The future of Korean dining is...shabu-shabu?

Buffet restaurants in Korea thrive amid rising dining costs, with shabu-shabu and premium casual chains attracting large crowds.

A customer helps herself at Shabu Allday on July 24. [WOO JI-WON]

At 1:30 p.m. on a recent Thursday — well after the typical lunch rush — shabu-shabu buffet Shabu Allday, in southern Seoul’s Songpa District, was completely packed. The air inside was thick, steam rising from bubbling hot pots. “You have to join the waitlist 30 minutes before the restaurant opens to avoid a wait,” said a staff member. A tent was even set up outside the entrance to accommodate the crowd.

A similar scene played out at Western-style all-you-can-eat buffet Ashley Queens’ Jamsil Lotte Castle branch nearby. “It’s so crowded here that there’s even a line for desserts,” said a woman surnamed Park in her 40s, who had arrived around 11 a.m. to beat the lunch rush. By 11:30 a.m., all 410 seats were filled, and a long line was forming outside the restaurant. As soon as one table was cleared, another group — friends, families, co-workers or couples — quickly took its place.

With wallets tightening and dining out getting pricier, many restaurants in Korea are struggling to fill seats. According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, the restaurant industry’s sentiment index in the first quarter of this year was 70.76 — down 0.76 points from 71.52 in the previous quarter and the lowest figure since the first quarter of 2021, when the Covid-19 pandemic was at its peak.

Customers grab food from the buffet at Ashley Queens in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on July 24.[WOO JI-WON]

But one category seems immune: buffets. Premium causal buffet chains — offering a wide variety of dishes priced between 20,000 ($15) and 40,000 won — are the one category to which crowds are continuing to flock.

Cheaper chains lead the charge

Drive around Korea today, and you will spot more of these than ever before. Shabu Allday has opened over 150 locations across Korea in just two years since its launch in July 2023, promoting health-conscious dining. Ninety opened in the first half of this year alone.

Farm-to-table Shabu Restaurant Sangha opened this April in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, offering black pork sourced directly from Sangha Farm in Gochang, North Jeolla. In June, Always Shabu launched its first buffet in Gangdong District, eastern Seoul, distinguishing itself from typical meat-heavy buffets by also serving fresh seafood such as crab, boneless monkfish and freshwater eel.

The reason for this surge in popularity is simple, according to customers: It's a lot of food, for not a lot of money.

Diners help themselves at the salad bar at Shabu Allday in Songpa District, southern Seoul. [WOO JI-WON]

“You get unlimited meat and even unlimited beer,” said an excited Ha Mi-sook, a woman in her 40s who recently visited one of Shabu Allday's branches after her friends told her it was “better than regular shabu places.”

Eu Yoon-sun, a professor of the Department of Food Services and Franchise Management in Sejong Cyber University, said Ha isn't alone: Although overall consumer sentiment around dining out has weakened, buffets are thriving due to their value proposition.

“Consumers are highly sensitive to both cost efficiency and emotional fulfillment,” Eu said. “Buffets cater well to these needs by offering a broad selection of dishes in a single meal.”

Regular shabu-shabu restaurants typically offer a set including broth, meat and vegetables, with noodles, rice and additional portions of meat and vegetables available for an additional charge. In contrast, all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu buffets offer unlimited meat, vegetables and extras like fish balls, along with access to a salad bar featuring fried items, desserts and beverages. A popular shabu-shabu restaurant near Hapjeong Station charges between 20,000 and 33,000 won for a single set, depending on the meat selection; in contrast, many shabu-shabu buffet chains offer unlimited servings for 25,000 won or even lower.

Shabu Allday, for example, offers unlimited meat, a 60-item salad bar and more than 30 types of vegetables and add-ons — all for 25,900 won at weekday lunch and 29,900 won at dinner. Around 6 p.m. on July 25, its Jayang branch had 34 parties on its waitlist. A dozen other branches also had queues, according to CatchTable’s real-time data. Elandeats' Lowoon Shabu Buffet offers weekday lunch at an even lower price of 19,900 won.

It's not just shabu-shabu.

In Gangnam District and Samseong-dong, the average meal now costs 14,000 and 15,000 won, according to NHN Payco, respectively — up about 1,000 won from last year. Prices in western Seoul's Yeouido and southern Seoul's Seocho District averaged 13,000 won. A weekday lunch at Ashley Queens is just 19,900 won, meaning diners can pay just a few thousand won more for all-you can eat access to more than 200 menu items.

Another Western-style buffet, VIPS — operated by CJ Foodville — recorded more than 220 waiting parties at its newly opened Magok branch in Gangseo District, western Seoul, last December. Currently, average wait times can reach 45 minutes. Sushi buffet Qooqoo is also broadening its footprint with new branches opening in Busan, Daegu and Gyeonggi, while Elandeats’ pizza buffet brand Pizzamall launched its first new location in three years at Gangseo on July 24.

Ashley Queens in Songpa District, southern Seoul, is crowded with diners. [WOO JI-WON]

“I came because I can eat unlimited amounts,” said Kim Joon-hyeok, a man in his 20s, after finally getting a seat at Ashley Queens on Friday — he'd been waiting outside with a friend. “It's such good value.”

The secret recipe

One might assume that such restaurants are operating at a loss, but most are turning a profit.

Sales at Ashley Queens, operated by Eland Eats, more than doubled last year, increasing from 236 billion won in 2023 to 400 billion won. It also nearly doubled its number of locations over the past three years — from 59 branches in 2022 to 115 in 2025. Six new locations opened this year alone, including Gugi East Pole, which welcomed over 800 customers on the opening day last month. Average per-store sales at Lowoon Shabu Buffet rose 20 percent year-over-year from Jan. 1 to Feb. 27.

Revenue at CJ Foodville, the operator of VIPS, increased 7.6 percent to 909.2 billion won over the same period, and operating profit rose 22.7 percent to 55.6 billion won. A VIPS spokesperson confirmed that all of the buffet's locations make money.

Part of that model lies in add-ons: Some buffets, such as Ashley Queens, sell drinks for an additional margin.

“Ashley Queens also has coffee, so you can have a meal and a coffee in one place,” said Park Eun-ja, a woman in her 60s who visits the chain's Jamsil branch often for outings with friends. “It's convenient, and great value for money, to get everything done at once.”

Many premium casual chains also invest heavily in their interior design — making a lower-cost dining experience feel more high-end.

Ashley Queens in Songpa District, southern Seoul, is crowded with diners. [WOO JI-WON]

Eu said that brands like Ashley Queens have carved out a distinctive position “by offering thoughtfully curated menus, diverse ingredients and stylish interiors.” Unlike budget buffets — common near Korea's construction sites, factories and offices — which which offer rice, soup and fewer than ten side dishes for around 10,000 won during lunch, premium casual brands tend to boast spacious dining halls, well-decorated interiors and elegantly arranged dishes on the buffet line.

And being owned by large food conglomerates helps; direct access to suppliers and production facilities means bulk discounts on ingredients. Ashley Queens has managed to keep its prices accessible through its partnership with Eland's Eland Farm & Food, from which it sources goods including strawberries and pork.

Fresh menus keep diners curious

Ashley Queens is well-known for its seasonal themes: strawberries in February, chicken in April, cheese in May, June and July. The most popular of these, the strawberry season, drew over 270,000 visitors this year — 27,000 more than the year before. Lee Soo-yeon, 20, said she'd convinced her friends to come on July 24 due to the theme, under which the chain serves cheesesteaks and macaroni. Ahead of its strawberry festival in February, for example, the brand secured 160 tons of Seolhyang strawberries from Nonsan, enabling it to offer strawberry-themed dishes at locations nationwide for more than a month.

Additional dishes, including water parsley pork belly, offered at Shabu Allday in Songpa District, southern Seoul [WOO JI-WON]

VIPS introduces new seasonal menu items each year, with this summer featuring Thai dishes created in collaboration with Tuktuk Noodle Thai — a restaurant in Yeonnam-dong of Mapo District, western Seoul, that has been listed for nine consecutive years in the Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand category. Shabu Allday also regularly rotates its food offerings, with recent popular additions including water parsley pork belly. In spring, the brand launched Pink Blossom Festival, presenting items in pink color like beet pasta.

Buffets are also embracing foods that are trending among health-conscious consumers.

In May, Ashley Queens introduced new menu items including potato salad and yubu (tofu skin) rolls. VIPS also joined the movement this spring by launching dishes centered on nutrient-rich ingredients that avoid excessive carbohydrates and fat.

DIY creations go viral

For younger diners, social media has also fueled the buffet craze.

X user posted a photo of salmon mixed with radish kimchi and sauce at Qooqoo on July 14, [SCREEN CAPTURE]

One X user posted a photo of salmon mixed with radish kimchi and sauce at Qooqoo on July 14, calling it “salmon radish kimchi” and calling herself a genius. The post had received 29,000 reposts and more than 59,000 likes as of Wednesday. Another user shared an ice cream sundae made with chocolate fondue at Shabu Allday on July 21, which had been reposted 3,700 times the same day. Many others also share tips for mixing custom sauces using the available ingredients.

On Instagram, posts offering tips on how to “get the most out of your meal,” as well as how to make bingsoo (shaved ice) and soft-serve ice cream at buffets can be easily spotted.

Buffets are actively encouraging the trend. Ashley Queens recently added a DIY station featuring “cheese drop rolls” as well as mix-and-match dipping sauces as part of its seasonal cheese theme. Shabu Allday offers a DIY sauce bar, allowing customers to create their own custom blends.

“We’re focusing on DIY options to reflect the omnivore trend,” said an spokesperson from Ashley Queens. “At a buffet, where different dishes can be combined freely, consumers’ diverse preferences themselves become a form of content.”

BY WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]