Gijang Korean BBQ, breadcrumb sauce dip 15 years on: The Barbecue 051

The Barbecue 051 in Gijang, Busan, is a barbecue place with a great open-air, street-pub vibe.

Where to eat after shopping at IKEA Dongbusan?

After shopping at IKEA Dongbusan, we went to The Barbecue 051, a barbecue restaurant near Osiria, for dinner. We'd been to IKEA the week before, and maybe because of the sale it was packed, with every cart piled high. Once we were done, we wondered where to eat and ended up at The Barbecue 051 near Osiria.

The Barbecue 051 is at 62 Gijanghaean-ro, Gijang-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan. It has a parking lot and is open from 12:00 to 24:00.

The old Nokseun Deureumtong spot, 15 years later: what changed?

About 15 years ago, a barbecue place called Nokseun Deureumtong ("Rusty Drum") stood where The Barbecue 051 is now. I remember making a special trip to eat there a few times.

Coming back after all this time, it's the same spot but the mood is totally different. It's much cleaner than before and the place is bigger. The weather was nice, so the doors were wide open and there was no line between indoors and outdoors.

With the breeze coming in, people laughing and the smell of grilling meat mixing together, it felt like a campsite, or like an outdoor street-pub (yajang).

The Barbecue 051 set for two: what's in it and the price

We ordered the set for two at ₩52,000 (440g of pre-grilled pork and 5 skewers), brisket doenjang (soybean paste) stew for ₩6,000, and mul naengmyeon (cold noodles) for ₩6,000.

For the meat set you pick two of whole pork belly, cubed pork neck and galmaegisal (pork skirt meat), and we went with the pork belly and galmaegisal. We added the brisket doenjang stew and naengmyeon too. The meat is pre-grilled after you order, so there was no long wait and we could start grilling right away.

Pre-grilled pork belly and galmaegisal

Since it's pre-grilled, the grilling time is short and it's easy to eat. The meat came with a subtle smoky flavor.

The pork belly was rich and nutty, and the galmaegisal stayed chewy the more you chewed.

The garlic stems and gosari (bracken fern) that came alongside can also go on the grill, and surprisingly they go well with the meat. Eating them together kept it from feeling greasy compared with just meat. And the real kick at The Barbecue 051 was the special sauce and breadcrumbs.

Special sauce with breadcrumbs? The Barbecue 051 way to dip your meat

At The Barbecue 051 you dip the meat in the special sauce first, then lightly coat it in breadcrumbs. Usually you get jeotgal (salted seafood) for dipping, so I thought "what kind of combo is this?" at first, but after one bite we kept eating it that way. It adds a nutty flavor and a slightly crunchy texture with every bite. There's a self bar too.

How were the self bar and table service?

The self bar keeps its vegetables in a refrigerator, so they stay fresh with nothing wilted.

If you need more side dishes or vegetables, you can go grab them yourself.

Meat alone might feel a little lacking, but with the skewers included it was more fun to eat. They also set a tub full of ice on the table so we could keep drinks and alcohol cold.

Little touches like this feel especially welcome in summer.

Finishing with brisket doenjang stew and naengmyeon

Personally, the best thing at The Barbecue 051 was the brisket doenjang stew (₩6,000).

There was more brisket in it than I expected, and the broth tasted like homemade doenjang stew. A bite of meat, a spoonful of stew, a spoonful of rice... I even thought for a moment about ordering another bowl of rice.

We finished cleanly with refreshing naengmyeon.

Parking and what to visit near Osiria

You can park in the empty lot right in front of The Barbecue 051, so coming by car is easy. Osiria has IKEA, Lotte Outlet, Lotte World Adventure Busan and a coastal walking path, so there's plenty to see, and it's a good spot for a date or a shopping trip before or after a meal.

After eating, we also stopped by the big pharmacy that recently opened in Osiria before heading home. Shopping, a meal and picking up what we needed made the day fly by.

I never expected to eat barbecue again at a place with 15-year-old memories, but if anything it was an even more comfortable evening than before. If you're looking for Korean barbecue in Gijang's Osiria area, The Barbecue 051 should suit anyone who likes an open-air street-pub or camping vibe.