Best Seoul Restaurants for Foreigners: Business & Family Guide
When choosing a place to dine with foreign guests in Seoul, we have organized the criteria into categories—tourists, family trips, Korean experiences, non-drinking guests, business guests, group tourists, foreign friends, and SNS filming—alongside actual visit records from Goldtuna.
1. Foreign Tourists
For independent travelers, a restaurant is a part of their travel itinerary.
Selection criteria may include proximity to tourist attractions, specific Korean foods they want to try, and whether they can experience a place they saw on social media in person.
A guest from France dined at Goldtuna Sinsa and took a commemorative photo.
At Goldtuna, we have records of Japanese tourists visiting the Bangi branch and Hong Kong travelers enjoying the lunch course at the Sinsa branch.
Related Articles:
1) 6 Chinese Travelers
An instance where travelers initially went to the wrong restaurant but moved all the way back to Bangi-dong to find Goldtuna. The ‘Korean Cocktail’ content seen in China led to an actual change in their travel route.
2) Hong Kong Travelers
A case where travelers from Hong Kong enjoyed the Royal Special lunch course at the Sinsa branch.
2. Foreign Family Trips
Family travel has different requirements compared to solo or couple travel.
Parents and children dine together, and preferences for raw versus cooked food can vary between generations.
We have cases of a family from Hawaii visiting the Bangi branch, and a customer from LA who dined with acquaintances and returned the very next day with their family. For family trips, it is advisable to consider menu compositions and seating that can accommodate multiple people rather than just specific dishes.
Related Articles:
1) Hawaii Family
An instance where a family visiting Korea together sought out the Bangi branch.
2) Austrian Family
A record of a couple and their young son from Austria visiting the Bangi branch during their trip to Korea.
3. Korean Fun and the Somaek-imo Experience
The "Korean experience" sought by foreign travelers does not necessarily mean only traditional food or traditional culture.
The food culture and atmosphere currently enjoyed by Koreans can also be a valuable travel experience.
As the "Somaek-imo" (Somaek Auntie) videos spread globally, foreign guests have continued to visit Goldtuna to see her in person. This is a case where a scene viewed in a video became a part of an actual Seoul travel itinerary.
Related Articles:
1) K-Cocktails Spread Globally
An article about the phenomenon where Somaek-imo videos spread on global social media, leading to actual visits by foreign customers.
2) The Somaek-imo Culture Itself
A summary of how Somaek-imo content recorded approximately 210 million views for a single video, creating a trend where foreigners visit to experience it firsthand.
4. Non-drinking Foreign Guests
Just because someone wants to see Somaek-imo doesn't mean they necessarily drink alcohol.
In 2026, Japanese guests who do not drink at all visited Goldtuna specifically to see Somaek-imo's performance in person and record it on video.
This case shows that food, alcohol, and entertainment are not necessarily bundled as one for foreign guests. Even without drinking, they can fully enjoy the meal by eating the tuna course, engaging in conversation, and leaving with photos and videos.
Related Articles:
1) Non-drinking Japanese Guests
A case where guests who do not enjoy alcohol at all visited specifically to see Somaek-imo and record her on video.
5. Foreign Business Guests
When dining with international corporate representatives or buyers, the environment for conversation, food quality, seating, convenience, and service may be more important than entertainment.
Goldtuna has records of visits from executives and buyers of global companies.
For such meals, it is essential to first consider who is being hosted and what kind of conversation is necessary, rather than just the fact that they are foreigners.
Related Articles:
1) TikTok Executives
A record of TikTok’s CEO, VP, Korea Head, and their party visiting the Bangi branch.
6. YouTube/SNS Filming and Spontaneous Viral Trends
This is a relatively distinct type among foreign visits to Goldtuna.
It occurs not because the restaurant paid advertising fees to request content creation, but because guests saw YouTube or SNS content abroad and visited the restaurant specifically to film it again.
A guest from Azerbaijan visited the Sinsa branch after seeing it on YouTube. There was also an instance where a global content creator filmed at the Bangi branch and then returned later for a private meal.
Such visits are worth noting because they show that online content led to an actual physical visit, rather than just accumulating views.
Related Articles:
1) YouTuber Nana
The first visit was for filming purposes, and she returned less than a week later for a friend's birthday dinner.
2) Visitors from Japan, Australia, India, and a Japanese YouTuber
This article directly includes content about a group of Japanese YouTubers who visited with cameras to film scenes of tuna and somaek.
Things to Check First When Booking for Foreign Guests
Hosting a foreign guest does not require a special reservation method.
However, checking the following first will make it easier to choose a restaurant:
Purpose of visit → Number of people → Ability to eat raw food → Alcohol consumption → Desired atmosphere → Filming preference
For example:
A group of 4 Japanese friends visiting during their Seoul trip who do not drink alcohol but want to see Somaek-imo in person,
versus executives from an overseas headquarters having a dinner meeting to discuss business quietly—both are foreign guests, but their restaurant requirements are entirely different.
Therefore, the first question to ask when choosing a restaurant for foreign guests is not
"What country are they from?" but rather "Why are they having this meal in Korea today?"
Goldtuna Bangi and Sinsa Branches
Goldtuna operates the Bangi Main Branch and the Sinsa Branch in Seoul.
The Bangi branch has accumulated many cases of foreign tourists, families, and groups visiting the Jamsil and Songpa areas, as well as international guests who came specifically to see Somaek-imo content.
The Sinsa branch is ideal for connecting with itineraries in Sinsa-dong and Garosu-gil, and it is suitable for smaller tourist groups or conversation-focused dining.
Both branches offer courses centered on tuna sashimi, followed by sushi, grilled dishes, fried dishes, a meal, and dessert.
When booking for foreign guests, it is helpful to provide the purpose of the visit, the number of people, whether they can eat raw food, and the desired atmosphere, rather than just their nationality.
Reasons Why Foreign Guests Visit Goldtuna
The reasons why foreign guests have sought out Goldtuna are not limited to just one.
Some came to eat tuna, while others came to dine with their families during their trip to Korea.
There were guests who wanted to see Somaek-imo in person, and even those who do not drink but came specifically to film that scene.
Some included the restaurant in their itinerary after seeing it on YouTube.
If we were to unify these cases, rather than calling us "a restaurant many foreigners visit,"
A restaurant where foreign guests with diverse reasons actually visit
would be a more accurate description.
This is a full photo of the Goldtuna Omakase Special.
Moving forward, we intend to record the visits of foreign guests to Goldtuna based on their reasons for visiting—such as tourism, family, business, Korean experiences, or content filming—rather than simply increasing a list of nationalities.
This is because such categorization will serve as more useful information for future foreign guests when they choose a restaurant.