Hungry, traveler?
Then let us follow BTS — not to a stage, but to the table.
Seoul is full of restaurants described online as “BTS favorites,” but there is one small problem: some of those lists are years old, some restaurants have closed, and some stories are difficult to verify.
So this Hanryang has chosen a simpler path.
Here are three BTS-connected restaurants in Seoul that have traceable links through Korean tourism sources and are still operating as of 2026.
If you are an ARMY visiting Korea, save your appetite.
1. Yoojung Sikdang — Where BTS Ate During Their Trainee Days
If there is one restaurant that belongs on almost every BTS pilgrimage in Seoul, it is Yoojung Sikdang.
Located on a small street in Gangnam, the restaurant became closely associated with BTS because the members ate there frequently during their trainee days. Korea Tourism Organization currently describes it as a restaurant BTS members often visited while training, and the walls are decorated with BTS photos and posters.
This is not a glamorous celebrity restaurant.
And perhaps that is exactly why it is worth visiting.
It feels more like the kind of neighborhood Korean restaurant where hungry trainees could sit down after practice and eat a proper meal.
What should you order?
The restaurant’s signature dish is heukdwaeji dolsot bibimbap, or black pork bibimbap served in a hot stone bowl.
Another popular choice is Yoojung ssambap, a Korean set meal where meat, rice, vegetables, and side dishes are eaten together using leafy vegetables as wraps. The restaurant also serves kimchi jjigae, cheonggukjang, and other familiar Korean comfort foods.
If this is your first Korean meal, the dolsot bibimbap is probably the easiest choice.
If you are traveling with a friend and want something more Korean, go for ssambap.
A wise traveler tries both.
Practical information
Address: 14 Dosan-daero 28-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Hours: Monday–Friday 10:00–21:30 / Saturday–Sunday 10:00–20:00
Closed: Currently listed as open year-round
Popular dishes: Black pork dolsot bibimbap, Yoojung ssambap
The current hours and address are listed by the Korea Tourism Organization, but restaurant hours can always change, so check again on the day you visit.
Hanryang’s note
Do not come expecting fine dining.
Come because this place tells a small part of the BTS story — the part before stadiums, global charts, and purple oceans.
Sometimes a simple bowl of rice remembers more than a museum.
2. Geumdwaeji Sikdang — Korean BBQ for the Jungkook Trail
Now we move from trainee-era comfort food to serious Korean barbecue.
Geumdwaeji Sikdang, often translated as Gold Pig Restaurant, is one of Seoul’s best-known pork restaurants. Korea Tourism Organization includes it in a K-pop restaurant itinerary and describes it as one of Jungkook’s favorite restaurants.
But even without the BTS connection, this restaurant has become a destination in its own right.
It specializes in premium pork grilled over heat on a cast-iron plate. Current tourism information highlights cuts such as nunkkot moksal (marbled pork shoulder), bonsamgyeop (bone-in pork belly), and deungmoksal. Basil is also served as an unusual accompaniment to the meat.
What should you order?
If it is your first visit, start with:
- Bonsamgyeop — bone-in pork belly
- Nunkkot moksal — richly marbled pork shoulder
- A bowl of kimchi stew or another meal dish to finish
Korean barbecue is usually best when shared, so this is a stronger choice for two or more people than for a solo traveler.
And unlike many casual barbecue places, this one is famous enough that waiting may become part of the experience.
Yes, traveler. Even hunger must sometimes learn patience.
Practical information
Address: 149 Dasan-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul
Hours: 11:30–23:00
Last order: Around 22:20
Closed: Listed as open year-round
Specialties: Nunkkot moksal, bonsamgyeop, deungmoksal
The Korea Tourism Organization currently lists the restaurant at this address and operating schedule.
Hanryang’s note
Do not visit only because Jungkook has been associated with it.
Visit because you can eat genuinely famous Seoul barbecue and add a BTS story to the meal.
That is a better pilgrimage, I say.
3. Hamgyeongdo Chapssal Sundae — Jin and Jungkook’s Korean Comfort Food
The third stop is quite different.
No premium barbecue. No pretty café.
This time we are eating sundae-guk, one of Korea’s most traditional and deeply comforting meals.
Hamgyeongdo Chapssal Sundae in Songpa-gu was featured in Seoul’s official BTS restaurant guide, which described Jin and Jungkook as frequent diners and mentioned sundae soup and boiled pork among the foods associated with their visits.
For foreign visitors, the word sundae can be confusing.
No, traveler, there is no ice cream here.
Korean sundae is a type of blood sausage. At this restaurant, glutinous-rice-style sundae is served in soup or alongside boiled pork. Korea Tourism Organization currently lists the restaurant as operating 24 hours a day.
What should you order?
For the full experience:
- Sundae-guk — hot soup with Korean blood sausage
- Sundae — sliced sausage served separately
- Suyuk — tender boiled pork
This is probably the most adventurous restaurant on this list for someone visiting Korea for the first time.
But if you want to eat something that feels far more like an everyday Korean meal than tourist food, this may be the most interesting stop.
Practical information
Address: 32 Songpa-daero 28-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul
Hours: 24 hours
Closed: Listed as open 24/7
Specialties: Sundae, sundae soup, boiled pork
Current operation information is listed by the Korea Tourism Organization.
Hanryang’s note
If Korean blood sausage sounds intimidating, remember this:
You crossed an ocean.
Surely you can cross a bowl of soup.
Which BTS Restaurant Should You Visit?
If you only have time for one, choose according to what you want from the experience.
For BTS history: Yoojung Sikdang
For famous Korean BBQ: Geumdwaeji Sikdang
For a more local Korean meal: Hamgyeongdo Chapssal Sundae
My personal recommendation for a first-time ARMY in Seoul?
Start with Yoojung Sikdang.
It has the clearest connection to BTS’s early story, the food is approachable for international travelers, and the experience feels less like chasing celebrity footprints and more like visiting a small piece of their past.
Then, if your stomach still has ambitions, continue to the barbecue.
A Hanryang never discourages a second meal.
A Small Warning for BTS Travelers
Many BTS travel guides online were written years ago.
Restaurants close. Branches move. Opening hours change. Stories get repeated until rumor starts to look like fact.
For that reason, this guide prioritizes restaurants that can still be checked through Korean tourism information as of 2026.
Before traveling across Seoul for any celebrity-related location, always check the latest business hours on the day of your visit.
Your ARMY pilgrimage should end with dinner — not a locked door.
Final Thoughts
Following BTS around Seoul does not have to mean standing in front of famous buildings and taking photographs.
Food offers something different.
You sit where locals sit. You order what Koreans order. For an hour, Seoul stops being a destination on a map and becomes somewhere you are actually experiencing.
Perhaps that is the better way to travel.
Slowly.
Hungrily.
And, if possible, with one more bowl of rice.
Welcome to Korea, traveler.
Take Korea slowly.
Last updated: August 2026. Restaurant hours and menus may change. Check the latest information before visiting.