5 Places Where Locals Love to Eat in Gangneung

Located just outside Gangneung’s downtown area, Terarosa Coffee boasts a magnificent exterior and is famous for having played a big role in transforming the Anmok Beach area into Coffee Street. Here, you’ll find specialty coffees at reasonable prices, and the hand-drip coffee is particularly popular.

Terarosa Coffee has its own roastery, so you can grab a cup of coffee made from in-house Terarosa roast. Also, don’t forget to check out the coffee museum. Their delicious coffee will take your visit to the next level.

As soon as you walk into Chodang Grandma’s Soft Tofu, you'll be greeted with pictures of appetizing soft tofu stew with rice (sundubu baekban) and spicy clam soft tofu stew with rice (eolkeun jjaebok sundubu baekban). Try some soft tofu stew with rice, seasoned with Grandma’s special sauce to your liking, for a savory sensation of soft tofu without any heavy after-taste.

If you’re looking for a bit of a flavor kick, go for the spicy clam soft tofu stew with rice. Each has a unique flavor profile that you must taste for yourself. Don’t worry, no one will blame you for taking some extra time to decide. Get there a little early and try the block tofu (modubu).

Haemiga’s raw seafood and vegetables (mulhoi) is so popular that customers queue up around the block to try some. Served like a full-course meal with seaweed soup (miyeokguk), green onion pancake (pajeon), and boiled pork slices (suyuk), the raw seafood and vegetable dish comes with fresh, thick slices of fish and crisp vegetables in a cold sweet and sour broth.

Haemiga’s famous delicacy will have you asking for seconds, guaranteed. It’s also available as take-away, so don’t worry if you get there on a busy day.

Located close to Jeongdongjin and on the way to the Badabuchae-gil Trail, Hwangtae Hoegwan specializes in dishes using whole dried pollock (hwangtae). Working with whole dried pollock is demanding work. The dried pollock hotpot (hwangtae jeongol) and roasted dried pollock (hwangtae gui), seasoned with a special sauce, are especially popular.

Whichever dish you try, you can’t eat it just once. Dried pollock seaweed soup (hwangtae miyeokguk) and fermented dried pollock (hwangtae sikhe) are also famous delicacies, so don’t leave without trying them.

Though close to Gangneung Station, Geumhak Kalguksu is well-hidden in the corner of a neighborhood of narrow streets. It has a rustic appearance similar to a rural countryside home. There are just 2 items on the menu: knife-cut wheat flour noodles (kalguksu) and beansprouts with rice (kongnamulbab).

The wheat flour noodles give off a pleasant aroma and are a bit spicy, while the beansprouts and rice can be described as a simple, pleasing dish. It’s a simple menu that’s faithful to the basics. Be warned: once you’ve had a taste, you’ll be thinking about it for the rest of the day.