5 Best Naengmyeon in Seoul: local Korean Cold Noodle Spots
The best Naengmyeon in Seoul I’m telling you about! You absolutely have to eat it if you come to Korea in summer. These are 30-40 year traditional local spots, on a completely different level from the taste you’ve had back in your country. Actually, Pyongyang naengmyeon has been the trend in Korea for years now, but today it’s that naengmyeon style you already know! I picked sweet, tangy Hamhung Naengmyeon restaurants. Not the places trending on SNS but 5 spots that me and my friends personally love.
Pyongyang vs. Hamhung Naengmyeon – What’s the Difference?
Korean naengmyeon splits broadly into 2 styles – Pyongyang naengmyeon and Hamhung naengmyeon and they taste completely different! Pyongyang naengmyeon uses buckwheat noodles, so it’s softer rather than chewy, and the broth, originally made from pheasant, is now more commonly chicken or beef broth. The flavor is pretty bland. It’s not sweet or tangy, but it’s a pure, salty taste, so it might catch you off guard at first. But this is the naengmyeon style that’s been trending in Seoul for the past few years.
Hamhung naengmyeon, which is what I’m showing you today, is the style you already know. It uses chewy potato or sweet potato starch noodles, and most of the time comes with spicy dadaegi (chili paste) spooned right on top of the broth. If you’re not into spicy, just ask them to leave out the dadaegi (spicy sauce).
How to Eat Naengmyeon the Right Way
- When you go to a naengmyeon restaurant, before your ordered naengmyeon comes out, a hot, salty broth (Yuksu 육수) comes as a default first course. This is often self-service, so you might have to go grab it yourself. Drink this first while you’re waiting for your naengmyeon. It protects your stomach before you eat something cold.
- Once the Korean cold noodles arrives, people usually add vinegar and mustard. As a baseline, I’d recommend 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 1/3 teaspoon of mustard. Whether you add them is completely up to your taste, so taste the broth plain first and decide from there.
- If you like spicy, there’s a little metal container of red Dadaegi (chili paste) on the table. Add it more. If you can’t handle spicy, just say “dadaegi ppae-juseyo” when you order. (Korean’s hard, so just show this sentence to the staff: “다대기 빼주세요”) 🥵
- Cut the noodles with the scissors. Cutting once horizontally and once vertically is common, but this really varies person to person. My mom cuts hers twice, I cut mine once, and my younger sibling doesn’t cut hers at all.
- Eat the noodles, then sip up the broth, or just pick up the whole bowl and drink straight from it, that’s not rude at all, haha, if anything it means you’re really enjoying it!
👱🏼♀️ Blonde Kimchi says
I’m a vinegar person, so honestly I like adding 1.5 tbsp for an extra tangy kick. But my friend doesn’t add a single drop. There’s no “correct answer”, just taste the broth plain first, and start from there.
Get the Naengmyeon Kit (Korean Cold Noodles Tableware)
Stainless cup 👆
5 Best Naengmyeon In Seoul 🍜❄️
1. Dongah Naengmyeon Main Branch (동아냉면 본점)
This is the first place of the best naengmyeon in seoul that my friends and I love since we were kids. And ARMYs, this is also BTS Jin’s go-to spicy Hangmung naengmyeon spot 💜 It has over 30 years of tradition, and it’s just a 3-minute walk from Itaewon Station Exit 4, so it’s perfect for lunch before you explore Itaewon. The noodles come piled high with cucumber, and by default the spicy sauce is already mixed right into the broth. If you can’t handle spicy, just order the version without dadaegi (spicy sauce).
- 📍 Address: 7, Itaewon-ro 20-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, 1st floor
- 🕒 Hours: 10:00 AM – 8:30 PM, open daily
- 🍜 Must Order: Mul-naengmyeon (spicy) ₩10,000 / Mul-naengmyeon (no dadaegi, mild) ₩10,000 / Mandu (4 pcs) ₩8,000
2. Naksan Naengmyeon Dongmyo (낙산냉면 동묘)
This is one of the hottest naengmyeon spots in Seoul right now, but it was actually my local go-to spot originally. It has over 40 years of tradition, and now it’s basically packed full almost the moment it opens. Important tip!!✨ The broth here already has vinegar mixed in, so taste it first before adding any more. This Korean cold noodles dish comes loaded with spicy sauce, cucumber, and sweet-tangy pickled radish piled on top of the noodles. You can also choose your spice level when ordering.
If it’s too sour, sweet, or spicy while you’re eating, the sign tells you to call over “ajumma.” But just so you know, “ajumma” can sound a bit rude to Koreans, so I’d recommend calling “eemo” (이모, “auntie”) instead.
- 📍 Address: 81-8, Changsin-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul
- 🕒 Hours: 10:00 AM – 9:30 PM, closed Tuesdays
- 🍜 Must Order: Teuk-naengmyeon (extra-large, one per person) ₩14,000 / Choose your spice level from “very spicy” to “no sauce” ₩10,000 / Extra noodle refill ₩4,000
3. Gangnam Myeonok Main Branch (강남면옥 본점)
This is a Hamhung naengmyeon place the office workers around here go to all the time, which basically means “good value and delicious.” It’s just as famous for its galbijjim as it is for naengmyeon, so these days foreign tourists find it easy to get to and visit often too, which means the staff are used to serving foreign guests. There are several branches, Insadong, Songpa, and more but I’ll recommend the Gangnam main branch.
- 📍 Address: 34, Nonhyeon-ro 152-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
- 🕒 Hours: 10:30 AM – 10:00 PM, open daily
- 🍜 Must Order: Mul-naengmyeon or bibim-naengmyeon ₩13,000 / Hoe-naengmyeon ₩14,000 / Galbitang ₩16,000 / Galbijjim (small) ₩55,000
4. Ojangdong Heungnamjip Main Branch (오장동흥남집 본점)
Ojangdong Heungnamjip is a landmark restaurant on Ojangdong’s naengmyeon street, run by the same family for four generations, and it’s a place where real locals go more than tourists. It’s been running since 1953, so it’s one of the oldest, most authentic Hamhung naengmyeon spots in Seoul with over 70 years behind it. Definitely order the hoe-naengmyeon when you come, that’s the signature dish here.
- 📍 Address: 114, Mareun-nae-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul
- 🕒 Hours: Thu–Mon, 11:00 AM – 8:30 PM (last order 8:00 PM), closed Wednesdays
- 🍜 Must Order: Hoe bibim-naengmyeon / Meat bibim-naengmyeon / Mul-naengmyeon – all ₩15,000
5. Ojangdong Hamhung Naengmyeon (오장동 함흥냉면)
This the place of the 5 best Naengmyeon in Seoul, together with Ojangdong Heungnamjip, is considered one of the two pillars of Ojangdong’s naengmyeon alley! It’s also been around since 1953. It’s earned several mentions in the Michelin Guide, and here you can actually choose your own spice level (mild, medium, hot). Just like the last one, hoe-naengmyeon is the signature Korean cold noodles dish here too. It’s hard to find outside Korea, so please order it.
- 📍 Address: 108, Mareun-nae-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul
- 🕒 Hours: Wed–Mon, 11:00 AM – 8:00 PM, break time 3:30–5:30 PM (no break on Wednesdays, weekends, or holidays), closed Tuesdays
- 🍜 Must Order: Hoe-naengmyeon ₩15,000 / Bibim-naengmyeon or mul-naengmyeon ₩15,000 / Suyuk ₩35,000
What to Enjoy with Naengmyeon
Mandu: Eating just naengmyeon alone feels like something’s missing. Trust me, order mandu. One juicy bite of mandu, then one cool bite of naengmyeon. I don’t think I need to explain any further.
👱🏼♀️ Blonde Kimchi says
bibigo is my favorite Korean mandu brand, by far, is Bibigo, it’s not the #1 brand in Korea
Korean BBQ: Ever eaten naengmyeon after grilling meat at a Korean BBQ restaurant? In Korea, naengmyeon is often eaten like a dessert after K-BBQ.
Korean BBQ Recipe: Pork Belly (Samgyupsal) Without Grill
Suyuk: A lot of naengmyeon restaurants also sell suyuk, which is boiled pork. Wrap a juicy piece of meat around the Korean cool noodles..
