Seoul, verified August 13, 2026
Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurants in Seoul Worth the Trip
Eating vegetarian in Seoul has stopped being an exercise in subtraction. The four rooms below are not places that assemble a plate of side dishes on request; they are restaurants where plants are the point, running from a temple-food hanok in Seochon to a Michelin Plate kitchen with a palace in the window.
They are not interchangeable, and the differences matter more than the shared label. Maji is the most authentic if what you want is a fully vegan Korean meal. Dahlia Dining is the strongest for modern plant-based comfort food. A Flower Blossom on the Rice is the easiest entry point, with walk-in availability and a menu that tags its vegan dishes so a mixed table can share. The Green Table earns its place for a special occasion with one honest qualification: it is deeply vegetable-focused, but it is not a vegetarian restaurant by default, and its menu includes meat and seafood courses.
1. Maji
Maji (마지) is a hanok-housed, no-oshinchae (five pungent vegetables excluded) Korean temple-food and vegan restaurant in Seochon/Chebu-dong near Gyeongbokgung, built around a set-course "sang-charim" format and a signature lotus-leaf rice dish.
19 Jahamun-ro 5-gil, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea | $$ | korean, vegan, vegetarian
A hanok in Seochon, near Gyeongbokgung, serving fully vegan Korean temple food as set courses built without oshinchae, the five pungent vegetables. The lotus-leaf rice and the sweet-and-sour shiitake are the dishes to wait for, and the owner ferments her own soy sauces in the courtyard. Staff explain each course as it is served, often in English. This is the quiet, culturally immersive end of the list, the choice for anyone who wants authentic Korean vegan cooking rather than a convenient table.
- A hanok-housed, no-oshinchae Korean temple-food and vegan restaurant, built around a set-course format.
- The house signature is Lotus Leaf Rice, repeatedly singled out as the dish that defines the restaurant and the star of the tasting course.
- Sweet and Sour Shiitake is chewy and meaty in texture, called the crowd favorite by multiple reviewers.
- Staff are warm and knowledgeable, often strong in English, explaining each dish as it is served.
The seasoning is intentionally very light, which some diners find bland rather than subtle. Operating hours have contracted: Mon/Tue fully closed, and dinner ends at 20:00. Wheelchair accessibility is poor due to stone entrance steps.
View on Google MapsNotes updated August 6, 2026
2. Dahlia dining 달리아 다이닝
Dahlia dining 달리아 다이닝 is an all-vegan Italian-leaning dining room in Sinsa-dong/Dosan Park, owned by celebrity chef Choi Hyun-seok (최현석) of "Culinary Class Wars" (흑백요리사) fame, run in the same building as his vegan beauty brand Dear Dahlia . It positions itself as a "gastro dining" room where familiar Italian/Asian-fusion comfort dishes (lasagna, gnocchi, pizza, spring rolls) happen to be 100% plant-based, aimed at diners who are not necessarily vegan themselves .
650-16 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea | $$ | vegetarian
An all-vegan, Italian-leaning dining room in Sinsa owned by celebrity chef Choi Hyun-seok of Culinary Class Wars. It reads as a comfortable date restaurant first and a vegan restaurant second: calm, generously spaced tables, warm and muted lighting, familiar comfort dishes that happen to be entirely plant-based. The talked-about plates are the plant-based tsukune skewer, served with a molecular egg-yolk sauce colored with saffron, and the truffle cream gnocchi. Vegans and non-vegans can share this table without anyone compromising.
- All-vegan and Italian-leaning, owned by celebrity chef Choi Hyun-seok, with familiar Italian and Asian-fusion comfort dishes made 100% plant-based.
- The consistent must-order is the plant-based tsukune skewer, its egg yolk sauce built by molecular gastronomy and colored with saffron rather than real egg.
- The truffle cream gnocchi is a repeat favorite, with a coconut-cream-and-nut based sauce and generous fresh truffle.
- The dining room is calm and date-appropriate, with generously spaced tables and warm, muted lighting.
Portion sizes are a recurring soft complaint, with some dishes described as small for the price. The mock-meat flavor in dishes like tsukune and lasagna polarizes diners; some love it, others find it off-putting. Access requires a shared building elevator or stairs through the ground-floor cosmetics store.
View on Google MapsNotes updated August 6, 2026
3. A Flower Blossom on the Rice
꽃밥에피다 북촌 친환경 그로서란트 (A Flower Blossom on the Rice, Bukchon Grocerant) is the casual, walk-in second location of a Michelin-recognized eco-friendly Korean restaurant group, pairing a one-tray (한상) bibimbap/soup menu with an attached organic grocery store on Bukchon-ro . It is explicitly lighter and more casual than the original Insadong flagship, which runs a seasonal vegan course menu under the same brand name .
39 Bukchon-ro, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea | $$ | korean
The casual, walk-in second location of a Michelin-recognized eco-friendly Korean restaurant group, sitting on Bukchon-ro with an organic grocery store attached. The draw is the bojagi-wrapped bibimbap: rice and organic vegetables sealed in a thin egg crepe, dressed with a light soy-based sauce rather than gochujang, and the most photographed thing on the tray. It is vegan-adaptable, and the menu tags its vegan dishes outright, so a mixed table sorts itself out. Lighter and more accessible than the original Insadong flagship, and genuinely workable alone: there is window-facing bar seating and a kiosk built for single guests.
- The casual, walk-in second location of a Michelin-recognized eco-friendly Korean restaurant group, pairing a one-tray bibimbap menu with an attached organic grocery store.
- The bojagi-wrapped bibimbap is the most-photographed dish, repeatedly called visually stunning and art-like, dressed with a light soy-based sauce rather than gochujang.
- The menu is explicitly split into vegan-tagged and non-vegan dishes, so vegan and omnivore diners can eat together comfortably.
- Solo dining is explicitly workable, with window-facing bar seating and a kiosk system built for single guests.
The bojagi bibimbap is lunch-only at this location. The Bukchon branch's version wraps only the rice in the egg crepe, a different construction from the Insadong original's fully-wrapped style. Tables are set close together and the room is small, so privacy is limited.
View on Google MapsNotes updated August 6, 2026
4. The Green Table
더 그린테이블 (The Green Table) is chef 김은희 (Kim Eun-hee)'s Korean-French fine-dining restaurant: a seasonal, vegetable-and-grain-forward prix-fixe on the top floor of the Arario Space (아라리오 뮤지엄) arts complex in Wonseo-dong, Jongno-gu, looking out over a royal palace . Opened in Seorae Village in 2009 and relocated via Apgujeong-Rodeo (2016) to its current Wonseo-dong address in October 2023, it is a Michelin Guide selection (Michelin Plate 2024 and 2025) and La Liste-listed, a respected selection, not a starred house .
South Korea, Seoul, Jongno District, Yulgok-ro, 83 5층 | $$$$ | french, western
Chef Kim Eun-hee's Korean-French prix-fixe on the top floor of the Arario Space arts complex in Wonseo-dong, a Michelin Plate selection where vegetables, grains, and herbs are the primary material rather than the garnish. French precision is applied to produce: the risotto-style Korean Grains composition of black barley, oats, and root vegetables is the single most-cited signature. The room is calm and gallery-like, with nearly every seat looking out onto a royal palace, and Chef Kim explains each dish herself. It is Seoul's most refined vegetable-forward table, but read the caveats first: it is not a vegetarian restaurant.
- A seasonal, vegetable-and-grain-forward prix-fixe in the Arario Space arts complex, and a Michelin Plate selection.
- French culinary precision applied to vegetables and grains, with the risotto-style Korean Grains composition of black barley, oats, and root vegetables as the single most-cited signature.
- The room is calm and gallery-like, with nearly every seat looking out onto a royal palace and surrounding greenery.
- Chef Kim personally explains each dish and accommodates dietary restrictions, such as swapping out raw fish for guests who cannot eat it.
There is no dedicated vegetarian or plant-only menu, so confirm dietary needs at booking. The palace view was partly compromised by construction as of May 2026. The menu includes meat and seafood courses, so it is not suitable for strict vegans without advance negotiation.
View on Google MapsNotes updated August 6, 2026
Two practical notes before you go. The windows are narrower than you would expect at the two Korean rooms: Maji is closed Mondays and Tuesdays and ends dinner at 20:00, and the bojagi bibimbap at Bukchon is served at lunch only. And if you eat strictly vegan, The Green Table is a conversation at booking rather than an assumption at the table.