Date-night Korean BBQ in Osong with a coat closet: Pork by Man's Grill

Osong BBQ my girlfriend swore by: Pork by Man's Grill

Pork by Man's Grill is an aged-meat BBQ place near Osong Station, and my girlfriend had been telling me for ages how good it is, so I really wanted to go. Here's my honest story of finally making it. 😊

Where is Pork by Man's Grill, and where do you park?

Pork by Man's Grill is a 1-minute walk from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety campus in Osong, Osong Lake Park and the Osong Daiso, and very close to Osong Station, the Osong 2nd industrial complex, Osong Lotte Cinema and the Osong exhibition hall, so access is great. It's on the 2nd floor of a building, and the signboard in front of the building is easy to spot.

• Parking: Park in the nearby alleys, or at Osong Lake Park just 1 minute away, and enjoy a short walk over.
• After the meal: There's a Starbucks within a 2-minute walk, so moving from BBQ to a dessert café is perfectly smooth!
• Good to know: There doesn't seem to be an elevator up to the 2nd floor, so please use the stairs.

Worried your coat will smell like meat? The entrance closet

At the entrance of Pork by Man's Grill there's a big closet with plenty of hangers, so you can hang your coat before going in. Going up the stairs, a framed "Pork Man's Grill" sign greets you, and on the way I also saw a poster explaining the pre-seared meat and a very tempting kimchi poster.

What stood out most was the owner's thoughtfulness before you even step inside! If you hate your coat picking up BBQ smell, just hang it in the closet and go in comfortably. 👍

A smoke-free, smell-free dining room and group rooms for up to 20

Even though it's a BBQ restaurant, there was no smoke or smell hanging in the air when I walked in, which surprised me. The layout has a terrace, and with the nice weather lately they had the windows wide open, so the air kept circulating and there was no room for smell to linger. (Apparently it's a large 70-pyeong space with air-conditioning capacity for 300 pyeong, so it stays very comfortable even in midsummer!)

There are also private rooms for company dinners and group gatherings. An 8-person room and a 12-person room together can take up to 20 people, so I highly recommend it as an Osong spot for group dinners!

What about the side dishes and the Korean-grown kimchi?

The basic setup at Pork by Man's Grill is spring onion salad (pajeori), lettuce, three sauces (salt, wasabi, ssamjang), and acorn jelly salad (dotori-muk), and I was happy to see garlic stems (maneuljjong), which is unusual. There's also a doenjang stew (soybean paste stew) loaded with tofu, and it wasn't salty, so it was nice and mild.

They say they use top-grade Korean-grown kimchi made to their own recipe, and grilled golden in the pork fat it was just the best. ㅠㅠ The kimchi was so good I kept reaching for it!

17-day aged meat, cast-iron seared and grilled for you?

Pork by Man's Grill uses meat that goes through 15 days of regular aging and 2 days of drying, 17 days in total! It's also pre-seared in a premium Lodge cast-iron pan, so the outside is crisp and the juices are locked inside.

The biggest selling point is the grill-for-you service. You order signature items like aged pork belly, aged pork neck and aged pork jowl on the table tablet, and the pre-seared meat comes out; then a staff member grills it once more and even cuts it into bite-size pieces! I loved being able to sit back and focus on chatting with my companion.

[Must] The ₩100 review event steamed egg

At Pork by Man's Grill, a review event lets you get the steamed egg (gyeran-jjim), normally worth ₩7,000–8,000, for just ₩100. If you come here, please do join the ₩100 review event! The portion is huge, so big that the steamed egg alone could fill you up. The texture is soft too, so I really recommend it. (They say steamed egg with cold radish noodles as a side combo is popular too!)

Best ways to eat the aged meat

I tried the well-grilled aged meat in several combinations to taste: salt, spring onion salad with wasabi, grilled kimchi and more. First I wanted the true flavor of the meat, so I dipped it lightly in salt, and maybe because it's 17-day aged pork, the rich juices and nutty flavor came through and it was really delicious.

Now and then I added a little spring onion salad and wasabi on top, and the sharp kick and crunch made it clean and never tiring. Then I wrapped the meat with that nicely grilled Korean kimchi I'd spotted earlier, and with the deep flavor of kimchi soaked in meat fat, it was a winning combo that couldn't possibly taste bad.

And of course, a big generous wrap with fresh lettuce, garlic stems and the side dishes piled on however you like was a satisfying bite I couldn't skip!

Verdict: a date or group dinner spot near Osong Station?

I finally made it to Pork by Man's Grill in Osong on my girlfriend's recommendation! The deep flavor of aged meat, the taste of cast-iron searing, the convenience of having it grilled for you, the comfortable dining room and the owner's thoughtfulness: everything was perfect at this Osong BBQ restaurant. If you're looking for a date or group dinner spot near Osong Station, definitely drop by!

Pork by Man's Grill info

• Address: 166 Osongsaengmyeong-ro, Osong-eup, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju, Chungbuk, South Korea (2nd floor)
• Hours: Mon–Sat 17:30–22:30 (last order 22:00)
• Closed: Every Sunday