10 Great Restaurants in Yeosu

Jongpo Park Nangman Pocha is a must-visit place if you want to fully enjoy the night sea in Yeosu. The red lights of Nangman Pochas that shine across Jongpo Park near the sea every night are a speciality of Yeosu. Seventeen units of Nangman Pocha, from No. 1 to No. 17, serve fresh seafood and local cuisine.

Come and enjoy a feast of unique dishes such as seasoned raw tonguefish (seodaehoe muchim), sliced raw cutlassfish (galchi hoe), Stir-fried Beef Tripe and Korean Sausage (Gobchang sundae bokkeum). The nearby streets host various breakdancing performances, and Nangman Pochas open from 5pm until dawn.

If you are looking for the best food in the fish markets in Yeosu, visit Yeosu Seafood Market first. Yeosu Seafood Market is located in Namsan-dong near the passenger terminal, and you can enjoy various fresh seafood at this market. Buy raw fish at the store on the first floor and eat it at the restaurant on the second floor after paying the table fee. It's closest to the sea among the traditional markets, so you can see Yeosu Port, Jinnamgwan Hall and Dolsan Bridge at a glance.

If you're travelling to Yeosu in winter, don't miss out on the oysters. Between November and April, you can easily find restaurants selling grilled oyster (gul gui) and raw oysters in Dolsando Island. This island has many oyster farms, so it's a perfect place to try fresh oyster dishes. Oysters in this area are famous for their plump flesh, chewy texture, and rich flavour and taste.

In addition to grilled oyster, you can enjoy dishes such as sliced raw oyster (gul hoe), oyster rice soup (gul gukbap), oyster with vinegar dressing (gul cho muchim), and oyster pancake (gul jeon). Drive along the coastal road and enjoy the stunning view of the winter sea as well as nutritious winter delicacies.

If you're looking for a place to enjoy raw fish in Yeosu, Dolsandaegyo Bridge Raw Fish Street is a good choice for you. Many raw fish restaurants are clustered around Dolsan Bridge and the Dolsan Park. When you order sliced raw fish, a generous selection of side dishes will be served first. You'll also be amazed by the fresh ingredients such as webfoot octopus, abalone, shrimp, skate and vegetables.

Flatfish, rockfish, sea bream, and sole are often selected for sliced raw fish dishes, and some seasonal delicacies are also available. Sliced raw pike eel (gaetjangeo hoe, also called hamo) and pike eel shabu-shabu rank among the best dishes of Yeosu and you can enjoy them during the summer season here.

Soho-dong is famous for its sailing arena and Soho-dong Bridge, but it's also home to many raw fish restaurants with talented chefs, making it one of the best places to enjoy raw fish in Yeosu. These raw fish restaurants with a sea view present the chewy and light taste of raw fish, and you'll be amazed by the number and freshness of the side dishes.

The secret to the flavour is in their freshly caught seafood and the aerated saltwater tanks. After your meal, take a slow stroll through Soho-dong Bridge Park to enjoy the view of the Dadohae or enjoy a cup of tea at a nearby café district.

The restaurants on Bongsang-dong Marinated Crab with Rice Street usually use rock crabs caught in the Yeosu sea, which are smaller than blue crabs but have firm flesh and rich flavour. Nicknamed 'rice burglars', the dish is one of the most popular in the area. Two main dishes are spicy marinated crab (yangnyeom-gejang) with spicy and sweet flavours and soy-sauce-marinated crab (ganjang-gejang) with salty and savoury flavours, but you can also taste unique crab dishes such as soybean sauce-marinated crab (doenjang-gejang) and marinated Japanese ghost crab (chil-gejang) made with grated crabs.

Order marinated crab with rice and you'll also be served plenty of side dishes such as croaker soup (jogi tang), spicy blue crab stew (kkotge-tang), mustard kimchi (gat kimchi), and salted fish. Most of the restaurants offer unlimited marinated crabs so you can fully enjoy the flavour experience that awaits you.

Gopchang Alley in Deokyang-ri, Sora-myeon, Yeosu-si is famous for its beef tripe hot pot (gopchang-jeongol). This place used to be crowded with visitors to the cattle market and the 5-day market, but now Gopchang restaurants first opened at that time remain to uphold the reputation. Their main dishes are grilled beef tripe hot pots (sogobchang jeongol), pork tripe hot pots (dwaeji gobchang jeongol), fallopian tube hot pots (saeggibo jeongol), and mixed hot pots (modeum jeongol).

Boiled with generous amounts of water parsley, leeks, mushrooms, and starch noodles, the broth tastes refreshing and spicy with no meat odour. Don't miss out the chance to taste each restaurant's unique dipping sauce and the rice fried in the broth.