## Restaurants do not all work the same way Korean dining can feel extremely easy at one restaurant and surprisingly procedural at the next. Some places accept walk-ins, some require reservations, and popular restaurants may use remote or on-site waitlists. ## Reservations and waitlists VISITKOREA’s 2026 Catchtable Global guide says many popular restaurants are difficult to visit without booking or joining a queue. Catchtable Global allows international visitors to sign up without a Korean phone number and supports overseas-issued cards for reservation deposits. It also supports remote waitlists at participating restaurants. Do not assume every restaurant on the platform accepts reservations. Some only offer on-site waiting, and the app shows the available method for each restaurant. ## Break time matters Many restaurants publish a lunch service, a break time and a dinner service rather than staying open continuously. The exact break time differs by restaurant. Check the current listing or official page before crossing the city for a specific place. A restaurant listed as ‘open 11:30–21:00’ on an old blog may still have a mid-afternoon break or last-order cutoff. ## At the table VISITKOREA’s general Korean food guide notes several common patterns: - Tipping is generally not required or expected. - Water and basic side dishes are often free; some restaurants make them self-service. - A call bell may be installed at the table to request staff. - Spoons, chopsticks and napkins may be stored in a drawer or container at the table. - Kiosk ordering is increasingly common. These are common patterns, not guarantees for every restaurant. ## Paying Most ordinary restaurants accept cards, but a foreign-issued card may occasionally fail. Keep a backup payment method. If a reservation required a deposit, check whether it is applied to the bill, refunded after dining, or governed by a separate cancellation policy. ## If you have dietary restrictions Do not rely only on a dish name. Korean dishes can include fish sauce, anchovy stock, shellfish, meat broth or other ingredients that are not visually obvious. For serious allergies, prepare the exact restriction in Korean and confirm with staff; if staff cannot confidently verify ingredients, choose another dish or restaurant. ## A practical restaurant routine 1. Check opening hours and break time. 2. See whether the restaurant is walk-in, reservation or waitlist based. 3. If using Catchtable Global, check whether it is a reservation, remote waitlist or on-site waitlist. 4. Read cancellation/deposit conditions before confirming. 5. Arrive before your queue or reservation is released. 6. Keep a second payment option. ## Do not confuse popularity with reliability A long queue does not prove quality, and a highly ranked restaurant can still change hours, menus or reservation rules. Use live operational information first, then decide whether the meal is worth the effort.