Planning to eat your way through Seoul and check out all the aesthetic cafes? Here’s a full guide to eating out, including some tips on restaurant and cafe etiquette.

❗️In Korean culture, there is a whole set of “table manners” (that apply to both at home and restaurants), such as: elders eat first, drinks should be poured a certain way, and one person at the table grills all the BBQ. However, this is applies only if you are eating amongst other Koreans.

I am not an expert on traditional Korean table manners, and this guide is mostly geared towards restaurant and cafe norms for tourists/foreigners (such as where to pay, how to order, etc).
In terms of things that you should still do, to avoid being rude, is:
– don’t stick your chopsticks straight into your bowl of rice. Keep them flat on the table.
– don’t blow your nose at the table
– when paying, give and receive your money/cards/receipts with both hands

Typical prices

Typical meal price (Korean cuisine, such as noodles, bibimbap, soup): 8,000-12,000 won. Western style dishes cost more.
Typical drink price at cafes: 4,000 won for an Americano; anything else 5,000 – 8,000 won
There is no tipping or service charges. Prices on menus are tax inclusive.

Restaurant Etiquette

Let’s get started with restaurant etiquette. There is a separate section for cafe etiquette here. I have included some basic Korean phrases that you can use. You can copy and paste the Korean into Papago to hear the pronunciation. 

Seating

If there is a host or someone greets you when you walk in, you can hold up fingers to tell them how many people (or say it in Korean), and they will motion to a table for you to sit at.
Otherwise, it is normal to seat yourself.

At counter-style restaurants/food courts, you should find a seat before you order and put something on your table to reserve it.

Menus

If you’ve seated yourself, most of the time the staff will bring you a menu if it is not already on the table. Otherwise, you can ask for a menu by using “저기요” (to get the staff’s attention) and “메뉴판 주세요” to ask for the menu.

Sometimes the menus are on the wall, in which case a handheld menu won’t be given to you. If you cannot speak Korean, take a picture of the menu on your phone to point to the item name when you order. Some restaurants have tablets at the table or a main kiosk to order from. Most of the time you can change the language to English (look for a picture of a flag (British or American) or “ENG”), though I’ve found sometimes not everything gets translated.

In touristy areas, menus may be in Korean and English. Many menus are in Korean only.

Menu labeling & common allergens

Nuts are not a common ingredient in Korean cuisine, so I have not seen any nut allergy warnings.
⚠️Pistachios, however, are a common flavor/topping at cafes and bakeries.
Knowledge about gluten allergies is also not present with no gluten allergy warnings.
* At vegan cafes are the only places I have seen nut free and gluten free markings, though it is rare.

Ordering

When you are ready to order, you will need to call over the waiter by saying “저기요” (to get waiter’s attention), then “주문할게요” (I will order/I want to order). Sometimes there are buttons at the table to call over the waiter.
🌟 Cultural tip: When dining in a party of 2 or more, it is not common for each person to go around the table saying their order. There is usually one designated person who will say all the items for the waiter.

To order, you can use:
<dish> <number> 주세요, so to order 1 bibimbap: 비빔밥 하나 주세요.

The unspoken rule is that every diner must order at least 1 main OR 1 serving. For example, at a BBQ place, at least 1 serving of meat should be ordered per person. At bibimbap or tofu stew places, each person should order one dish. This is because restaurants give you banchan, and would operate at a loss if people did not order 1 dish per person. The exception is fried chicken – these portions are bigger (because of the labor required to fry, thus priced for ≥2 servings) and intended to be shared.

Some dishes are intended for 2 or more people, and there will be an order minimum. These dishes are indicated on the menu with: 2인분 이상 주문가능, which means you must order at least 2 servings (and the price listed is per person/serving).

At most restaurants, banchan (side dishes) are given. These are usually refillable, and to ask for more, you can use 반찬 좀 더 주세요. Sometimes the banchan is self-serve at a banchan bar. Be careful with these, as there may be signs in Korean indicating any uneaten banchan will be subject to a fee (mostly at places with huge banchan bars).

Where and when to pay

At most restaurants where you did not order at the counter, you will pay upon exiting. If the bill is put on your table after ordering, you can bring that, otherwise tell them your table number. 
As a reminder, it is common to give and receive using 2 hands.
You will almost always be asked if you’d like a receipt upon paying. (영수증 드릴까요?)

At food courts and counter-style ordering restaurants, you should look for dish returns to return your dishes.
It is not common to linger at the restaurant for a long time after a meal like in other Western countries. Locals will head to a cafe after a meal for dessert or a drink to extend a hangout with friends.

❇️ There is no tipping culture in Korea, so you do not need to tip.

Cafe Etiquette

At most cafes, you will: select baked goods yourself if trays and tongs are provided; order drinks/other items at the cashier counter. This is important – find a seat before ordering/selecting baked goods if dining in! You can place your bag or something at your table to indicate the seat is reserved. If there’s no tables available, you can stand near the entrance and wait for a seat to open up.

When you order and pay, the cashier will ask you if you are eating here or taking it out.
Do note that if you say takeout, they will put your order in a takeout cup (or box if a dessert). Seoul has regulations to reduce waste, so if you ordered your drink to-go, you are not allowed to sit at the cafe and consume your drink. Do note this is because of city regulations, not the cafe’s personal policies.

The unspoken rule is that you do not stay at cafes for more than 2-3 hours, especially at popular cafes.

1 drink per person rule

At cafes, it is expected that each person sitting at the cafe orders 1 item. Keep this in mind if you plan to go cafe-hopping!
If on the menu it says:
1인 1메뉴 주문 부탁드립니다: this means each person must order 1 item, either a dessert or drink.
1인 1음료 주문 부탁드립니다: this means each person must order at least 1 drink. This means if the cafe serves cake, and you only want cake, for dine-in, you must also order a drink. 

How to check if a cafe has a 1 drink per person rule?
If this policy is enforced, it will be written on the menu – and you can look at the menu on Naver (photos that visitors have uploaded). Check out my Naver guide for information on how to find restaurant and cafe menus.

The same is true for bingsu, though it depends on the cafe. Sometimes they are larger portions and cafes only require you to order 1 bingsu/2 persons, and sometimes it is 1 bingsu/1 person.

You should return your dishes to the dish return when you are done. If there is no dish return, you can return your dishes to the cashier’s counter.

Restaurants and cafes are often located on higher floors in buildings. If you don’t see the place you’re looking for on the ground floor, try looking up.

Water / Napkins

Some sort of drink – either water or tea – is provided at all restaurants. Some cafes will also have free water. If the waiter does not bring a container of water to your table, look for a water dispenser to self-serve your own water.

Solo Dining

In short, you should have no trouble with solo dining as long as you are not eating at BBQ places or ordering dishes requiring 2+ servings. You can read more about solo dining in my guide (I personally solo dined in Seoul during my entire trip, and ate at both traditional and casual spots):

Vegetarian friendly?

There are quite a few vegan/vegetarian restaurants in Seoul, and many vegan cafes. Some dishes are easily veganizable, such as kimbap and bibimbap. For more information, see my vegetarian food guide to Seoul.

Restrooms

Restrooms are available at most cafes and restaurants, however sometimes they are located outside of the actual establishment and the employee may give need to give you directions (and a restroom key) in order to navigate to it.