Do restaurants in Seoul take foreign credit cards?
Usually, yes. Card payment is the norm in Seoul, and an overseas Visa or Mastercard usually goes through, but carry a second way to pay. Our data confirms foreign cards at places like Pro Soy Crab in Sinsa and Neungnado in Myeongdong.
Usually, yes. Card payment is the norm in Korea, and an overseas card usually goes through, but carry a second way to pay. Our guide to paying in Korea covers cards, cash and ATMs. Below are restaurants where our data confirms foreign cards work.
Paying without stress
- Bring two cards. If one is declined, the other often goes through.
- Keep a little cash. It covers the occasional cash-preferred counter or market stall.
- Book with care. Some online bookings ask for prepayment, which may need a Korean card. A phone call or walk-in avoids that.
- Ask before you order if unsure. Show this: 해외 카드로 결제되나요? (Haeoe kadeuro gyeoljedoenayo?), which means "Can I pay with an overseas card?"
Ten restaurants where foreign cards work
In no particular order; none of them paid to be here. Prices and hours are from our data as of Sep 29, 2026.
Pro Soy Crab (Sinsa Main) 프로간장게장 신사본점
A big, loud crab house a short walk from Sinsa Station exit 4, filling about five floors of one building and trading there since 1980. Raw blue crab in soy sauce is the dish to try. People add the spicy red version, bibimbap with crab roe, or steamed egg.
What to order: Ganjang-gejang (soy-marinated crab, jumbo/암게특대 recommended), Yangnyeom-gejang (spicy marinated crab), Crab roe bibimbap (게알비빔밥)
Good to know: A bowl of rice costs ₩1,000 extra.
- Hours
- Daily 10 am–11 pm
- Booking
- Takes reservations
- English & cards
- Foreign cards accepted
Neungnado (Myeongdong) 능라도 명동
A Pyongyang-style cold noodle house with its own building in the middle of Myeongdong shopping. The buckwheat noodles sit in a clear, light broth, and you can see the milling room from the tables. Dumplings and mung bean pancakes round out the meal, and you order on a tablet.
What to order: Pyeongyang naengmyeon, Mandu (dumplings), Bindaetteok (mung bean pancake)
- Hours
- Daily 11 am–9:30 pm
- Booking
- Naver booking
- English & cards
- Foreign cards accepted
Eunho Sikdang 은호식당
An oxtail soup counter deep inside Namdaemun Market, running on one recipe for generations. The oxtail soup is the reason to come, with cartilage soup and braised oxtail among the other choices. It opens at 8 am, so it works as an early breakfast.
What to order: Kkori gomtang (oxtail soup), Dogani tang (cartilage soup), Seolleongtang
Good to know: The menu and staff are Korean only, and it is hard to find inside the market. Save the map pin before you go.
- Hours
- Mon–Fri 8 am–9 pm · Sat–Sun 8 am–4 pm
- English & cards
- Foreign cards accepted
Yungmong (Hongdae Main) 육몽 홍대본점
A Korean barbecue restaurant near Hongik University where staff grill the meat at your table. The menu covers Korean pork cuts and a marbled beef line, with a house soybean paste stew. Seating spreads over two floors and an outdoor tent, and walk-ins are usually fine.
What to order: Snowflake Ribeye Cap (설화꽃살), Snowflake Sirloin (설화등심), Pork Rib Belly (한돈 갈비삼겹)
- Hours
- Mon–Thu 11:30 am–midnight · Fri–Sun 11:30 am–1 am
- Booking
- Walk-ins welcome · Naver booking
- English & cards
- Foreign cards accepted
Soi Yeonnam 소이연남
The original branch of a small Thai noodle shop in Yeonnam-dong, open for more than ten years. It is no-frills and self-order, and the beef rice noodle soup is what most people come for.
What to order: Beef rice noodle soup (소고기 쌀국수), Tom yum rice noodle soup, Som tam
- Hours
- Mon–Fri 11 am–9:20 pm · Sun 11 am–9:20 pm (Sat: not listed)
- Booking
- Walk-ins welcome
- English & cards
- Foreign cards accepted
Pizzeria O (Daehangno) 핏제리아오 대학로 본점
The first branch of a Neapolitan pizza chain, on the second and third floors of a building in Hyehwa, near the Daehak-ro theaters. Pizzas come out of a wood-fired oven on slow-fermented dough, and a main runs about ₩18,500. Expect about ₩20,000 to ₩30,000 each.
What to order: Stella pizza, Margherita, Quattro Funghi
Good to know: Stairs only, no elevator.
- Price
- ₩20,000–₩30,000 per person
- Hours
- Daily 11:30 am–10 pm
- Booking
- Walk-ins welcome · Naver booking
- English & cards
- Foreign cards accepted
Maji 마지
A fully vegan restaurant cooking Buddhist temple food in an old hanok in Seochon, west of Gyeongbokgung, that cooks without garlic, green onion or the other pungent vegetables that temple cooking leaves out. Set meals are built around rice steamed in a lotus leaf, and you eat in calm rooms that look onto a yard of sauce crocks. The regular set is about ₩20,000, and an English-guided tasting costs ₩50,000 to ₩60,000.
What to order: Lotus Leaf Rice (연잎밥), Sweet & Sour Shiitake (표고탕수), Gujeolpan (구절판)
Good to know: Book a few days ahead.
- Hours
- Wed–Fri 11:30 am–8 pm · Sun 11:30 am–3 pm (Mon, Tue, Sat: not listed)
- English & cards
- Foreign cards accepted
Lawry's The Prime Rib (Seoul) 로리스 더 프라임 립 서울
A Seoul outpost of the prime rib house from Beverly Hills, up on the third floor of a Seocho office tower. Slow-roasted beef is carved at your table from a silver cart, with creamed spinach, Yorkshire pudding and a salad bar. Expect ₩40,000 to ₩140,000 each.
What to order: Prime rib (roast beef), Lawry cut / bowl cut prime rib, Spinning bowl salad
Good to know: The salad bar is not sold on its own. Weekend lunch runs ₩59,000 to ₩62,000.
- Hours
- Daily 11:30 am–10 pm
- Booking
- Takes reservations · Naver booking
- English & cards
- Foreign cards accepted
Mishmash 미쉬매쉬 mishmash
A modern Korean restaurant in a hanok on Changdeokgung-gil, run by Danish-Korean chef Minzi Kim Wind after a move from Itaewon. The cooking mixes Korean and European ideas, from galbi cooked sous vide for 24 hours to garlic rice from a gamasot pot and open-faced smorrebrod.
What to order: 24-hour sous vide beef short rib (galbi), Garlic gamasot rice, Chocolate cappuccino dessert
Good to know: Tables are hard to get. Book well ahead.
- Hours
- Tue–Sat 11 am–10 pm · Sun 11 am–3 pm (Mon: not listed)
- Booking
- Reservation needed
- English & cards
- Foreign cards accepted
Alpedo Kebab (Itaewon) 알페도케밥
A Turkish kebab shop opposite the Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon, where you order at a kiosk and can watch bread dough being stretched in the open kitchen. The kebabs are halal, doner, Adana or lamb, in bread or a wrap, and there is pide and lahmacun too. Its listed hours run 24 hours a day, every day.
What to order: Doner kebab, Adana kebab, Lamb kebab
- Hours
- Open 24 hours, every day
- Booking
- Takes reservations · Walk-ins welcome
- English & cards
- Foreign cards accepted
How we picked these
Every restaurant here has a report in our data that a foreign card worked. From those, we picked a spread of food, prices and neighborhoods, from a market soup counter to a prime rib house. Payment setups can change, so keep a backup card or some cash anyway.
Questions
What if my card is declined?
Try another card. An overseas card usually goes through, but not always, so it helps to carry a second card or some cash.
Do I need cash at all?
Some small owner-run places prefer cash, and online prepayment or Naver Pay may need a Korean card. A modest amount of cash covers those cases.
Is there a place here open all night?
Alpedo Kebab on Itaewon-ro lists 24-hour hours every day, and foreign cards work there.
Sources
- SeoulSearch place data (as of 2026-09-29)
- SeoulSearch guide: Paying: foreign cards, cash and the small places