Sigol Bapsang Itaewon — Restaurant in Seoul

Went there as it was the first restaurant that popped up when searching for Seoul restaurants with plenty of side dishes. Unfortunately, it was a total failure! Side dishes: First of all, regardless of how many people come, you always get the same amount of side dishes per table. One person paying 11.000won will get as much as 4 people paying 44.000won. That's not right. My second issue is with the side dishes' quality. They were the worst I have tried in Korea so far. This my 3rd time in the country and about a month of total stay, so I have tried a few restaurants. Kimchi was utterly disgusting and the rest of the sides were either tasteless or bad tasting. Not recommending going there for side dishes! Food: Need to admit that the fried pork and octopus pancake we ordered, were really good. If I had ordered only those dishes this restaurant would get 4 stars, but I didn't. FOOD POISONING!!!: My wife had to visit the bathroom almost immediately after we left the restaurant! My stomach needed more time but a meal we ate at about 5 pm kept me in the toilet for 10-30min a session until 4am. We didn't eat in any other restaurant that day, only had coffee and soft drinks at about noon time. So there is no doubt that we got poisoned in this establishment. Don't remember last time I got such a terrible case of diarrhea.

Avoid it unless you want to play Russian roulette with...

SO. MANY. SIDE DISHES!!!!

A great restaurant for tourists visiting itaewon and looking to try assorted Korean banchan. Do note that every person is required to order 1 set of banchan. They have a great assortment, but not all were that good. Pretty meh considering you're paying 10,000₩ just for the side dishes.

The other dishes were pretty good tho, I'd recommend the beef stew and the eel.

The restaurant itself is a vibe, like a mini antique store. I enjoyed looking at the little items on display, the warm lighting, vintage aesthetic and cozy atmosphere made it really worth the trip down. Added plus to the hardworking and friendly halmeoni in the kitchen.

There is a middle aged male staff who speaks good English. Be sure to ask for the English menu.

To summarise: Slightly pricey, touristy place. Get to try lots of (some mediocre) korean side dishes. Soak in the traditional dining atmosphere and take lots of pictures. Struggle with the korean paddle menu or ask for the English one. Enjoy...

Sought out this place after seeing the online reviews. It’s a quaint place. But either things have changed since the pandemic or there is differential treatment.

Our banchan table had only 16 varieties. Only the quail eggs and Eomuk were not vegetables. The rest were just seasoned vegetables and there wasn’t much variety in the way the vegetables were seasoned. Refills are possible, just remember to leave a strand or two or point to the photo you took at the start of the meal if you don’t know their Korean names. The wait staff is a young man who can speak some English (enough to figure out your orders).

It’s a good entry point to learning about banchan but if you are quite familiar with banchan, give this place a miss.

The table of banchan is charged per head at 11000 won. Comes with a Doenjang jigae and rice (not in picture). So it’s quite filling. Just very little protein. If you want a balanced meal, would suggest ordering the Korean steam egg for another 4000 won....