10 Places Where Locals Love to Eat in Busan

The Millak Raw Fish Town is a centre for raw fish, located at the northern end of Gwangalli Beach. The 10-storey building has a fresh market on the ground floor and around 300 restaurants on the upper levels, many of which have a nice view of the sea. Pick up some raw fish at the market and enjoy it at the onsite restaurants.

Tourists often come to Millak Raw Fish Town during summer. You can take a stroll at Gwangalli Beach's waterfront park after dinner. Many people purchase their choice of seafood from the market and eat it in the park.

Cheongsapo is a small port area between Haeundae and Songjeong in Busan. Walk along Dalmajigil Hill in the direction of Songjeong, and you’ll find this quiet village on your right. Warm and cold currents merge at this port, so it supports an abundance of robust fish that can be consumed raw. Besides raw fish, a great dish to try in Cheongsapo is spicy grilled eel. Restaurants also serve a wide selection of grilled shellfish.

After enjoying a filling meal in Cheongsapo, you can spend some time sightseeing. Look out for charming landmarks like the lighthouse, Daritdol Observatory and Cheongsapo Daritdol Skywalk.        

Haeundae is a great place to try bok guk (pufferfish stew), made with fresh fish, bean sprouts and water parsley, which is a local favourite for alleviating hangovers. There are many pufferfish stew restaurants in the seaside district, especially around the hot spring area.

While in Haeundae, you can also enjoy a variety of other pufferfish dishes. Some to sample are bok-maeun-tang (spicy pufferfish stew), bok-jiri (pufferfish soup), bogeo hoe (sliced raw pufferfish), hoe-muchim (spicy raw pufferfish salad) and bogeo gui (grilled pufferfish).

Gwangalli Bulgogi Street is an old restaurant alley located near Gwangalli Beach. Most of the restaurants here specialise in bulgogi (Korean BBQ) and grilled fish (saengseon gui). Eonyang-style bulgogi, which is made with marinated beef pounded into patties, is a popular choice for locals and travellers. 

Fresh meat is delivered daily from Gupo, Yangsan, and Gimhae. Seasoned with soy sauce and garlic, thin slices of beef or pork are grilled over a charcoal fire, giving it a smoky flavour. Korean-style side dishes like kimchi stew (kimchi-jjigae), white kimchi (baek-kimchi), and Korean cold noodles (naengmyeon) as are also must-tries at Gwangalli Bulgogi Street.

Bupyeong-dong Jokbal Street is a great place to go to sample authentic pork-based dishes like a local. Busan is known for its pork dishes, especially jokbal (pigs' feet), dwaeji-gukbap (pork and rice soup) and dwaeji-duruchigi (stir-fried pork).

Many of the best jokbal restaurants are clustered around Bupyeong-dong, some of which boil pigs’ feet in a broth made with various herbal medicines. Each restaurant typically serves jokbal with their own unique dipping sauce. Nangchae jokbal (chilled pigs’ feet) is another local speciality that you might like to try on your visit to Bupyeong-dong Jokbal Street.

Restaurants on Jobang Octopus Street use fresh octopus to create a spicy and savoury dish that pairs well with a bowl of rice. If you like to sample spicy foods while travelling, this is one of the best places to go in Busan.

If you don’t feel like eating out, keep in mind that you can also order fried octopus for takeouts. You can eat them on the go or take them back to your hotel; they’ll still be delicious. Jobang Octopus Street is located in Busan’s Beomcheon district.

Oncheonjang-ro, also known as Sea Eel Alley, is close to Dongrae-gu's hot springs, making it a popular place to eat after a trip to the spa. When you enter the alley, the smell of eel grilled on briquettes is sure to whet your appetite.

Eel, also known as hagfish, is rich in protein, vitamins and unsaturated fatty acids. It's usually served either seasoned or salted, and paired with rice mixed with sauce from the stir-fried eel. There are more than 10 restaurants along Oncheonjang-ro’s Sea Eel Alley, which is within walking distance of Heoshimcheong, Nokcheonjang and Cheoniltong Hot Springs.

The Gijang Crab Market is an excellent place to buy fresh seafood, especially snow crab. You can also find plenty of restaurants along an alley near the market. It's fun to just watch all the crabs in the aquarium, including local snow crabs, red crabs, imported lobsters and king crabs.

On your visit to the market, you can buy and eat snow crab right away or take them with you. If you prefer to sit down at a proper restaurant, must-tries include the stir-fried rice with crab meat and intestines stuffed in the crab shell.

The Dalmaji-gil cafe district is a popular destination for couples on a date in Haeundae, Busan. Dalmaji-gil stretches from Haeundae Mipo to Songjeong Beach, with dozens of trendy cafes, restaurants and art galleries. It's even more beautiful in spring, when blossoming cherry trees paint the area in white and light pink.

Some cafes in Dalmaji-gil open very early, so you can enjoy your brunch with a peaceful view of the sea. Moontan Road is a wooded trail offering a nice spot to catch the sunset.