Seoul, verified August 13, 2026
Where to Book a Coworker Farewell Dinner in Seoul
A farewell dinner for a colleague is a logistics problem before it is a dining problem. Someone has to find a table that holds the whole team, a room where a short speech does not have to compete with the party next door, and a menu that can be ordered for a group without twenty minutes of negotiation. Seoul is not short of good restaurants. It is short of restaurants that make all three of those easy on a weeknight.
The four below are the ones our research notes can stand behind for this particular occasion. Every one of them is documented as a place that handles company dinners and group gatherings, which is a narrower claim than being good, and a more useful one when you are the person holding the reservation. They answer different versions of the question: two are dependable private-room bookings for a mid-sized team, one is a barbecue where the staff work the grill so nobody is stuck at the tongs, and one is a premium hanwoo house for a send-off meant to feel like an event.
Party size and budget decide which is right. The caveats under each entry are the part to read before you send the invitation: minimum spends, parking, and how loud the main hall gets at peak are what most often turn a good plan into an awkward evening.
1. Sinseung-Gwan
Sinseung-Gwan is a 60-year-old, third-generation (since 1964) traditional Chinese restaurant on the 2nd floor of the Lemeillieur (르메이에르) building in Jongno, between Jonggak and Gwanghwamun stations, known for its house-made "bichwi" (jade/spinach-batter) sweet-and-sour pork and a large room-and-hall layout aimed at office lunches, banquets, and family gatherings. Reviewers consistently frame it as a scratch-cooking "재료에 진심" (serious-about-ingredients) operation: 48-hour cold-aged hand-kneaded noodles, dawn-market onions, house-fried chunjang and chili oil, all sauces made in-house.
South Korea, Seoul, Jongno District, Jong-ro, 19 르메이에르 종로타운 2층 | $$ | chinese
Start with the room count. Sinseung-Gwan sits on the second floor of the Lemeillieur building in Jongno, midway between Jonggak and Gwanghwamun stations, and our research notes describe it outright as a Gwanghwamun office worker restaurant: office gatherings are routine here, and the course menus exist because groups keep asking for them. Six private rooms and a stated capacity of roughly 35 people mean a large team can stay at one table instead of splitting into two, which matters on a night whose entire point is that everyone gets to say goodbye. The kitchen is a scratch operation, third generation since 1964, with 48-hour cold-aged hand-kneaded noodles, dawn-market onions, and chunjang and chili oil fried in house. Order the bichwi tangsuyuk, the spinach-batter sweet-and-sour pork the house is known for, and the handmade menbosha alongside it.
- Six private rooms, with room for groups of roughly 35 people.
- Described outright as a Gwanghwamun office worker restaurant, with frequent office gatherings and course menus.
- The signatures are bichwi tangsuyuk (spinach sweet-and-sour pork) and handmade menbosha.
The 12th-anniversary promotion (free bottle, course freebies) is time-limited and may not be available. Portions are generous; light eaters may leave food, so consider scaling orders for smaller parties.
View on Google MapsNotes updated August 7, 2026
2. Bau
Bau (바우한우, Bau Hanwoo) is a Korean-beef-and-pork-galbi grill house tucked in the alleys behind Seolleung Station in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam, a decade-old, no-break-time neighborhood workhorse built for business dinners and company outings rather than destination dining.
16 Seolleung-ro 89-gil, 역삼2동 Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea | $$ | korean
The Gangnam option, and unglamorous on purpose. Bau is a decade old, tucked into the alleys behind Seolleung Station in Yeoksam-dong, and built for business dinners and company outings rather than destination dining. That is the right instinct for a send-off: three private rooms, repeated recommendations for company dinners and group gatherings, and a kitchen that runs continuously with no break time, so the booking does not have to work around a closed stretch of the afternoon. Free corkage with a complimentary glass setup covers you if someone wants to bring a bottle for the occasion. Anchor the order on the pork king galbi and the hanwoo sirloin, then finish with the post-grill cold noodle set, an excellent-value closer that keeps the mood light.
- Three private rooms, and repeatedly recommended for company dinners (회식) and group gatherings.
- Free corkage, offered with a complimentary glass setup.
- Open continuously, with no break time.
- The signatures are pork king galbi (돼지왕갈비) and hanwoo sirloin (한우등심).
Grilling is mostly self-serve after the first piece; guests must flag staff via call button to avoid burning the grill plate. The main hall can get packed at weekday dinner peak; request a private room for a quieter farewell.
View on Google MapsNotes updated May 1, 2026
3. Usamjib
Usamjib (우삼집) is a two-floor, staff-grilled Korean BBQ restaurant in Yeonnam-dong (연남동) built around its namesake thin-sliced beef cut, usamgyeop (우삼겹), aged bone-in pork belly, and a heavily promoted sotbap (수향미 솥밥) side, cooked and served tableside by staff rather than left to the guest. It has become a tourist draw since a member of K-pop group NCT WISH was filmed eating there and the visit aired on Japanese television, drawing visible Japanese tourist traffic.
260-39 Yeonnam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea | $$ | korean, korean_barbecue
If the goodbye should feel like a dinner rather than a function, this is the one. Usamjib runs over two floors in Yeonnam-dong, and staff grill every cut tableside, infrared thermometer in hand, so nobody on the team spends the evening working the tongs while the person who is leaving tries to talk to them. The namesake usamgyeop, thin-sliced marinated beef, and the 288-hour aged bone-in pork belly are the reasons to be here, and the sotbap made with suhyangmi rice comes up again and again as the must-order. Reviewers describe the room as deliberately calm, spaced generously enough that conversation stays comfortable and ventilated well enough that clothes do not carry the grill home. It has drawn a tourist following since a member of NCT WISH was filmed eating here for Japanese television, so it is no longer a neighborhood secret.
- Two floors, with staff grilling every cut tableside using infrared thermometers.
- The namesake usamgyeop (thin-sliced marinated beef) and 288-hour aged bone-in pork belly are the signature cuts.
- Sotbap made with suhyangmi rice is repeatedly singled out as a must-order.
- Reviewers describe a deliberately calm room, with generous table spacing that keeps conversation comfortable and ventilation strong enough that clothes do not retain meat smell.
No on-site parking; guests should use nearby public lots or arrive by subway (Hongik Univ. Station, exit 3). Peak hours fill quickly; reservations through Naver are recommended, especially for weekend slots. The restroom is unisex, which may be a consideration for some guests.
View on Google MapsNotes updated June 25, 2026
4. 서래미소 광화문점
서래미소 광화문점 is a premium hanwoo (Korean beef) grill in Tongui-dong by Gyeongbokgung/Seochon, occupying floors 3 to 5 (plus an upper-floor terrace/rooftop) of a standalone building and dealing almost exclusively in top-grade 1++ No.9 beef that staff grill tableside; it is the Gwanghwamun branch of the Seorae (Seorae-maeul/Bangbae) name. It is positioned as an occasion venue for business dinners, family gatherings, 상견례, dates, and group rentals, dressed up with Dior plates and Hermès glassware.
South Korea, Seoul, Jongno District, 3층 | korean
For the send-off that is meant to be the occasion itself. The Gwanghwamun branch of the Seorae name takes floors three through five of a standalone building in Tongui-dong, by Gyeongbokgung and Seochon, with a terrace and rooftop above and private rooms on the fourth and fifth floors. It deals almost exclusively in top-grade 1++ No.9 hanwoo, and staff grill it tableside, which is the practical argument for it on a night like this: the table talks and toasts instead of watching the plate. The miso roll, a yukhoe-bibimbap wrapped in gamtae seaweed, and the hanwoo doenjang jjigae are the supporting orders worth making room for, and the upscale tableware and calm wood-toned room supply the celebratory polish. Read the caveats before you commit, though: the rooms here carry minimum spends, and the rooftop is a phone call plus a serious budget.
- Private rooms on floors 4 and 5, plus an upper-floor rooftop and terrace.
- 1++ No.9 hanwoo, grilled tableside by staff.
- Supporting signatures include the miso roll (yukhoe-bibimbap in gamtae seaweed) and hanwoo doenjang jjigae.
Group bookings are gated by minimum-spend tiers: a 6-person room requires ₩400,000, and larger groups need the terrace at ₩1,000,000 minimum. On-site parking is tight (only 4 to 6 spaces); advise guests to use public transport or confirm parking availability in advance. The rooftop is one team per day at ₩1,500,000 minimum and requires phone inquiry.
View on Google MapsNotes updated August 8, 2026
Match the venue to the party size first and the budget second. Sinseung-Gwan and Bau are the reliable private-room bookings for a mid-sized group, and if the team runs to fifteen or more, Sinseung-Gwan's roughly 35-person capacity is the safest bet on this list. Usamjib is the pick when you want the evening relaxed and the conversation unbroken, since the staff handle the grill. Seoraemiso Gwanghwamun is the upscale, memorable version, assuming the minimum spends fit what the group is putting in.
Whichever you choose, confirm the room when you book rather than on the night. The room is usually the whole reason you picked the place.