Seoul Gwanghwamun Pollock Soup Restaurant ‘Anseong Ttosooni’

The Gwanghwamun area in Seoul is a representative office-dense zone. It houses various government offices including the Seoul City Hall, headquarters of several newspapers, and the buildings of major corporations. During lunchtime, you can see numerous office workers coming out to have their meals.

Among them, if you go up north from Gwanghwamun Square, using Seoul Museum of History and Gwanghwamun Plaza as your references, you’ll find a tranquil alley. It’s a place where you can experience a quiet neighborhood that doesn’t quite feel like the bustling Gwanghwamun area.

“Seoul Gwanghwamun Pollock Soup Restaurant, Anseong Ttosooni”

Even in this relatively peaceful alley, you can find restaurants and cafes one by one. However, what sets them apart from the restaurants in the high-rise buildings near Gwanghwamun Plaza is the more local charm they offer in their cuisine.

You can find restaurants that not only aim to provide a meal but to offer a delicious one. Anseong Ttosooni is one such restaurant. It’s located in an alleyway, and it’s particularly known for its pollock soup.

“A Large Restaurant with Parking Facilities”

Anseong Ttosooni is a large restaurant near Gwanghwamun, and it’s one of the few in the area that provides parking facilities. While the parking area isn’t very spacious and can’t accommodate many vehicles, it’s impressive that they’ve secured parking space. This is particularly notable since most surrounding restaurants don’t have parking spaces at all.

“Famous for Pollock Soup”

The menu at Anseong Ttosooni offers a variety of options. This includes eclectically flavored stews, spicy or clear, as well as specialties like boiled barley, bossam (boiled pork), tofu kimchi, gamaji-jjim (steamed persimmon), hongeo-muchim (fermented skate salad), samhap (assorted dishes), nakji-bokkeum (stir-fried octopus), homemade donggrangddeang (pan-fried tofu), haemul-pajeon (seafood pancake), bukeo-jjim (steamed dried pollock), jeyuk-bokkeum (stir-fried spicy pork), ojingeo-bokkeum (stir-fried squid), and hongeo-jjim (steamed fermented skate).

Among these, one of the most famous and flagship items on the menu is the pollock soup. Even the smallest serving is priced at 40,000 KRW, and despite this, during lunch hours, it’s always bustling with people.

On the day we visited, it was raining, and it seemed even busier with many people seeking warm, soup-based dishes.

“A Dish Where You Can Feel the Tender Pollock Meat”

Generally, you’ll find restaurants serving stew made with pollock roe rather than pollock meat. However, here, they specially use live pollock, offering pollock soup. This demonstrates their confidence in maintaining freshness. Certainly, compared to stews made with pollock roe, the pollock soup provides a more lively texture. While pollock roe maintains a slightly chewy texture, pollock meat seems to melt in your mouth.

Of course, the prices are relatively high, but despite this, it’s a great place to visit on a special day when you want to savor a warm, soup-based dish.

“Seoul Gwanghwamun Restaurant, Anseong Ttosooni”