8 Great Restaurants in Ulsan

Gyeongbokgung, famous for premium hanjeongsik and galbi, is a great Korean food restaurant to visit on a special day or whenever you want to have special food. The restaurant offers premium hanjeongsik and many different menu items tailored to those looking for a place to celebrate birthdays or hold family gatherings. As a popular family gathering location in Ulsan, it helps families to have a satisfying time through its kind services.

It doesn't have to just be a special day. You don't need a particular reason to enjoy good food. The delicious premium rib eye, which is the restaurant's signature menu item, has marbling that resembles snow fallen on red meat, and raw galbi only comes from the purest, highest-class beef ribs to amplify the great meat taste. There are also lunch specials in addition to a variety of single dishes and courses, so you may enjoy a light but luxurious meal.

Sushi Kaiki is a must-visit omakase restaurant that has become unrivalled thanks to its fresh and thick neta and delicious shari. In particular, customers praise the shari that does not easily come apart and boasts nice mouthfeel of the rice. The term, omakase, means that everything is entrusted with on the chef, so a chef's skills are very important but, here, you may feel safe to entrust the chef with everything from the start to the end of a course.

As you taste each of the artwork-like dishes together with kind explanations from the chef, the meal that lasts one hour to one and a half hours seems too short. Both lunch and dinner are served but, if you have some time, choose to have dinner when you can enjoy a variety of dishes in a more relaxing manner instead of lunch that may finish quickly. You will be able to taste the essence of fine Japanese dining.

The Manjok Ulsan University Branch is always crowded with customers in a college town filled with restaurants that offer a big bang for the buck. Jokbal (braised pig's feet), which is boiled for a long time together with over 30 carefully selected ingredients, is known for its great chewy and moist taste. The lustre of jokbal satisfies your eyes and the deep, delicious taste wows your mouth. If you enjoy it with a glass of alcohol, you will feel satisfied and joyful.

Hansu Jokbal, which is original jokbal, is good to dip into salted shrimp but it is also great to wrap a piece of jokbal with vegetables and seasoned dried radish, which will then slowly spread a harmony of diverse flavours in your mouth. Boneless Fire Jokbal is milder than the typical spicy jokbal, so people who want mild spicy flavours often order it. Gwangsu Naengchae enjoyed together with chewy, chilled salad is a nice dish to have during summer when you crave a sweet and sour taste. The restaurant also serves napa wraps with pork (bossam) and spicy buckwheat noodles (makguksu) so you won't be able to visit the place just once.

Hamyangjip, established in 1924 and having continued for over four generations, has maintained its place as a master Korean food restaurant for several decades with its simple and clean taste. Its signature dish, Traditional Bibimbap, adds an ample amount of beef tartare (yukhoe) and yellow egg garnish on top, which is visually beautiful and delicious at the same time. Once you have a spoonful of the bibimbap, the savoury beef tartare delights your tongue. A bowl of clear soup served together soothes the stomach of people of those accustomed to extreme flavours. Those who are unable to eat raw beef can inform a server in advance to be served with slightly cooked meat instead.

The cold raw Korean beef soup (hanu mulhoe), which is lighter than cold raw fish soup (saengseon mulhoe), is another menu item that is difficult to find anywhere else. Enjoying an ample amount of beef tartare placed on top of a cold soup with ice and sliced cucumbers will make you momentarily forget about the summer heat. After finishing the beef tartare, add some thin noodles (somyeon) that go well with the soup. Smoky grilled bulgogi (seoksoe bulgogi) is another dish that proves why this restaurant has been so loved for such a long time.

Mimong is a brazier-grilled Korean beef restaurant with good vibes to enjoy a drink at night. Those who share glasses of alcohol under subdued lighting make smiles that are only possible with the combination of good people, awesome atmosphere and delicious foods. There are salads, skewers and pot dishes but various Korean beef parts grilled over charcoal are the highlight of the restaurant.

Deep tastes of the meat come alive as you dip quality aged meat, from Kkotgalbi and thin skirts to prime rib and short plates, in salt. The wine set or sake set that you order presents another kind of specialness compared to soju or beer that you normally drink with meat. In addition to Korean beef, there are also rice soup (gukbap), bibimbap, instant noodles (ramyeon) and ox tail soup (kkori gomtang). At this Samsan-dong hot spot, enjoy trendy gourmet any time of the day.

OX Smoke & Grill is known for homemade burgers and barbecue with a crispy outside and moist inside, a result of a long period of smoking. The juice that comes flowing out when you hold and squeeze the meat as thick as an adult's forearm makes everyone's mouths water, whether you know or don't know Texas brisket. Once you put a piece of brisket, which has been cooked for a long time with devotion, in your mouth followed by mac and cheese and coleslaw, you will realise that this is type of food that people in the western part of the United States would eat, even if you've never visited America before.

While you sit in the hall and wait for a burger with an overflow of cheese, orders keep coming in, which raises the level of your anticipation. Then, as soon as you have a bite of a burger filled with sweet and savoury cheese and a hint of fire, that anticipation turns into satisfaction. The crispy Cajun-style fries are an everlasting partner of a burger, and add beer, another great friend of burgers, to complete a nice combination. Meet the epitome of American barbecue that even Americans living in Korea love and praise.

Namaskar Samsan Branch is an authentic Indian restaurant that exudes a rich local vibe even from the staircase leading up to the place. As soon as you enter, large and fancy decorations inside delight your eyes. When you choose from the menu, try the Indian Salad first with which you can enjoy the original flavours of vegetables without any dressing. Samosa, which is Indian dumplings, is a great appetiser with the flavours of India oozing out of crispy shells.

When you evaluate an Indian restaurant, the most important dish to base your judgment on other than curry is tandoori chicken. Here, you cannot help but smile when you try a bite of the tandoori chicken cooked with the delicate tastes of spices. Dip a piece of naan in a curry of your choice and try a sip of the sweet lassi to finish your gourmet trip to India. Namaskar is the honorific form of Namaste, an Indian greeting, and, as the name suggests, you will feel honoured to be served in such a hearty, abundant way.

Eonyang Giwa Bulgogi serves high-quality local dishes in an old house that is nearly 100 years old As you enter the front yard of a tile-roofed house that seems to belong to a rich yangban family, the sweet scent of bulgogi spreads throughout the yard and stimulates your appetite. Unlike typical bulgogi that is marinated for a long time and enjoyed with a little bit of soup, bulgogi served here comes without any soup and is simply grilled over charcoal. This completes a delicious dish with a hint of fire.

If you simply eat the bulgogi, which is cooked with beef from Korean cows, and deliciously grilled king oyster mushrooms together, you will be surprised at the somewhat plain taste. It may taste a bit bland for people today who are accustomed to seasonings and sauces but, if you place a piece of bulgogi on a wrap vegetable with seasoned green onions and ssamjang, you will be able to experience the true appeal of the savoury bulgogi. Those who visit from afar focus on bulgogi but locals enjoy beef tartare, sirloin and top blade as well.

Sapporo Ulsan is a premium Japanese restaurant that uses only the freshest ingredients from Japan. It carefully selects seafood caught from uncontaminated areas of the sea by Wando, Jeju, Namhae and Ganghwa. The restaurant’s master chefs prepare and serve them various ways, including sashimi. Expect thickly cut portions served over an authentic Japanese sashimi plating.

Try its signature Tuna Special, which consists of several parts of tuna that instantly melt in your mouth. As a premium restaurant, Sapporo Ulsan has an excellent family gathering course menu. It is a popular place for group gatherings and company dinners.

Seoga & Cook Ulsan Mugeo is a casual Italian restaurant with a lively atmosphere. A must-try is the steak salad, which consists of juicy slices of pork on a bed of fresh greens, and topped with a fried egg and lots of cheese.

Set menus are great value for money – if you want to bulk up your pork belly, pork rib, or steak, opt for pasta or pilaf. Dishes also come with garlic bread, French fries, and corn salad. Seoga & Cook Ulsan Mugeo is around 1 km north of the Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium.