Booking Korean restaurants without a Korean phone number
Want a table at a popular restaurant? These are the routes that work without a Korean number.
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Catchtable Global: book without a Korean number
Catchtable Global lets you sign up with Google, LINE, Apple or email, no Korean number needed. You can pay booking deposits with a card issued outside Korea and join waitlists remotely. It only has restaurants that have signed up, though. One traveler couldn't find about half the places they wanted.
- Install Catchtable Global and sign up with Google, LINE, Apple or email.
- Search for your must-try restaurants before you fly, so you know which ones you can book there.
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Cards on Catchtable Global
Catchtable says you can pay deposits with a card issued outside Korea. We're still checking which brands go through, and whether PayPal or Alipay work.
Card brands
- Visa Being verified
- Mastercard Being verified
- Amex Being verified
- JCB Being verified
- UnionPay Being verified
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Restaurants that only take bookings by phone
Some restaurants aren't on global apps and only take bookings by phone, in Korean. Travelers suggest asking your hotel concierge, or using a paid booking service such as Creatrip.
- Make a list of restaurants you couldn't find on Catchtable Global.
- Ask your hotel if they can call for you.
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Food delivery: Baemin and Coupang Eats
A news report says Baemin, Korea's big delivery app, lets visitors order without an account, using an SMS code sent to a foreign number. It says the app supports several languages and overseas payment methods. Which payment methods work is being verified.
- A news report says Coupang Eats has English menus and has taken foreign cards such as Visa and Mastercard since late July 2025. Whether you need a Korean number to sign up is being verified.