When Culinary Class Wars: Season 2 dropped on Netflix in December 2025, it didn’t just top the platform’s global non-English chart with 5.5 million views in its first week β it set off a restaurant-booking frenzy across Seoul that’s still going five months later. Reservation searches for some contestants’ restaurants jumped 300% to 1,300% almost overnight, Naver Maps rushed out a dedicated “find the chef’s restaurant” list, and on January 16, 2026, Netflix confirmed a Season 3 with an entirely new restaurant-vs-restaurant format β proof this isn’t a one-off news cycle.
The catch: a few of the most-searched names from the show don’t actually have a restaurant open right now, including, somewhat ironically, the winner. Here’s a clear-eyed guide to who you can actually book a table with, who you can’t yet, and how to navigate Seoul’s most competitive reservation calendar of the year.
The Winner You (Currently) Can’t Eat At: Choi Kang-rok
Choi Kang-rok (μ΅κ°λ‘) β known for his catchphrase “Jorimping” (μ‘°λ¦Όν, his braising obsession) β won Season 2 by unanimous judge decision in the January 13, 2026 finale, taking home the β©300 million ($220,000+) grand prize and beating runner-up Lee Ha-sung in the final round. He previously ran Neo (λ€μ€), an omakase-style drinking-food restaurant in Samjeon-dong, Songpa-gu, with a single β©77,000 set menu β but he closed it before the show aired and currently has no restaurant in operation. He’s said he’s considering a noodle shop down the line, but nothing is open yet.
Bottom line: there is, as of now, no restaurant where you can eat Season 2-champion cooking from Choi Kang-rok himself. Watch his social media if a noodle shop materializes β given the show’s pull, it will book out instantly.
The Runner-Up Is Opening in New York, Not Seoul
Lee Ha-sung (μ΄νμ±), who competed under the nickname “Cooking Monster” (μ리괴물) and trained as a sous chef at the Michelin three-starred French Laundry, finished second. He also has no restaurant currently running in Korea β instead, he’s opening Oyatte, named for an old form of his surname Lee (μ΄/ζ, historically “Oyat”), in Murray Hill, Manhattan, in spring 2026. If you’re chasing Cooking Monster’s cooking, the closest table right now is in New York, not Seoul.
The Restaurant That’s Actually Hardest to Book: Son Jong-won’s Two Spots
If one name from the show is dominating Seoul’s reservation apps, it’s Son Jong-won (μμ’ μ) β already familiar to Korean audiences from JTBC’s Please Take Care of My Fridge before he even appeared on Season 2. His two restaurants took the #1 and #2 spots in reservation-app search rankings after the show aired, with one of them posting a notice apologizing for delayed phone lines due to call volume.
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Name | Eatanic Garden (μ΄νλκ°λ ) |
| Cuisine | Korean fine dining, Michelin 1-star |
| Address | 36F, Josun Palace Hotel, 231 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (Centerfield Tower) |
| Price | Dinner course around β©320,000β370,000 per person, plus β©100,000 room charge; 6-glass wine pairing β©210,000 |
| Hours | Dinner 18:00β22:00 |
| Booking | Via Catchtable or the hotel directly β book as far out as the app allows |
| Nearest subway | Seolleung Station (Line 2 / Bundang Line) |
His second restaurant, L’Amant Secret (λΌλ§ μν¬λ ), is a French fine-dining room near Hoehyeon Station, and is bookable through the same channels β though it’s been running just as full since the show aired.
Korea’s Rare Accessible Michelin 2-Star: Lee Joon’s Swanee
Lee Joon (μ΄μ€) is one of only nine chefs in Korea holding a Michelin 2-star rating, and he competed on Season 2 alongside Son Jong-won and Buddhist temple-cuisine master Seon-jae. His restaurant, SoignΓ© (μ€μλμ), is in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu and represents the highest tier of dining credibility on the show’s cast list β book well ahead, as Michelin-tier demand was already steep before the show added a second wave of interest.
The Monthly Reservation Drop: Yoon Ju-dang in Haebangchon
Yoon Na-ra, who competed as “Yoon Ju-mo, the alcohol brewer” (μ λΉλ μ€μ£Όλͺ¨) and made it to the Top 5, runs Yoon Ju-dang (μ€μ£ΌλΉ), a traditional Korean alcohol-pairing restaurant in Haebangchon. It closed for a stretch after filming wrapped and reopened in April 2026 to enormous demand β bookings are released once a month, at 7:00 PM on the 15th, via Catchtable, for the following month’s dates. If you’re planning a Seoul trip around this restaurant, mark that date on your calendar; tables for popular slots disappear within minutes.
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Name | Yoon Ju-dang (μ€μ£ΌλΉ) |
| Cuisine | Traditional Korean dining with house-brewed alcohol pairings |
| Neighbourhood | Haebangchon, Yongsan-gu, Seoul |
| Booking window | Opens monthly at 7:00 PM KST on the 15th, via Catchtable, for next month’s dates |
| Good to know | 100% reservation-only β no walk-ins |
Coming Soon: Im Seong-geun’s 500-Pyeong Restaurant in Paju
Im Seong-geun (“Im-jjang,” μ짱) doesn’t have a restaurant open yet either, but his is worth watching: he’s been quietly developing an roughly 500-pyeong (about 1,650 mΒ²) restaurant near Mt. Simhak in Paju, a project reportedly 18 months in the works with his agency, JD Korea International. He’s publicly warned fans about impersonator accounts claiming to take reservations on his behalf β a sign of how much pent-up demand is already circling a restaurant that hasn’t even opened.
Other Names Worth Knowing
- Raymond Kim (λ μ΄λ¨Όν΄) runs a steak restaurant, Cereal Gourmet 2.0 (μ리μΌκ³ λ©2.0), in Dongtan, south of Seoul β a worthwhile detour if you’re road-tripping rather than staying central.
- Naver Map released a dedicated saved list of roughly 30 chefs’ restaurants tied to the show shortly before it premiered, and expanded it after the finale β search “νλ°±μ리쬔 (Culinary Class Wars) inside Naver Map if you want the full, continuously updated set rather than relying on any single article.
- Season 1 alumni including Choi Hyun-seok, Yeo Kyung-rae, Lim Tae-hun, and Park Eun-young also published their own personal “secret restaurant” recommendation lists exclusively on Naver Map β a useful detour if the Season 2 cast’s books are all full.
Why This Keeps Trending Five Months Later
A few things are keeping the story alive well past its December premiere:
The booking math is brutal and ongoing. Reservation surges of 300β1,300% don’t clear in a week β they create a backlog that keeps building as word spreads internationally, especially once the show became available with subtitles in dozens of languages.
The winner’s restaurant gap is its own story. A champion with no restaurant, and a runner-up opening abroad instead of in Korea, is the kind of twist that keeps generating fresh headlines and social posts independent of the original broadcast.
Season 3 confirms this isn’t fading. Netflix’s January 16, 2026 announcement of a third season β switching to a restaurant-vs-restaurant team format, with four-person teams representing a single establishment β signals the franchise, and the tourism interest around it, is being built for the long haul rather than treated as a one-off hit.
Naver and Netflix are actively feeding the trend. The official map integration means new visitors keep discovering the restaurant list well after the finale aired, rather than the interest dying down once the show left the weekly charts.
Practical Tips for Visiting
- Book everything through Catchtable. It’s the dominant reservation platform for every restaurant mentioned here, and most require advance booking β walk-ins are unlikely to work at any of these spots right now.
- Set calendar reminders for monthly release windows. Yoon Ju-dang’s 15th-of-the-month, 7 PM drop is the clearest example, but several other cast restaurants use similar monthly or rolling release schedules β check each restaurant’s Catchtable page for its specific pattern before you fly in.
- Don’t build a whole trip around Choi Kang-rok or Lee Ha-sung yet. Neither has an open restaurant in Korea as of mid-2026 β check their social accounts before assuming otherwise.
- Use Naver Map’s saved list for anything that’s changed since this guide was written. Search “νλ°±μ리쬔 inside the app for the most current, continuously updated set of participating restaurants.
- Consider a Dongtan or Paju detour if central Seoul reservations are fully booked β Raymond Kim’s steakhouse and Im Seong-geun’s upcoming Paju restaurant both sit outside the main tourist core and may be easier to plan around.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Culinary Class Wars Season 2? It’s the second season of Netflix’s Korean competitive cooking show, pitting 20 “white spoon” professional chefs against 80 “black spoon” outsider cooks. It premiered December 16, 2025, debuted at #1 on Netflix’s global non-English chart, and concluded January 13, 2026.
Who won Culinary Class Wars Season 2? Choi Kang-rok won by unanimous judge decision, beating runner-up Lee Ha-sung (“Cooking Monster”) in the final. Choi does not currently operate a restaurant in Korea.
Which Culinary Class Wars Season 2 restaurant is easiest to book? None are easy right now, but Son Jong-won’s Eatanic Garden and L’Amant Secret, and Lee Joon’s SoignΓ©, are at least open and bookable via Catchtable β expect to book well in advance.
Is there a Culinary Class Wars Season 3? Yes. Netflix confirmed Season 3 on January 16, 2026, with a new format pitting four-person teams representing individual restaurants against each other, rather than individual chefs competing solo.
How do I find all the cast’s restaurants in one place? Search “νλ°±μ리쬔 (the Korean title) inside the Naver Map app, which maintains an official, continuously updated saved list of restaurants tied to both seasons of the show.
Want more of Seoul’s most in-demand dining right now? See our guides to Korea’s 2026 Michelin Bib Gourmand newcomers and Seoul’s Black Pearl-rated restaurants, or check out where Jensen Huang ate in Seoul for another currently viral dining trail.
