simultaneously, while regular KBO games are also a major part of the restaurant's atmosphere. The menu covers familiar Korean chicken styles, including Original, Hot Original, Mild Crispy, Hot Crispy, seasoned chicken and several boneless options. Tteokbokki, potato dishes and other pub food are also available. Current listings show individual chicken dishes at around ₩16,900–₩19,900, with combination sets available for groups.
View restaurant13 LOCAL TABLEChicken in the Kitchen is a long-running independent chicken restaurant in the Hongdae area, known for crispy fried chicken and a more neighborhood-style atmosphere than the large Korean fried-chicken franchises. The menu includes classic fried chicken, garlic-soy chicken, spicy sweet chicken and cheese-topped chicken. The restaurant also offers a vegan chicken made with mushrooms and plant-based protein, giving it an unusual option for visitors who do not eat meat. The signature Bump of Chicken is a straightforward crispy fried chicken, while Red Hot Chili Peppers has a sweet-and-spicy Korean-style sauce. Garlic Soy is another popular choice, especially for visitors who want something savory rather than very spicy. Current listed prices are around ₩18,500 for the vegan chicken and ₩26,000 for the main chicken dishes.
View restaurant14 LOCAL TABLEKuken Chicken Hof is a small, old-school neighborhood chicken pub in Seongsu-dong, located between Seongsu Station and Seoul Forest. Rather than a polished modern chicken franchise, it has the feel of a local hof where nearby residents and office workers come for fried chicken and beer. The restaurant also has outdoor seating in good weather, giving it a casual Korean 야장 (outdoor drinking) atmosphere. The main menu is straightforward and affordable: whole fried chicken is currently listed at ₩14,000, while half-and-a-half-sized portions and seasoned, garlic-soy and green-onion chicken are around ₩19,000–₩20,000. Golbaengi somyeon is another notable order, working particularly well as a shared drinking snack alongside chicken and beer.
View restaurant15 LOCAL TABLEPuradak Chicken is a Korean fried-chicken franchise positioned around a more premium-looking presentation and menu than conventional chicken chains. The brand uses an oven-fried method, first cooking the chicken in a 210°C oven and then lightly frying it, aiming for a juicy interior and crisp exterior. Its best-known menu is Black Aglio, combining a deep soy-based sauce with garlic. The Seongsu 1-ga branch is close to Seoul Forest and has a relatively comfortable dine-in space for a chicken franchise. Recent visitor information describes roughly 20 seats and a large projection screen, making it suitable for eating in rather than being purely a takeaway/delivery branch. The current listed branch hours are 15:00–22:30 on weekdays and 12:00–22:30 on weekends.
View restaurant16 LOCAL TABLELululala Chicken & Hof is a casual neighborhood chicken pub near Ttukseom Station, about a three-minute walk from Exit 7. Rather than a large franchise-style restaurant, it has the feel of a local Korean hof, with a retro atmosphere, outdoor seating and customers coming for an evening of chicken and beer. The restaurant operates into the late evening and is particularly suited to a casual chimaek stop after exploring Seongsu. The menu is centered on straightforward Korean fried chicken. Fried chicken is ₩17,000, while seasoned chicken, garlic-soy chicken and dakgangjeong are around ₩18,000–₩19,000. Tteokbokki is also available and works particularly well as a shared side with fried chicken.
View restaurant17 LOCAL TABLEMaxkana Chicken Hof is a small, old-style neighborhood chicken pub on Wangsimni-ro 4-gil, close to Ttukseom Station and the older residential-commercial side of Seongsu. Its menu is centered on familiar Korean chicken-shop staples rather than elaborate franchise-style flavors: fried chicken, half-and-half chicken, seasoned chicken, garlic-soy chicken and spicy seasoned chicken. The shop also serves simple drinking foods such as jjapagetti. The restaurant is particularly notable for its old-school atmosphere and relatively straightforward menu. Current listings show fried chicken at ₩20,000, half-and-half at ₩21,000, seasoned and garlic-soy chicken at ₩22,000, and spicy seasoned chicken at ₩23,000. It is open from 4 p.m. until 2 a.m., making it primarily an evening drinking spot.
View restaurant18 LOCAL TABLEBBQ Chicken Seongsu Joongang is a branch of BBQ, one of Korea's large fried-chicken franchise brands. The branch is located on Achasan-ro 15-gil in Seongsu-dong 2-ga, inside the Seongwon Sangteview officetel building. Its menu follows the standard BBQ lineup, centered on Golden Olive Chicken and other familiar fried-chicken variations rather than branch-specific local specialties. The current listed price for Golden Olive Chicken is ₩23,000, while the Golden Olive half-and-half combination is ₩24,000. Additional combinations with fries, cheese balls and other sides are also available.
View restaurantPLAN THE MEAL
Browse the areas and cities where this food is currently represented in the guide.
TABLE GUIDANCE
