Tosokchon Samgyetang

A wonderful experience for the traditional environment as well as authentic food. The buildings provide a rustic atmosphere, and chicken is so tender it can be taken apart with chopsticks alone! I highly recommend the pancake to share, which is hearty and more like an omelette but the best seafood pancake I've had on my trip thus far. Definitely a destination!

ORDERED: 🐔 Jeongigui Tongdak: Tosokchon Rotisserie Chicken (₩ 19,000 / ~A$21.00) REVIEW: I'm not a fan of ginseng chicken personally (but my family is). So, I ordered a roast chicken instead so that I could still eat with them. 😗 Good: 1. Skin was crisp and a nice brown colour 2. It came with radish, a simple mayo salad and a chilli sauce 3. Portion was 1 whole chicken Not good: 1. Some of the white meat - especially the breast part - was dry. Perhaps I was having an off day because another google reviewer loved this dish. When you finish eating, flag to the waitresses/aunties that you've finished and want to pay. We were given the table number/QR code sign to bring to the front. This was where we paid for our food!

Visited this famous hanok restaurant after doing research on Seoul's best samgyetang spots. The traditional setting near Gyeongbokgung Palace is lovely, and the service was efficient despite the crowds. The Good: The atmosphere and interior furnishings were absolutely delightful - the traditional hanok architecture with wooden beams, ondol-style seating, and authentic Korean decor created a very pleasant and genuinely traditional feel. It's the kind of ambiance that makes you feel immersed in Korean culture. The seafood pancake (haemul pajeon) was quite enjoyable - nice crispy texture with a good balance of flavors. The traditional atmosphere and quick service despite being busy were positives. The Disappointing: The ginseng chicken soup, despite being their signature dish, was surprisingly bland. Even after adding generous amounts of the provided salt, pepper, and ginseng alcohol, the broth lacked depth and flavor. This was unexpected given the restaurant's reputation and the rich, nutty broth described in many reviews. Perhaps our bowl was an off day, but it required significant seasoning to make it palatable. Important Policy Note: Each person must order a main dish - this is strictly enforced. While I had researched this beforehand, I noticed the staff didn't proactively explain this policy to other diners who seemed caught off guard. A heads-up from staff would have been helpful for those unfamiliar with the restaurant's rules. The restaurant's fame is well-established, and many others seem to love it, so perhaps we caught them on an off day. The location is convenient if you're visiting Gyeongbokgung, and the authentic traditional interior alone makes it worth experiencing. The pancake is worth ordering as a side dish. Would I return? Possibly, to give the samgyetang another chance, but there are likely other excellent samgyetang spots in Seoul with more consistent flavoring.

Not sure what the hype is all about here or it must be an acquired taste or something because the main dishes were bland and I mostly followed the instructions on how to eat it. The grilled chicken was dry and lacked any flavor. 4/10 The ginseng chicken had little flavor and the rice in the middle was just rice with soup. Using the salt and sauce helped a bit but not much. 5/10 The seafood pancakes were the best thing that we ate. 7/10 The service here completely sucks. Our waitress was rude and didn’t even give us much time to even look at the menu before storming over and demanding we order. When we ordered, she said we needed to order the dishes equal to the amount of people we had with a snarky attitude. OK, it would had been nice to know that rule first. She then kept rushing us to order like calm down, you just told us this rule and we need some time to look at the menu. The place was mostly empty so not sure why she was rushing us. Also, a warning that the drink they gave us when we sat down is straight up liquor would had been nice before we drank it thinking it was tea. We thought they’d only give us the ginseng shot after you order the chicken but they just straight up gave it to us right when we sat down. Only good thing was there was no line.

Arrived slightly before lunch and a long queue formed, but the queue moved quite fast. Appearance looks traditional and the staffs serves pretty fast. Placed our orders and was promptly served with the ‘ban chan’. A small cup of ginseng liquor was served and it was very refreshing with a good ginseng taste to it. Ginseng chicken soup is really tasty and delicious. Serving is just nice for one pax. Will definitely visit again if ever in Korea.

Absolutely phenomenal experience! From the moment we walked in the ambitions was warm and inviting the staff were incredibly friendly attentive and made us feel right at home every dish was packed with really nice Korean flavour and the kimchi was perfectly spiced. The atmosphere was also incredible. You can tell they put a lot of love into their food easily one of the best Korean dining experiences I've had highly recommend this and. This place had no rude staff and you will not regret coming here. This is not bad and it's very suitable for Asians. Recommend!

April25, best Ginseng Chicken in Seoul. Recommend you to visit. Went back again today 20/4 for the 2nd time this trip, with the ginseng roots & wines got the energy to continue shop & shop. Will want to do a 3rd time before going home. A must eat place in Seoul.

I had dinner in this restaurant. Very traditional place with a local atmosphere. Soup was good but not for everyone’s taste. There’s an instruction on the menu that shows you how to eat as it’s not common for foreigners. There were lots of local people as well as some tourists. It gives me an idea about the food quality if there are local people eating. The place is hidden in a small street with a large unexpected entrance. It was around 19:30 pm and I found a seat very easily.