Balwoo Gongyang - 발우공양 - Seoul Restaurant

Vegan-friendly

Honey

Korean, Buddhist

Buddhist temple cuisine in a clean and modern space, at 서울시종로구견지동715F. Managed by a Buddhist nun from the Choe Gae Sa Temple across the street. Reservations suggested. Set menu, though some dishes can also be ordered for an additional price. Has been awarded one Michelin Star. At the junction of Insadong-gil 5 and Ujeongguk-ro. Reported to use honey in some drinks May 2019.
조계종 불교문화사업단에 의해 운영되고 있는 깨끗하고 현대적인 공간의 사찰음식점입니다. 조계사 맞은편 템플스테이 통합정보센터 5층에 위치해 있습니다. 미쉐린 가이드 1스타에 선정 된 맛집으로 미리 예약하시기를 권장합니다. 식사는 한식 코스요리로 제공되며, 일부 메뉴는 추가 가격을 내고 주문할 수 있습니다. 가격은 1인분 3만 원 이상입니다. 영업시간은 점심 11:30~15:00, 저녁 18:00~22:00이며, 매주 일요일은 휴무입니다. Open Mon-Sat 11:30am-3:00pm, 6:00pm-10:00pm. Last order at 2:00pm and 8:45pm.

44 Reviews

First Review by wsh79

Results

JonJon

Points +20635

Vegan

30 May 2019

Gourmet Korean food in the Michelin guide - Edit

This vegetarian restaurant is very pleasant, has one star in the Michelin guide and offers typical but gourmet Korean food. Food is vegan but many drinks contain honey. I took the menu at 65,000 won and didn't regret it. It comes with many dishes in small portions, starters, main dishes, medicinal dishes and desserts. The food is very finely prepared and flavorful. I discovered plenty of new tastes. The service is very good and consistent with the standing of the place. It worth the visit!

Pros: gourmet vegan food, original flavors, many dishes per menu, good service

Cons: honey in drinks, quite expensive

Desserts at Balwoo Gongyang - 발우공양 in Seoul

Sides of the medicinal dishes at Balwoo Gongyang - 발우공양 in Seoul

Final dishes (medicinal) at Balwoo Gongyang - 발우공양 in Seoul

Rice in lotus leaf at Balwoo Gongyang - 발우공양 in Seoul

JennaHancock

Points +273

24 Apr 2019

Peaceful and close to nature - Edit

this cuisine takes you on a journey through nature by keeping the essence of what plant based foods taste like cooked and served in this traditional temple cuisine experience.

Pros: wise variety

Cons: splurge if you can afford a $30~$90 dollar meal

part 2 of main course at Balwoo Gongyang - 발우공양 in Seoul

one of 2 main courses at Balwoo Gongyang - 발우공양 in Seoul

HelenHaeryounGi

Points +3511

03 Dec 2018

Temple vegan course - Edit

Korean temple vegan course. It has private rooms so that it is good for small business meeting and family gathering too. Kimchi was too spicy.

Aventurera

Points +205

Vegetarian

16 Aug 2018

The Best Restaurant Experience - Edit

This was the best restaurant experience I have ever had. The private room with sliding doors creates a calm environment for eating. The menu offers several set menus at different price points. My friend and I ordered one of the simplest options and one with more dishes so that we could try more dishes. The pickled melon was delicate and flavorful. Restaurant staff were friendly and knowledgeable, and explained each item to us. Reservations are required for the fifth floor location, and can be hard to get. There is also a buffet restaurant on the second floor.

Pros: Amazing food, artfully crafted and presented, Friendly, knowledgeable staff, Relaxing environment

Cons: Expensive for veg food - and worth it

Persimmon pudding, with a fruit jelly palate cleanser. at Balwoo Gongyang - 발우공양 in Seoul

A savory soybean soup with rice cooked in a lotus leaf - and banchan at Balwoo Gongyang - 발우공양 in Seoul

The set meal comes with a variety of banchan at Balwoo Gongyang - 발우공양 in Seoul

Appetizers - the one on the right is a cucumber jelly, made with Agar (seawee) at Balwoo Gongyang - 발우공양 in Seoul

jtoskey

Points +192

09 Jul 2018

Wonderful meal - Edit

Lunch was so good that we are going back for dinner. Hosts genuinely happy to see us even though we hadnt made a reservation and were gracious about accommodating allergies. Buffet restaurant on 2nd floor is no longer open 😔 but don't let that stop you from eating here. Worth every penny.

~Florence~

Points +2330

03 Jun 2018

Nice food, meh service - Edit

The food was delicious and nothing I’d ever tasted before(very unique tastes and beverages). Downside was the service, there is a time span you have to eat in. After eating the 2nd course things became really rushed with staff continuously checking If we had already finished the food. We weren’t even done with a course or the next was was already put on the table. We didn’t have enough time to finish one and we weren’t allowed to bring it with us. I paid for it...

Pros: Very unique tastes

Cons: Everything’s rushed

May ‘18 - Spring menu “Maeum” at Balwoo Gongyang - 발우공양 in Seoul

BCsin

Points +50

31 Dec 2017

Temple food for health - Edit

Clean private dining room and the food is served by very friendly English staff. However you’ll feel rushed as the staff tend to serve quite quickly. Overall we still enjoyed ourselves very much.

Dessert at Balwoo Gongyang - 발우공양 in Seoul

Winter main course 2 at Balwoo Gongyang - 발우공양 in Seoul

Winter Main course at Balwoo Gongyang - 발우공양 in Seoul

Winter joy at Balwoo Gongyang - 발우공양 in Seoul

Winter Appetizer at Balwoo Gongyang - 발우공양 in Seoul

lola131

Points +64

25 Oct 2017

מעולה - Edit

כדאי מאוד להגיע למסעדה הזו . האוכל בה מצויין ומגוון

Pros: אוכל מעולה ומגוון

Cons: לעיתים עמוס מדי

charanratt

Points +91

20 Oct 2017

Good "Temple" Food - Edit

The food was ok not as expected. It's Temple style vegan food. Not the real Korean vegan. It's good experience to try at least once as you don't find a Michelin star vegan restaurant everywhere. Book in advance as it's quite full. We went for the lunch course which was 30000 Won.

paulkates

Points +1833

20 May 2017

A Michelin Star-rated Vegan Restaurant! - Edit

Excellent service, food, and presentation. Private rooms are very comfortable. Choose from a variety of set courses. BYOB (corking fee applies). Go.

Pros: Simply put: Excellent

Exterior at Balwoo Gongyang - 발우공양 in Seoul

The mains from the Maeum Course at Balwoo Gongyang - 발우공양 in Seoul

A Michelin-star rated restaurant at Balwoo Gongyang - 발우공양 in Seoul

Good Design Award at Balwoo Gongyang - 발우공양 in Seoul

First two items of the Maeum Course at Balwoo Gongyang - 발우공양 in Seoul

samden

Points +1084

10 May 2017

Good Buffet in noisy place - Edit

We went on lunch time to the 2nd floor buffet as the 5th floor restaurant needed a reservation. The taste was good and the amount big. But the room was very noisy and the staff not so friendly. Also, a few hours later we both had some stomach issue...

Two years later we visit the 5th floor restaurant on a special occasion. The food and the service was great. We got our own private room. It was also fun to teast all this interesting little dishes. It was a great but bit pricey experience.

I can recommend the 5th floor restaurant but not so the 2th floor one.

Updated from previous review on 2013-09-07

Pros: good buffet

Cons: can be noisy on 2th floor

JanneM

Points +16

24 Dec 2016

Excellent experience - Edit

Awesome menu of incredible flavours. With 65,000 won you get more than 30 individual components all house made and Korean organic produce. Totally worth the investment!

Cameron2786

Points +86

06 Aug 2016

Delicious - Edit

This place makes temple food that is rich and flavorful. My partner and I had a set meal, which was a little pricey, but very interesting. I particularly liked the stews and side dishes, but really everything was great!

First part of the meal at Balwoo Gongyang - 발우공양 in Seoul

Second part of the set meal. The perilla soup was very good at Balwoo Gongyang - 발우공양 in Seoul

sirhin

Points +161

02 Jan 2015

2nd or 5th Floor - Can't Go Wrong! - Edit

As opposed to the previous commenters, I've visited this place twice and both times, I went to the fifth floor - where the expensive stuff is. The first time, I went for their 10-course meal as a part of the Vegan Food Tour I was a part of under O'ngo Foods. The second time, I took some friends and we ordered the 15-course meal. It's a bit pricey but the food variety and quality was well worth it - it was both eye candy and a treat for your taste buds! Obviously, you wouldn't come in regularly but if you ever have the chance, treat yourself. :)

UPDATE 1/2/2015
I finally got the chance to visit the 2nd floor on my last visit to Korea... For both lunch and dinner. When asked, they reassured me that they did not use onion or garlic in any of the food (the 5th floor does unless you request them not to). This place was very informal, compared to the 5th floor. For lunch, we got the temple style buffet. You get your 4 wooden bowls and then you fill 'er up! The food isn't gourmet by any means but it is on the light side and quite delicious. They offered several sides, soup, and various kimchi. Also, they have THE best cabbage kimchi I have ever had the honor of tasting. I need the recipe!! Not salty and perfect amount of sour. There was a side dish of rather tough greens... But it definitely had a ton of fiber. Though not quite delicious, it was certainly healthy and I got seconds. ^^

For dinner, we returned and decided to order. The buffet was still offered, but there is a menu with various items, but we ordered the kimchi stew and the veggie Katsu combo. Both were delicious but my favorite was the kimchi stew. Oh goodness, my mouth still waters just thinking about it!

All in all, the 2nd floor was great. The food was delicious and reasonably priced. It's largely self-serve and help (you put up the dishes yourself after you finish). If I lived in Seoul, I'd definitely make regular visits!

Updated from previous review on Wednesday October 31, 2012

Pros: delicious and beautiful food, great atmosphere, 2nd floor is reasonably priced

Cons: 5th floor is expensive

Katharinenstrasse

Points +74

Mostly Veg

11 Apr 2013

Great atmosphere and food on the 2nd floor. - Edit

We had lunch on the 2nd floor, which is the more casual restaurant of TempleStay. The decoration is modern and the architecture captures perfectly the light. There is a special flair about this restaurant. The waitress was very polite.

The food was delicious and had absolutely reasonable prices. A meal usually consists of different components and this makes it very interesting. The mock meat tastes indeed quite real, but as someone who has not been a vegetarian for a long time I can tell it was Tofu.
So don't worry (like the review below), I'm sure they don't use any meat, the whole group of buddhists that runs TempeStay seems to be very trustworthy people. Why would they put meat in your food and tell it's veggie...they are vegetarians themselves.

On the ground floor you can take part in buddhism ceremonies, don't forget to stop on the was outside (during daytime). We felt very welcome in this building and will always come back

Pros: Great architecture, Building/institution is worth a visit, Delicious food for good prices

fungila

Points +33

10 Jun 2012

Good restaurant - Edit

Buffet is not 6000 won as it is said in the description but 7000 wons. But anyway, the food was good, especially mushrooms and muk.

wsh79

Points +149

02 Jan 2012

simple buffet - Edit

This is the only restuarant i went in Seoul which offers vegetarian meal without onion/garlic since its run by a temple across the street.
Buffet cost 7000won. There are a few dishes (around 5) and a soup. meals are quite healthy. You may take several times if you wish to, but you have to finish your food. This is usually the culture of koreans if they are having temple food.
You have to make payment before you start taking the food. Located on the 2nd floor. 5th floor same building has another restuarant but is a very expensive one, hence i didn't try that.

Pros: healthy cuisine, cheap, friendly

Cons: not much dishes to choose from