The best Korean restaurants in Hong Kong

Head to Central to find Busan Night, the latest Korean opening located in the heart of Soho’s bustling neighbourhood. This vibrant eatery offers a drinking and dining experience that’s as close as you can get to a suljib (Korean-style pub) in Busan, one of Korea’s most popular seaside cities. On Busan Night’s menu, you’ll find souped-up versions of standard Korean dishes such as omelette rolls measuring in at a whopping 50cm, as well as hearty dishes like fish cake stew and grilled beef tripe platter. Aside from various sojus that come plain or flavoured, as well as bottled and draught beer, Busan Night’s menu also offers makgeolli punch bowls that are perfect to share with your friends.

Tsim Sha Tsui is teeming with Korean restaurants that range from serving modern takes on street food, to some that specialise in Korean fried chicken. At Bornga, their menu provides classic Korean barbecue items like assorted beef and pork platters, as well as authentic seafood dishes like raw crabs marinated in soy sauce, grilled fresh water eel, and hongeo or marinated skate fish. 

Named after traditional earthenware pots used to store sauces and ferment kimchi, Danji is a modern Korean venue located in Wan Chai’s Starstreet precinct. Founded by Jennifer Kim, the owner of the Korean food concept Seoul Recipe, Danji presents traditional and home-style Korean cuisine in a warm and friendly bistro. Expect hearty dishes like grilled pork ribs, spicy tofu seafood stew, and their signature oven baked chicken. Wash your meal down with Danji’s collection of makgeolli rice wines and Korean liquor to make for the perfect experience. 

Busan-based Korean barbecue restaurant Dong Baek has finally arrived in Hong Kong. The store's interior combines traditional Korean elements with modern design, offering diners a sleek and spacious environment to enjoy their meals. To ensure a high-quality barbecue experience, Dong Baek meticulously selects all of their ingredients. Try their signature flower pork belly slices, which are thinly sliced to ensure they cook quickly, and are rich and fatty with a touch of sweetness. As for other pork cuts, be sure to leave room for the Jeju Iberico pork butt (shoulder), which has a perfectly  even ratio of fatty to lean meat. When it comes to beef, Dong Baek also offers cuts of premium Hanwoo and Wagyu such as sirloin, ribeye, and beef belly.

Hansik Goo is the first venture of Chef Mingoo Kang outside of his home country of South Korea. As the chef behind the two Michelin-starred Mingles in Seoul, Kang aims to bring the essence of refined Korean cuisine to Hong Kong. As for their food, Hansik Goo provides a fresh perspective to the traditional Korean flavours that are deeply rooted in Korea’s cultural heritage, such as royal cuisine and home cooking. Here, customers can expect regularly updated lunch and dinner menus that highlight seasonal ingredients such as grilled seasonal fish with gochujang, or premium grilled Hanwoo beef. The eatery also boasts a curated beverage list full of wines, Champagnes, as well as traditional alcohol from across the Korean Peninsula to complement their dishes.

Two of Tsim Sha Tsui's popular Korean restaurants Hancham and Bong Ru, have merged into a joint space to satisfy all your Korean food cravings. Hancham's new venue presents a contemporary, spacious interior equipped with smokeless barbeque grill tabletops and private dining rooms, while Korean-Chinese restaurant Bong Ru's connecting space has been upgraded to a modern design targetting a younger crowd. Indulge in mouthwatering Korean barbeque at Hancham and gorge on high-quality dry-aged meats, from USDA prime dry-aged meat to Hancham Galbi short ribs marinated in a special homemade sauce). Whereas at Bong Ru, customers can enjoy classic Korean-Chinese cuisine like jjajangmyeon (black bean sauce noodles) and jjamppong (spicy seafood noodles).  

Head to Jeonpo Meat Shop in Wan Chai for an authentic Korean barbeque experience that you won't forget. While their interior design may seem simple, Jeonpo's atmosphere is warm and welcoming to all diners. K-BBQ fans are sure to love Jeonpo's hearty barbeque sets, which offer generous portions of cuts like pork neck, beef loin, and grilled beef short ribs served with a giant bone intact. Be sure to pair your barbecued items with bowls of chewy buckwheat noodles tossed in chilli sauce or served in an icy broth, as well as beef chapaguri, the iconic noodle dish served in the 2019 Oscar-winning Korean thriller film, Parasite. And if that's not enough, Jeonpo's menu also has classic Korean side dishes like green onion pancake, soybean paste stews, and japchae. 

Mosu Hong Kong is the offshoot of two-Michelin-starred Mosu Seoul, an innovative fine dining restaurant created by Korean chef-founder Sung Anh who bases his imaginative cuisine on his experiences growing up in the US and working in famed restaurants, including The French Laundry and Benu. When it comes to their fare, Mosu offers signatures from their Korean flagship location, such as sesame tofu, acorn noodles, as well as dishes that embrace local seasonality and produce.

This stylish little hub, located just across the road from PMQ, offers inventive Korean cuisine with an Italian accent. The chewy rice cakes are a must-order and are tossed with sauces such as carbonara and pesto, although there's also a more conventional K-style version made with gochujang. Be sure to try out their truffle topped specials like egg tofu toast or beef tartare.

Mr. Korea offers an authentic K-BBQ experience in Hong Kong with barbeques sunken into each round table, adjustable smoke vents and K-pop videos blasting from television screens. Aside from assorted platters of beef and pork cuts, this joint also offers items such as pork intestines, chicken gizzards, and pork rinds that you can throw onto the grill. But if you're not in the mood for barbeque, Mr. Korea's menu also has plenty of other Korean dishes like stone pop bibimbap, ramen, as well as a selection of soy marinated seafood items like abalone and prawns. 

Nene is popular in South Korea for good reason and can be found all over Hong Kong. The portions are big, the chicken is crisp (even with all the sauce poured on top) and the prices offer value for money. Order your choice of crispy fried chicken and select your preferred flavour such as original, cheese, sweet and spicy, and many more. Perfect for when you have a hankering for some fried chicken and beer.

While OBP might be hard to locate, we promise it's worth the hunt. Located in the alleyway behind Old Bailey Street in Central, this Korean drinking and eating joint, or suljib (which directly translates as alcohol house in Korean) aims to bring the classic Korean drinking experience to Hong Kong. In addition to Korean entrees we're all familar with like fried chicken and tteokkbokki, OBP's menu also provides hearty stews like their drunken clam pot, slow-cooked USDA prime beef flank and shank in bone broth; and big hearty bowls of jjambbong, or spicy seafood noodles which pair wonderfully with their selection of soju and makgeolli (raw rice wine).

Located in Sai Ying Pun’s Water street, Oppa Chicken is a Hong Kong-based restaurant managed by actual Koreans. Their authentic menu boasts a wide variety of tasty Korean dishes, but the highlight is no doubt their Korean-style egg rolls and crispy fried chicken. These two house specials are popular amongst their customers, and for good reason. After all, who in the right mind could possibly say no to fluffy, cheesy egg rolls and delightfully crunchy fried chicken?

Another Korean restaurant within Sai Ying Pun is Uncle Padak. while the walk to get to their venue might be a bit steep, we promise it's worth the hike. If you can't make your mind up on which fried chicken option to get, Uncle Padak offers a half-and-half combo, allows you to select two out of the range on offer. Aside from classic original, this Korean joint also offers chicken flavours like sweet and spicy, soy glazed, as well as their signature 'padak' which sees boneless chicken piled high with shredded leeks, rice cakes and dumplings served alongside a sauce of your choice. 

Offering a Korean takeaway experience like no other, Zanchee introduces over 50 different Korean dishes, including various banchan (side dishes), to Hong Kong. All the while, broadening their experience and knowledge about Korean cuisine. The menu ranges from stir-fried meats, bibimbap, stews, raw meats to cook yourself, a wide range of banchan to go with a steaming bowl of white rice, and much more. All you need to do is order your food online, opt for delivery or pick your order up from one of their store locations around town, and get ready for a Korean feast at home.