7 Great Restaurants in Daegu

At Bangogae Seasoned Raw Fish Alley in Naedang-dong, Seo-gu, the restaurants are specialised in muchihoe (seasoned raw fish), one of the best dishes of Daegu. This local dish was developed in Daegu as an alternate to hwareo hoe (sliced raw fish). It's made by mixing boiled squid, stingray and river snail with shredded radish, water parsley and sesame leaves, along with condiments such as red pepper powder, garlic and ginger.

You can wrap seasoned raw fish with flat dumplings, lettuce and sesame leaves. Its spicy and sweet taste and the chewy texture of squid are sensational. The light and spicy taste of the jaecheop guk (shellfish soup) that it's served with will make your day.

Anjirang Stir-fried Beef Tripe Street, located near the Anjirang market in Daemyeong-dong, Nam-gu, is where you can enjoy Daegu's specialty gobchang (stir-fried beef tripe) and makchang (beef or pork entrails) at a reasonable prices. More than 50 stir-fried beef tripe restaurants are lined up on this 500-metre-long street.

The odourless lean beef tripe is grilled over a briquette and dipped in sauces and are famous for their chewy texture and savoury gravy. The dish is served in a large bowl here, with one bowl of beef tripe weighing about 500g. The delicious doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew) served with it is another specialty of this area.

Pyeonghwa Market Chicken Gizzard Alley is in Dong-gu and is the only one of its kind in the country. It's also known as Dakttongjib Alley, as dakttongjib is slang for 'chicken gizzards'. The alley began to form in the early '70s, when a chicken butcher deep-fried chicken gizzards left from butchering and sold them cheaply to nearby workers.

Chicken gizzards sold here are deep-fried in a thin batter to give a chewy and savoury texture. You can choose from plain batter, spicy seasoned batter and salty soy sauce batter. In addition to chicken gizzards, try popular chicken dishes such as tongdak (roasted chicken), jjim dak (braised spicy chicken with vegetables) and dak bal (chicken feet).

Dongin-dong Braised Beef Ribs Street in Jung-gu has many restaurants specialising in jjim galbi (braised beef ribs), one of the best dishes of Daegu. The red and spicy ribs are seasoned with garlic and red pepper powder, so they are different from galbi-jjim (braised short ribs), which are seasoned with soy sauce.

Order braised beef ribs and you’ll receive it in a nickel-silver pot with lettuce wraps and side dishes. Seasoned with all sorts of spices and condiments, the ribs are spicy and savoury with a chewy texture. Mix rice with the remaining sauce for a 'rice burglar' that comes close to gejang (marinated crab).

Bugok-ri, near the Munyang Station on the Daegu Metro Line 2, is the home of Spicy Rice Field Catfish Stew Street, lined with many nonmegi maeuntang (spicy rice field catfish stew) restaurants. The village is located on the bank of the Nakdong River, known for its rice fish farming.

Daegu-style spicy fish stew is made with by boiling the broth of radish and kelp with generous amounts of garlic and red pepper powder. Thanks to the plentiful vegetables, such as green onion, chilli pepper, water parsley and enoki mushroom, the broth tastes savoury and spicy without any fish odour. The starch noodle or sujebi (hand-pulled dough) you eat with it gives the stew an even richer body.

Seomun Night Market is a famous food place in Daegu. The night market opens at 7pm and offers a variety of local foods, fusion foods, and street foods for its visitors. Seomun Market's most popular food is kalzebi, a compound word from kalguksu (noodle soup) and hand-pulled dough soup (sujebi). It's made by boiling the 2 dishes together.

At Seomun Night Market, you can try a variety of unique dishes. Enjoy your night with creative options like grilled scallops with cheese on a hot plate (garibi cheolpan cheese gui), grilled pork belly (samgyeopsal), and cotton candy bubble tea. The street has lots of things to see such as busking and breakdancing, too.

If you are looking for a café or a gourmet restaurant with a refined atmosphere in Daegu, visit Apsan Café Street near the Nammyeong 3-way intersection. You'll see many cafés serving desserts such as coffee and cakes as well as some restaurants offering pasta, pizza, steaks and Japanese food.

The street has cafés with unique concepts, such as gallery cafés, rooftop cafés and antique cafés, and each of them has its unique menus to delight locals and visitors alike. It's a perfect place for couples on a date or families on a picnic.