A First-Time Visitor’s Guide to Korean Banchan: Free Side Dishes, Refills, and What to Expect
1. When small dishes you did not order appear
When you sit down at a Korean restaurant, the first thing you notice may not be the dish you ordered.
It may be the small plates that arrive on the table.
You chose one item from the menu, but a few moments later, small dishes begin to appear. There may be kimchi, seasoned bean sprouts, spinach namul, stir-fried anchovies, or a few other side dishes. Some restaurants bring out only two or three. Others place several small plates on one side of the table.
The server usually puts them down and walks away without much explanation.
If it is your first time, a few questions may come to mind.
“Did I order this?”
“Am I allowed to eat it?”
“Will I be charged extra later?”
Those are fair questions. Food you did not order has suddenly appeared on the table, so of course you want to know what is going on.
In a typical casual Korean restaurant, these small dishes are not separate orders. They are banchan, small side dishes served with the meal.
This guide is not about memorizing every Korean side dish name. It is here to help you feel less unsure when banchan appears at the table: what you can eat, whether you can ask for more, and whether it is okay to leave some behind.
2. Banchan is eaten with rice
The small dishes you see in Korean restaurants are called banchan.
In English, banchan is often translated as side dishes, but that does not fully explain how people eat them.
Banchan is not something you need to finish one plate at a time. It is usually eaten little by little with rice.
You take a spoonful of rice, then a small bite of banchan. Then you go back to the rice and try another side dish. If there is soup or stew, you may take a spoonful of broth, then eat a piece of kimchi or kkakdugi on the side.
At first, the table may look busy. There are several small plates, different colors, and some foods you may not recognize.
You do not need to understand everything right away.
Just remember this simple rhythm.
One spoonful of rice
One small bite of banchan
Another spoonful of rice
That alone makes the meal much easier.
The banchan you get depends on the restaurant. Kimchi appears often, and you may also see bean sprouts, spinach namul, danmuji, kkakdugi, dried radish, or stir-fried anchovies.
3. Banchan served at the beginning is usually not charged separately
For many first-time visitors, the biggest question is the cost.
Small plates keep arriving, but there is no price for them on the menu. Later, when you pay, the names of those side dishes usually do not appear on the bill.
So it is natural to wonder.
“Can I really just eat this?”
“Will it be added to the bill later?”
In a casual Korean restaurant, banchan served at the beginning is usually not charged separately. Kimchi, kkakdugi, namul, danmuji, and similar small dishes come with the main dish you ordered.
You can think of them as plates that came with your meal.
Of course, not every restaurant works the same way. At high-end hanjeongsik restaurants or course-meal restaurants, many dishes are included in the full set price. And if something has its own name and price on the menu, it may be a separate order.
But if a server casually places small dishes on your table in an ordinary restaurant, you do not need to hesitate for long.
They are there for you to eat with your meal.
4. You can ask for more if you run out
You eat the kimchi, and soon the plate is empty. You take a few pieces of danmuji, and that plate is gone too.
At that moment, you may wonder again.
“Can I ask for more?”
“Will I bother the staff?”
If you run out, it is okay to ask for more. Small dishes that came out with the meal, such as kimchi, kkakdugi, or danmuji, can often be refilled.
The easiest phrase to remember is this.
Kimchi jom deo juseyo.
김치 좀 더 주세요.
“Can I get some more kimchi, please?”
If you do not know the name of the side dish, gently point to the empty plate and say this.
Igeo jom deo juseyo.
이거 좀 더 주세요.
“Can I get a little more of this, please?”
In some restaurants, the staff will bring it to your table. You may also see a small call button on the table. If you need more banchan or want to ask the staff something, press it once and wait for the server to come.
In other restaurants, you may need to get more banchan yourself from a self-serve banchan station. If you see containers of side dishes, tongs, small plates, and other customers walking over to get more, you can follow the same routine.
You do not need to take a lot at once. Take a little, eat it, and go back if you need more.
If something is listed separately on the menu or looks like a special side order, it may cost extra. When in doubt, ask the staff.
5. Start with the banchan that looks easiest
When several banchan dishes appear at once, you may feel like you have to try everything.
You do not.
If you are holding your chopsticks and do not know where to start, begin with something that looks less intense.
Bean sprouts and spinach namul: These are not usually spicy, and the flavor is mild. You can place a little on top of your rice or try a small bite first.
Danmuji: This is yellow pickled radish. It is sweet, crunchy, and easy to eat. You often see it with ramen, gimbap, or jajangmyeon. It also helps when your mouth feels hot after spicy food.
Kimchi: You do not have to take a big bite at first. Try a small piece on top of your rice. If the sour taste or fermented aroma feels unfamiliar, eat another spoonful of rice right after. The flavor will feel softer that way. When I eat with friends who are new to Korean food, I often tell them to start with just a little kimchi on rice, not a big bite by itself.
Stir-fried anchovies: This one may make you pause because the tiny fish are still visible. You do not have to force yourself to eat it. If you are curious, place just a tiny bit on your rice. It is salty, slightly sweet, and goes well with rice. Once, a friend of mine stopped his chopsticks in front of this dish because the shape looked unfamiliar. After trying a little with rice, he reached for that plate first later in the meal.
Roasted gim: Some people already know gim as a seaweed snack. In a Korean restaurant, it is often eaten with rice rather than as a snack by itself. Put a sheet of gim over your rice, fold it lightly with your chopsticks, and eat it together.
You do not need to like every banchan.
Just find one thing on the table that feels okay.
“Okay, I can eat this.”
Once you find that one dish, start there.
6. You do not have to finish everything
When several small plates are on the table, you may wonder:
“Do I have to finish all of this?”
No, you do not.
Eat more of what you like, and leave what does not suit your taste. People at the same table do this too. One side dish may disappear quickly, while another may stay almost untouched until the end of the meal.
If you like kimchi, eat more kimchi. If bean sprouts feel comfortable, eat more bean sprouts. If stir-fried anchovies feel too unfamiliar, you can leave them.
It is also not common to pack leftover banchan to go. Many restaurants can pack leftover main dishes, but banchan is usually eaten at the table and left there if any remains.
You may also wonder about hygiene.
“What if this was left by a previous customer?”
You do not need to assume that the banchan came from another table. Serving leftover banchan from one customer to the next is not a normal restaurant practice. In general, banchan is prepared for each table separately.
If you feel uncomfortable sharing from the same small plate, move a little to your own plate first. If kimchi or namul is in the middle of the table, take the amount you want and place it on your personal plate before eating.
That is completely fine.
7. At a self-serve banchan station, take only what you can eat
Some Korean restaurants have a self-serve banchan station where customers can get more side dishes themselves.
You will usually see containers of banchan, tongs, and small plates. If other customers are walking over with their plates to get more banchan, you can do the same.
There is no need to take a lot from the beginning.
Take a small amount, try it, and go back if you want more. Many Korean restaurants allow banchan refills, but it is better to take only what you can eat.
8. Start with one small plate
The first time you see a Korean banchan spread, the table may look a little confusing. There are many small plates, you may not know the names, and you may not know what anything tastes like yet.
It is normal to pause for a moment with your chopsticks.
You do not need to understand every banchan from the start.
Choose one plate that looks easy to try. Take a small bite and eat it with rice. If you find just one banchan you like, the meal will already feel much less unfamiliar. It is okay if there are still other dishes on the table you do not recognize.
Start with one small plate that feels comfortable.
For today, that one is enough.
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