The dish you crave on a rainy day, and makgeolli's finest companion. Jeon (전) — Korea's savory pan-fried pancakes — is a humble, deep-running plate that mirrors Korean food culture itself. From bindaetteok (빈대떡), stone-ground mung beans fried into a thick cake, to pajeon (파전) loaded with seafood and scallions, to a single hot piece eaten standing at a market stall, the styles run remarkably wide.
This time we have chosen 13 restaurants that let you taste Seoul's jeon from every angle: an institution running for more than 70 years, a hidden favorite in a university district, a modern room in Sinsa. The focus is on places that, as of May 2026, hold a solid reputation with locals.
The first name that comes up in any conversation about jeon. In the early 1950s it set a stone mill down at a street stall near Gwanghwamun and began selling bindaetteok, and it has gone on making nokdu bindaetteok (녹두빈대떡 / mung bean pancakes) for more than 70 years since. After its years in the old Pimatgol alley, the shop now stands in nearby Gongpyeong-dong. The mung beans are ground on a stone mill, spread across a hot griddle and topped with a few slices of pork — the result leans on neither salt nor sugar, just a gentle, toasty depth. If it tastes too plain, add a little of the salted oysters (어리굴젓 / eori guljeot) served alongside, and the makgeolli will keep flowing. Registered as a Seoul Future Heritage site, it fills up in the evening with people out for a drink.
The symbol you cannot leave out of any account of Gwangjang Market's "Jeon Alley." It started in 1994 as an eight-pyeong (about 26 m²) stall, and it is said that other stalls spread around it until the alley took the shape it holds today. Some 30 years on, the signatures are a crisp, shallow-fried mung bean pancake and the sweet, much-loved meatballs called gogi wanja (고기완자). Mung beans are ground on a stone mill in one corner of the shop, and the aroma is exceptional. The batter uses no wheat flour or starch — only peeled mung beans, bean sprouts, scallions, and chopped kimchi. Add the sweet-and-sour pickled onions that come with it and the whole plate stays refreshing to the last bite. It is popular, so be ready to queue.
A jeon house known along Hannam-dong's restaurant strip. It was introduced as a great makgeolli spot on the TV program "Wednesday Food Talk" (수요미식회), and it is known as a haunt of rappers and many other entertainers. The walls are covered with their signatures, and the retro mood is part of the draw. The signature is wang saeu jeon (왕새우전), a plump king prawn pancake — the large egg-battered prawns have been called "a different thing entirely from ordinary prawn tempura." The potato pancake, crisp outside and chewy within, is popular too. Several sister shops line the same street, and every one of them draws a queue at peak hours. Rainy days are especially busy.
A modern jeon restaurant on stylish Garosu-gil (가로수길), said to be the first place people head on a rainy day. The signature is honeycomb makgeolli, poured with a piece of the comb resting on top — a glass you can only have here, the whole comb sitting there in front of you. The saeu minari jeon (새우미나리전 / prawn and water dropwort pancake) and the cheese-potato pancake, thin potato slices layered with mozzarella, are popular as well. The assorted platter, modeum jeon (모둠전), is plenty for two even in the small size. Tables sit close together in a lively room, and on weekends you may wait. A few minutes' walk from Sinsa Station, it slots easily into a Garosu-gil stroll.
A long-beloved pajeon institution in Korea University / Anam, a neighborhood known as makgeolli territory. It began inside Jegi-dong Market, where students and alumni came back again and again — a place stitched into their memories. It has since moved to Anam, into a cleaner, calmer room with an open kitchen, and the next generation runs it now. The menu is simple: pajeon, gochu twigim (고추튀김 / battered green chili peppers), dongeurangttaeng (동그랑땡 / small meat patties), and seasoned whelks. The signature seafood pajeon is cooked so firmly it edges toward deep-fried, and the crackle that spreads through the first bite is the whole appeal. It sits close to Anam Station, and on rainy days the line runs long.
A folk tavern set inside a hanok (한옥 / traditional Korean house) down an Insadong alley. The construction carries the quiet character only a hanok can, and the room holds an old-Korea mood. "I walked in expecting a place with atmosphere and found one of the best meals of my life" — comments like that show it is rated for the cooking, not only the setting. The signature is saeu minari jeon (새우미나리전 / prawn and water dropwort pancake). The owner's hand at the griddle is a pleasure to watch, and the range is wide: seafood pajeon, kimchi jeon, pumpkin jeon, pollock jeon. Order the assorted modeum jeon (모둠전) and enough arrives to fill you up, at a reasonable price. It is a place to linger over a bottle of makgeolli. Easy to drop into mid-stroll in Insadong; closed on Sundays.
One of the two giants of mung bean pancakes at Gwangjang Market, standing alongside Sunhuine. "For bindaetteok, it is genuinely hard to find anywhere that beats Bakganae at Gwangjang" — that kind of support has held for years. Stone-milled mung beans are packed with bean sprouts and fried into a pancake that is crisp outside, moist and toasty within. Seats spread across several floors of the building, and — unusually for a market shop — it is easy to walk in alone. Bindaetteok, meatballs, and a bottle of makgeolli, taken at your own pace amid the noise of the market.
A jeon-and-makgeolli shop right in front of the entrance to Mangwon Market (망원시장), said to have been running for about 30 years. It folds naturally into a walk through the Hongdae and Yeonnam-dong area, and it offers the air of a local market — something quite different from tourist-thick Gwangjang. Order and they fry it fresh on the griddle: the house specialty is a pancake that sizzles in oil until it turns deeply fragrant. The colorful assorted platter modeum jeon (모둠전), the seafood pajeon, and the meat jeon are popular too, and a queue is not unusual. Makgeolli comes in the old-fashioned style. A fine match for a wander through Mangwon and its cafes.
A specialist loved around Gwanghwamun, where a wide lineup of jeon takes the lead. Vegetable-and-meat bindaetteok, meat-and-seafood bindaetteok — the whole menu is built to keep the makgeolli moving. Order a platter and the volume is more than enough, well suited to a table of friends. A dependable standby for a group dinner or a quick drink around Gwanghwamun and City Hall. Peak hours get a little hectic, so an early seating is the sweet spot.
A landmark shop in the pajeon alley by Hoegi Station, near Kyung Hee University. One of the alley's defining favorites, and known for the queue that forms at peak hours. The signature seafood pajeon is thick, cooked in a style that comes close to deep-frying, and above all it is generous — loaded with squid and scallions, crisp outside and fluffy within, a serious plate of food. Set menus run from A to L, and depending on the set you may get tteokbokki or corn on the side. The pajeon arrives on a wire draining rack, so it stays crisp to the final piece. Just the place for a loud, cheerful night over makgeolli.
A pocha (포차 / casual drinking spot) near Samgakji Station, carrying the weathered air of a true nopo — an old-timer. The signature is buchujeon (부추전), a garlic-chive pancake that has lately reached younger drinkers through social media. Beyond the jeon lineup there is a solid list of drinking food: braised chicken, seasoned whelks, rolled omelette — the sort of thing that goes right with a glass. Nothing here is glossy or touristy; it is a place to enjoy jeon and makgeolli without airs, in local air. With Yongridan-gil (용리단길) nearby and buzzing, it has become a popular second stop for the night.
A popular spot in the Jonggak area where people gather for jeon, makgeolli, and bindaetteok. It suits a group dinner, or an unplanned drink on a rainy day, equally well. Pair any of the jeon with makgeolli and the evening takes care of itself. Set in the middle of Jongno's busy quarter, it is easy to fold in at the end of a day of sightseeing or shopping. In a plain, welcoming room, you can try the jeon standards without ceremony.
A shop at Gwangjang Market where you can have both yukhoe (육회 / seasoned raw beef) and bindaetteok, and it has surged into attention on blogs and social media in the last few years. The appeal is the pairing: fresh yukhoe served together with a toasty mung bean pancake. Combination sets with yukhoe tangtangi (육회탕탕이 / finely chopped raw beef) or small seaweed rolls are popular too. Recommended for anyone who wants the traditional market atmosphere with a slightly luxurious cut of raw beef beside the jeon. A new Gwangjang standard with real momentum behind it.
Jeon is a generous dish — good in fine weather or rain, alone or in a crowd. Feel the history over bindaetteok at a decades-old institution, or tip a glass of makgeolli in a modern room in Sinsa; either is right. If you cannot decide on your first stop, we recommend Sunhuine at Gwangjang Market, where the energy of the market comes with the meal, or Bakganae, which is easy to walk into on your own. A hot pancake eaten to the sound of rain will surely become a memory you carry home from the trip.
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