Charcoal-grilled pork three ways in Gwangmyeong: Snug Roastery

We kept saying 'let's go, let's go' and finally made it to Snug Roastery — here's the review!

The weather was great, the mood was great, the people who showed up were great — and today the food was great too. What a perfect day.

Snug Roastery near Cheolsan Station: Korean BBQ open 24 hours

Snug Roastery's Cheolsan branch is a 24-hour Korean BBQ restaurant located on the Cheolsan restaurant street. Cheolsan is genuinely lined with places perfect for a drink or two. This spot is right in that strip, and it's open 24 hours — which is rare, and precious!

For someone like me who sometimes craves meat at dawn, a place like this is amazing haha. The location is just perfect too.

The exterior's clean, right? Sadly no parking, hahaha. But we were drinking anyway, so we left the car at home.

Below are photos of the interior.

What are the tables and seats like at Snug Roastery?

Snug Roastery has wide table spacing and chairs with backrests. Usually BBQ restaurant floors and tables get a bit sticky, but there was none of that here, which I liked. The tables were nicely spaced apart too. You could store your bag under the chair, which was great. No scary lid-style seats that feel like they'll pinch your hand — proper backrests, very nice.

Not sure if it shows in the photos, but the restaurant was remarkably cool inside haha. A place that stays cool even in summer, even after drinking!!!

What we ordered: pork belly, pork jowl and skirt meat, five servings

At Snug Roastery we ordered pork belly (2 servings), pork jowl (2 servings), and skirt meat (1 serving) — 5 servings total. The menu looks simple but has everything you'd need. I usually prefer pork belly, but since something was labeled 'signature,' I couldn't skip it — so we ordered belly, jowl, and skirt meat all together!

• The gram count seems bigger than other places!!!??
• But looking back now, I realize we didn't try hangjeongsal (pork neck) — how did that happen haha

From left: pork jowl, skirt meat on top, then pork belly. The color looked amazing.

• Photo shows pork jowl x2 / pork belly x2 / skirt meat x1, five servings total!
• We secretly ordered 2 more servings... haha
• No comment on how many people were there...

The self-serve bar was ready to go. The garlic being nice and clean was personally a huge plus for me haha. And the drinks lined up neatly with the logos facing out — I really liked that too.

Charcoal, enter the scene~ (This charcoal soaking into the meat was genuinely great.)

The thickness... says it all, doesn't it? Cooking up nicely.

Kimchi fried rice for 5,000 won — a generous portion

For a side, we got kimchi fried rice. It ended up being a bit of a surprise hit haha — ₩5,000, and the portion was generous.

No BBQ meal is complete without doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew). And yes, there was meat inside it too haha.

The side dishes were solid, so everything tasted great no matter how you ate it. Even the myeongi namul (wild garlic shoots) wasn't too salty, so I kept going back for more haha. Drinks came out cold with ice in a chilled glass, and even the soju was served refreshingly cold.

There was no way we weren't going to drink...

How bad is the smoke, and how are the restrooms?

We went during a quiet hour, so the owner grilled for us personally, and either the smoke naturally doesn't build up much, or the place is just kept very clean — the whole restaurant felt tidy.

And something every woman will relate to — the restrooms!!! Cheolsan has lots of great restaurants, but plenty of them have restroom issues. Here, the men's and women's restrooms are separate and inside the restaurant, and clean. The best.

They also run various promotions, so booking through Naver Reservations is one way to take advantage of that haha.

Which cut was best? A verdict on all three

• Pork belly: steady and classic, savory with rendered fat
• Pork jowl: what is 'dry' — soft and juicy through and through
• Skirt meat: as the green onions cook, the subtle sweetness pairs perfectly

It comes with a salted fermented sauce (like myeoljeot), and the scent isn't too strong, which I liked. The grilled kimchi served alongside was also delicious with it. They give wasabi too, which personally cut through the richness nicely. Mixing things up kept us from ever getting tired of it — today's meal was a real find.

Since it's near my place, I think my family and I will come often, and it seems like a great spot for a company dinner if your office is near Cheolsan Station. If you're looking for a good pork belly restaurant near Cheolsan Station, it's also a great place to bring friends. I'll definitely come back. Thanks for the meal!