KOREAN FOOD GUIDE
Korean BBQ is a shared meal built around grilled meat, leafy wraps, sauces, rice, and side dishes prepared at the table.
FOOD CATEGORYFIND A TABLE
Current restaurant guides connected to this food. Open a guide for practical visit details and the full signature menu.
01 LOCAL TABLEA Korean BBQ restaurant in the heart of Myeongdong, known for charcoal-grilled beef, premium Hanwoo, and signature marinated galbi. With set meals and a variety of grilled meat options, it is an accessible choice for travelers looking to experience Korean BBQ in Seoul.
View restaurant
02 LOCAL TABLEA lively Korean BBQ restaurant near Sinnonhyeon Station, known for its generous pork platters of samgyeopsal, pork neck and pork skin. The meat is grilled before being served, making it an easy choice for visitors who are new to Korean BBQ. With a large dining space, private rooms and late-night hours, it is also popular for groups and casual gatherings.
View restaurant03 LOCAL TABLEA lively Korean charcoal BBQ restaurant near Gangnam Station, known for thick-cut aged pork, generous meat sets, and an impressive selection of Korean side dishes. The restaurant grills the meat for you, making it an easy and comfortable introduction to Korean BBQ. Its large tables, group-friendly layout and private seating also make it popular for company dinners and gatherings.
View restaurant04 LOCAL TABLEYuk Tongryeong is a Korean BBQ restaurant in central Myeongdong specializing in aged black pork, with its most recognizable dishes built around thick-cut ogyeopsal and samgyeopsal. The restaurant ages its black pork for around 15 days and grills it over charcoal, giving the meat a combination of rich pork flavor, crisp exterior, and a substantial, chewy texture. Its signature 15-day aged black pork ogyeopsal is currently one of the restaurant's main menu items, while moksal, samgyeopsal, and handmade galbi provide easier alternatives for groups with different preferences. The restaurant is particularly convenient for travelers because the staff grill the meat for you, making the experience much less intimidating for visitors who have never used a Korean BBQ table grill. The location is only a short walk from Myeongdong Station and the restaurant is accustomed to international visitors, with foreign-language menus available according to restaurant information. This makes it a practical introduction to Korean BBQ when you want the classic combination of charcoal-grilled pork, side dishes, dipping sauces, and a busy Korean dining atmosphere.
View restaurant05 LOCAL TABLEYeonnam Mulgalbi Hongdae Main Branch specializes in mulgalbi, a Korean beef dish served in a spicy broth rather than as a dry grilled barbecue. Thinly sliced beef is placed over vegetables and ribs in a large pot, then cooked at the table much like a Korean-style hot pot or shabu-shabu. The restaurant offers three levels of spiciness, with Level 1 described as roughly similar to Shin Ramyun and Level 2 closer to Buldak-style heat. The signature Yeonnam Mulgalbi starts at ₩42,000 for a sharing portion, with larger sizes available for groups. Gopchang Mulgalbi starts at ₩50,000 and combines beef, ribs and intestines in the spicy broth. The restaurant also serves Yeonnam Bulgogi, grilled beef dishes and side dishes such as yukjeon. Since the main dishes are designed for two or more people to share, the listed dish price should not be interpreted as a per-person cost.
View restaurant06 LOCAL TABLEYukmong is a Korean BBQ restaurant near Hongdae Entrance Station specializing in aged pork, while also offering a selection of beef. Its main pork dishes include thick-cut galbi samgyeopsal, snowflake pork neck, and pork skirt steak. The meat is prepared with an aging process and is generally grilled by staff, making it relatively easy for visitors who are unfamiliar with Korean BBQ. The restaurant occupies three floors and has both indoor seating and terrace-style areas that can feel like a casual Korean yajang (outdoor dining) experience. Prices are above those of a typical neighborhood pork BBQ restaurant, but individual pork cuts remain within a mid-range restaurant budget. The Han-don meat platter is designed for sharing and combines several pork cuts in one order.
View restaurant07 LOCAL TABLEJeju Special House is a Korean BBQ restaurant specializing in aged Jeju pork. The restaurant says its pork is aged for more than 240 hours before being grilled over charcoal. Its signature Jeju Special Set (500g) combines several cuts, including pork jowl, neck-side meat, pork cheek, pork belly and other specialty cuts, making it a convenient way to compare different textures in one meal. The restaurant is located about an 8-minute walk from Hongik University Station and stays open until 3 a.m., making it particularly suitable for late-night meals around Hongdae. Staff grill the meat for guests, and the menu is available in Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese. The restaurant has no dedicated parking, so public transportation is the practical choice.
View restaurant
08 LOCAL TABLEDoma Hongdae is a long-running Korean BBQ restaurant near Hongdae known for its Jeju Black Pork Charcoal Bulgogi Set for Lunch. The lunch set features thinly sliced Jeju black pork grilled over charcoal, served with rice, soup, and Korean side dishes. The charcoal grilling gives the pork a smoky flavor, while the set-style meal makes it an easy option for visitors who want to experience a traditional Korean grilled-meat lunch without ordering a large BBQ platter. In the evening, Doma shifts toward a more typical Korean BBQ experience, with charcoal-grilled beef cuts and combination platters such as Doma Combo A and B. This makes the restaurant somewhat different depending on the time of day: the lunch menu is a relatively straightforward and affordable set meal, while dinner is more suited to sharing several grilled meat cuts. The restaurant is within walking distance of Hongik University Station and provides menus in English, Japanese, and Chinese.
View restaurant09 LOCAL TABLEGitteul is a Korean barbecue restaurant between Hongdae and Hapjeong that focuses on high-quality pork from Icheon. Its main order is the Icheon Pork Assortment, combining pork belly and pork neck, while smaller portions and special cuts such as Gitteul-sal are also available. The restaurant's defining feature is its grilling service: staff pre-grill and finish the meat for diners, making it easier to enjoy the meat without constantly managing the grill yourself. The restaurant sits slightly away from Hongdae's busiest streets and has a more polished atmosphere than a typical neighborhood samgyeopsal restaurant. Recent visitor posts repeatedly mention the quality of the pork, carefully prepared side dishes, and the staff's grilling technique. It is not a budget barbecue option—the 500g assortment is ₩56,000—but the portion is designed for sharing, so the price becomes more moderate when split between two people.
View restaurant
10 LOCAL TABLEShin Mi-kyung Hongdae Dakgalbi is a long-running dakgalbi restaurant near Hongik University, known for its large cast-iron grill and spicy stir-fried chicken served with vegetables, rice cakes and other toppings. The restaurant's best-known option is the Cheese Fondue Dakgalbi, combining the spicy chicken with both mozzarella and cheddar cheese. A regular Vegetable Dakgalbi is also available for diners who want the more traditional version without cheese. The restaurant says it has been serving dakgalbi in Hongdae since 1996. The meal is designed more as a shared Korean table experience than a simple individual dish. Recent visitors frequently add noodles or other toppings and finish with fried rice after eating the chicken. Prices are relatively accessible for Hongdae, at around ₩14,000 per person for Vegetable Dakgalbi and ₩16,000 for the cheese version. The restaurant is particularly familiar with international visitors, with recent reviews repeatedly mentioning foreign customers.
View restaurant11 LOCAL TABLEWoori Dakgalbi is a small, old-school dakgalbi restaurant just off Hongdae's main pedestrian area. Unlike newer dakgalbi restaurants that focus on cheese, elaborate toppings, or large specialty combinations, Woori keeps things simple: chicken, cabbage, rice cakes and green onions cooked on a large iron griddle. The basic Dakgalbi is currently ₩12,000 per serving, with noodles, cheese and other toppings available as inexpensive additions. The restaurant's appeal is its straightforward, neighborhood-style character and low price rather than presentation. Recent reviews repeatedly describe the seasoning as relatively mild and balanced rather than aggressively spicy, while udon noodles and fried rice are frequently added to the meal. The compact dining room and long-running local reputation give it a noticeably different feel from the larger, more tourist-oriented restaurants around Hongdae.
View restaurant12 LOCAL TABLEHongdae Mulgalbi is a Korean-style beef hot pot built around short ribs and thinly sliced beef simmered in a spicy broth with vegetables. The restaurant describes its signature dish as a combination of beef short ribs, shabu-style beef neck, water parsley and bean sprouts cooked together in a special spicy broth. The result is somewhere between Korean barbecue, bulgogi and a hot pot: the meat and vegetables are cooked directly at the table and eaten with the broth. The signature starts at ₩16,000 per person and requires at least two servings. The restaurant also offers a Rose Mulgalbi version and a milder beef bulgogi cooked with vegetables in a bonito-based broth. Recent visitor content describes the signature mulgalbi as spicy, savory and fairly concentrated, making it particularly suitable as a shared meal with drinks. The restaurant is on Hongik-ro, close to the main Hongdae area, and is also used for lunch as well as dinner.
View restaurant13 LOCAL TABLEWoojujip is a Korean barbecue restaurant near Hongik University Station specializing in beef cuts, with Toshi Jumulleok as its most distinctive menu. The dish uses skirt steak marinated in a lightly sweet and savory sauce, while unseasoned skirt steak and fresh beef short rib are also available. Current menu information lists Toshi Jumulleok at ₩26,000 for 170g, skirt steak at ₩25,000 for 150g, and fresh short rib at ₩22,000 for 150g. One of the restaurant's notable features is that the staff grill the meat for diners. Recent visitors also repeatedly mention the range of dipping salts and sauces, including a savory dried-pollack salt that works particularly well with the beef. This makes Woojujip less about large combination platters and more about trying a few individual cuts with different seasonings.
View restaurant
14 LOCAL TABLEGangsu Gobchang is a long-running Hongdae-style Korean offal restaurant specializing in grilled beef intestines and other beef cuts. Its menu includes assorted gopchang with gopchang, makchang, daechang and yeomtong, as well as individual cuts such as al gopchang, Hanwoo daechang and special yang. The current menu lists the small assorted platter at ₩38,000 for about two servings, making it a relatively accessible way to try several cuts together. The restaurant sits slightly away from the busiest Hongdae streets and has outdoor terrace seating, giving it a casual Korean ya-jang atmosphere in good weather. Recent visitors particularly mention the clean-tasting gopchang, friendly service and terrace seating. Older and newer food posts both show that the restaurant has maintained a focus on beef offal rather than shifting toward a broader Korean barbecue menu.
View restaurant15 LOCAL TABLEDori Gopchang is a casual Hongdae–Hapjeong restaurant built around Korean-style pork gopchang dishes. Its menu goes beyond the typical vegetable gopchang found around university areas, offering vegetable gopchang with glass noodles, pork gopchang hot pot, assorted hot pot, charcoal-grilled al gopchang and makchang. The vegetable gopchang is ₩14,900 for 250g including glass noodles, while the pork gopchang hot pot starts at ₩32,000 for a medium portion. The restaurant has a noticeably cleaner and brighter interior than the old-fashioned image often associated with gopchang restaurants. Recent visitors mention clean surroundings, generous portions and a comfortable atmosphere, while the menu also includes affordable soup meals such as sundae-gukbap and pork-gukbap at ₩10,000. This makes Dori Gopchang usable not only as a drinking spot but also as a casual lunch or dinner restaurant.
View restaurant16 LOCAL TABLESeoul Forest Osam Bulgogi is a casual Korean restaurant near Seoul Forest and Ttukseom, serving straightforward Korean home-style dishes built around spicy stir-fried pork and squid. Its signature Osam Bulgogi combines squid and pork with vegetables in a savory, slightly sweet and spicy sauce, then cooks everything together on a large pan. The restaurant also serves simple lunch dishes such as spicy stir-fried squid, pork bulgogi and budae-jjigae. This is more of a practical neighborhood lunch restaurant than a destination dining spot. The dining room is relatively small and is particularly busy around lunchtime, when nearby office workers make up a large part of the crowd. The signature dish is reasonably priced, portions are reported to be generous, and recent visitors frequently mention the combination of tender squid, pork, a smoky aroma and rice as the main appeal.
View restaurant17 LOCAL TABLEGyejaram Seongsu Main is a Korean restaurant specializing in Chuncheon-style charcoal-grilled dakgalbi, a style of chicken barbecue that is different from the more familiar pan-fried dakgalbi. Chicken is grilled over charcoal, giving the meat a smoky aroma while keeping the inside tender. The restaurant offers three main flavors: salt, soy sauce and spicy seasoning, making it easy to compare different styles of Korean grilled chicken in one meal. The most useful order for first-time visitors is the Three-Flavor Set (합계), which combines salt, soy and spicy dakgalbi for ₩42,000. Individual portions are ₩14,000 for salt and ₩15,000 for soy or spicy. The restaurant also offers chicken neck, gizzard and chicken feet, along with side dishes such as cheese potato pancake, makguksu, bibim noodles and doenjang noodles.
View restaurant18 LOCAL TABLEChuncheon Dakgalbi is a casual Korean restaurant between Ttukseom and Seoul Forest, serving the familiar Korean-style stir-fried chicken dish known as dakgalbi. Chicken is cooked together with vegetables and a spicy red sauce on a large tabletop pan, creating a hearty meal that is typically shared around the table. One of the most useful options for visitors is the lunch special combining dakgalbi and fried rice for ₩11,000. The regular dakgalbi is ₩13,000. The restaurant also serves other familiar Korean dishes such as pork bulgogi, spicy stir-fried squid, vegetable gopchang and makguksu.
View restaurant19 LOCAL TABLESeokam Saeng Sogeumgui Seongsu is a Korean BBQ restaurant near Seongsu Station, specializing in fresh pork grilled simply with salt on a large stone grill. The restaurant's name literally refers to its salt-grilled meat, and the stone plate is a distinctive part of the experience. Popular orders include the assorted pork platter, which combines samgyeopsal, cheongyeop and deungsim-deotsal, allowing diners to compare several pork cuts in one meal. The restaurant is spacious enough for groups and is particularly suited to a Korean BBQ meal with friends or coworkers. Along with the meat, the table comes with accompaniments such as kimchi, green-onion salad, wasabi and other side dishes. A particularly Korean way to finish the meal is with stone-plate Jjapagetti, while cheese and egg additions are also available according to recent visitor reports.
View restaurant20 LOCAL TABLEIlmirak Seongsu is a Korean BBQ restaurant near Ttukseom Station, known for pork aged with salt-koji (rice koji) before being grilled. Rather than focusing only on standard samgyeopsal, the restaurant's signature is its fermented pork: Salt-Koji Fermented Gabrisal and Salt-Koji Fermented Pork Collar. The aging process is intended to give the pork a tender texture and deeper savory flavor, while the restaurant also uses direct grilling to add a smoky aroma. For visitors who want a more familiar Korean BBQ experience, thick-cut pork belly and pork collar are also available. The menu goes beyond meat with flame-grilled pork ribs, gochujang pork, spicy squid, deodeok and several Korean-style finishing dishes. This makes Ilmirak suitable both for a focused pork BBQ meal and for a longer shared dinner with several dishes.
View restaurant21 LOCAL TABLEJamsugyojip Seongsu is a Korean pork barbecue restaurant near Seongsu Station, known for geupraeng samgyeopsal, or thinly sliced frozen pork belly. The meat is quickly frozen and grilled at the table, giving the meal a different texture and cooking experience from the thick-cut samgyeopsal commonly found at Korean BBQ restaurants. Fresh pork belly and beef brisket are also available, but the frozen pork belly is the main reason people come here. The meal is built around more than just the meat. A large selection of vegetables, kimchi, green onion salad, garlic, peppers, sauces and other side dishes is served with the barbecue, and diners commonly add soybean paste stew or fried rice at the end. It is a lively, casual restaurant rather than a quiet dining room, and waiting can be common during busy periods. The late closing time also makes it an option for a late-night Korean BBQ meal in Seongsu.
View restaurant
22 LOCAL TABLESujeongsikdang is a small Korean restaurant in Jongno 3-ga known for jeyuk ssambap — spicy stir-fried pork served with fresh leafy vegetables, rice and Korean side dishes. It is a straightforward, everyday Korean meal rather than a formal restaurant experience. The lunch menu is particularly simple: the jeyuk ssambap is served as a complete set with rice, vegetables and banchan, making it easy for visitors who want to try a typical Korean home-style meal without having to figure out a complicated menu. The restaurant is in the older Jongno 3-ga area near Tapgol Park, and its customer base includes nearby office workers as well as long-time local diners. Reviews and visitor content repeatedly mention the generous leafy vegetables, tasty side dishes and fast table setting. A 2024 visit featured a two-person jeyuk ssambap order at ₩10,000 per person, with rice and side dishes available for refills.
View restaurant
23 LOCAL TABLESonjung Bossam Jongno is a Korean restaurant specializing in gaburi bossam, a style of boiled pork made with the tender gaburi cut and served with kimchi, vegetables and other Korean side dishes. The restaurant also has a broader menu that includes spicy al goni kalguksu, seafood kalguksu, jeyuk bulgogi and several shared dishes, so it works both as a simple Korean lunch and as a group meal. The restaurant is located in the Jonggak area, about a five-minute walk from Jonggak Station. Its menu is particularly useful for visitors who want to try bossam without ordering an elaborate Korean banquet. The ₩12,000 gaburi bossam set is a relatively accessible single-person option, while the larger gaburi kimchi bossam is designed for sharing.
View restaurant24 LOCAL TABLEMyeongdong Seoseo Galbi is a Korean BBQ restaurant famous for its unusual standing-dining format. Instead of sitting at a conventional restaurant table, diners stand around large drum-style charcoal grills while cooking marinated beef short ribs. The menu is deliberately simple, with marinated beef ribs as the main dish rather than a long list of different meats. The ribs are served with a sweet-savory marinade and grilled over charcoal, giving the meat a strong smoky flavor. Rice, packaged kimchi and drinks are available separately, and the restaurant operates more like a quick, casual Korean BBQ stop than a leisurely full-service meal. Its location in central Myeongdong also makes it easy to combine with sightseeing.
View restaurantPLAN THE MEAL
Browse the areas and cities where this food is currently represented in the guide.
