[FOOD COURT] The best places to eat near Sogang University

The combination of cherry blossoms and warm spring weather have pushed many people to get out and explore their local parks, including Gyeongui Line Forest Park close to Sogang University.

Dishes sold at Mapori 1987 [MAPORI 1987]

The combination of cherry blossoms and warm spring weather have pushed many people to get out and explore their local parks, including Gyeongui Line Forest Park close to Sogang University.

The park is just across the road from the university's south gate and is home to a long list of restaurants that people can visit while enjoying the nice weather. Some students choose to walk to restaurants in the nearby Sinchon area to experience the young and lively atmosphere, but the neighborhood in front of Sogang University also has its own charm, with the urban park offering beautiful scenery and affordable restaurants.

Whether you are a student or visiting the park nearby, here are some restaurants near Sogang University worth trying.

Bricksy

Chicken sandwich sold at Bricksy [BRICKSY]

Bricksy is located right across the road from the university's south gate. This also means it's in front of Gyeongui Line Forest Park and has a beautiful view of trees and flowers from its windows.

For lunch, it's a great place to grab hot sandwiches such as grilled cheese toast and beef sandwich. The Philly cheese steak sandwich (12,900 won) is one of the best sellers, packed with slices of beef, cheese and marinated onions. The restaurant becomes a pub at night, selling beer and good pairings such as buffalo wings, cajun fries and chicken tenders.

It's an especially good option for students on a tight budget as it has happy hours between 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., offering two draft beers for the price of one. Free cajun fries are offered to Sogang University students that bring their student ID card, which is another reason its loved by many students.

11-10, Gwangseong-ro 4-gil, Mapo District, western SeoulBusiness hours: Monday to Friday 11 a.m. - 9:30 p.m., 11 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. on Sunday 02-6956-8777

Katsu Bento

Sake don, or salmon rice bowl, sold at Katsu Bento [LEE TAE-HEE]

Katsu Bento is located in an alley known as gae golmok, which translates to dog alley and is near the school's main gate. The alley is given the name because many pubs are in the area, making students get easily drunk to the point in which they will walk home like dogs, or gae in Korean. Despite the area being known for its pubs, Katsu Bento is one of the places that will be more crowded at lunchtime, with students going to have a hearty meal between classes.

The sake don, or salmon rice bowl (15,500 won), is one of the lunch options many customers go for. It comes with thick slices of salmon, and those who like more soft and fatty ones can go for the salmon belly rice bowl, which is sold for 19,500 won.

A range of dishes are on the menu, and those who can't decide can always choose to order the katsu bento. The dish offers a bit of everything, which comes with a piece of fried shrimp, fried chicken, salmon slices, grilled beef and a small portion of katsudon, or rice bowl with pork cutlet. The dish can only be ordered after 5 p.m., so visiting the restaurant for dinner with friends could be a good idea.

13 Baekbeom-ro, Mapo District, western SeoulBusiness hours: Monday to Saturday 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. 02-711-0606

Sujeoga

Sujeoga's chadol jjampong, or spicy noodles with beef brisket [LEE TAE-HEE]

Sujeoga is a Chinese restaurant that offers classic dishes such as jjampong, known as spicy noodles, and jjajangmyeon, or black bean noodles. Although most jjampong tends to be made with seafood or beef broth, the restaurant only uses mushroom broth that gives it a light flavor instead of being oily.

Apart from the normal jjampong, it also has the chadol jjampong (9,000 won), or noodles with beef brisket, which its most famous for. The dish is stacked with thinly sliced beef brisket that is guaranteed to make anyone full. Although beef brisket tends to be fatty, the restaurant seasons the meat and makes it less heavy to eat.

There are a lot of things that comes for free at the restaurant. Customers are allowed to have as many bowls of rice as they want for free. The restaurant also gives each customer a small juice pack or a soda can depending on what it has that day, which helps to cool down the spice from the noodles.

It's normal to see a line at Sujeoga during lunch hours, but a long wait isn't required because the restaurant tends to serve food quickly. 10, Gwangseong-ro 4-gil, Mapo District, western SeoulBusiness hours: Monday to Saturday 10:30 a.m. - 8 p.m.0507-1430-6966

Mapori 1987

Mapori 1987's vongole pasta [MAPORI 1987]

The restaurant offers many western dishes such as pasta and pizza, but some of its dishes come with a Korean twist. One of them is the Italian galbijjim, or braised beef ribs. The dish is essentially tomato rigatoni pasta with pieces of galbi. The meat is marinated in the traditional soy bean galbi sauce, but does have a bit of a spicy kick.

Another fusion dish offered at the restaurant is the gnocchi tteokbokki (spicy rice cake), which uses gnocchi balls instead of rice cakes. A ball of ricotta cheese is placed on top, along with a big piece of cheese crisp that gives some crunchy texture to the softness of the gnocchi.

If fusion dishes aren't for you, there's always classic dishes like the simple truffle cream gnocchi. There's also plenty of pastas to choose from, such as the aglio e olio, vongole and beef ragu.

3, Dongmak-ro 38-gil, Mapo District, western SeoulBusiness hours: Tuesday to Saturday 11:30 a.m. - 10 p.m., 11:30 a.m. - 9 p.m. on Sunday 02-6402-8975

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]