seoul korean bbq restuaurant

Update: no longer in business.

There are many things I love about being back in Seoul. I love the food (obviously), love the people (especially the ajummas and halmonis), love the transportation (subway system is hands down the best in the world), and I love the 24-hour energy, hustle-bustle that you can only find in Seoul. But, if I had to choose one thing and one thing only, I have to go with the food, specifically Korean BBQ (aka gogijip “meat house”). Having had Korean-style BBQ plenty of times in the States (and paying a ridiculous amount of money to do so), I must admit that I’ve been spoiled rotten these last few months with an unlimited amount of Korean samgyupssal (grilled pork belly), galbi (short ribs), hanwoo (Korean beef), and bulgogi (thinly sliced beef). Throw in the plethora of healthy banchan (side dish), sangchu (lettuce greens), and maekju/soju (various Korean alcohol), then finding another reason to lengthen my stay isn’t so difficult, that is unless my sister keeps sending pics of my cute little nephew whom I miss dearly (pic below). There are so many quality BBQ restaurants in Seoul that picking one was a difficult task, but after stumbling upon a decent one in my neighborhood that matched my personal criteria for great Korean BBQ I knew a short review would be necessary. My criteria for good Korean BBQ are as follows:

fresh quality cuts of pork and beef with marination done right
a plethora of personal healthy banchan side dishes, not shared like most places
open spacing with plenty of ventilation
prompt, courteous service
regular table seating options (sitting Indian-style doesn’t work for me)

Lucky for me, most Korean BBQ joints usually got these areas covered pretty well but this restaurant stands out for the great cuts of meat. Throughout the meal, we could have sworn that we were eating kkot deungshim (marbled rib-eye), one of the most expensive cuts in Korea, but was reminded time and time again by the waitress ajumma that it was not. She herself was not very certain about the name of the cut. Anyways, we could sense her annoyance at all our questions (and my photographing everything) so we did what we do best—eat. “My favorite animal is steak.” ~ Frances Ann “Fran” Lebowitz

Here are a few other Korean BBQ restaurants (mostly franchised) that I’ve had the privilege of eating at:

Chadohl Jjip (차돌집): http://blog.naver.com/bada_saja?Redirect=Log&logNo=130180796126

Pabulkong (파불콩): http://blog.naver.com/yl2631?Redirect=Log&logNo=110186655255

HBC Gogitjib (HBC 고깃집): http://blog.naver.com/guity87?Redirect=Log&logNo=100201081596

Guiga (구이가): http://theuranus.tistory.com/1518