Early-dinner beef BBQ in Janghowon, Icheon: 4 special cuts, Jowatso

📍 Jowatso Janghowon Gamgok Main Branch ⏰ Daily 11:00–22:00 (last order 21:20) 🚗 Parking: lot behind the building

For a hearty dinner, nothing beats meat, right? Haha. This time I visited Jowatso Janghowon Gamgok Main Branch (조왔소), which is known for premium short rib meat! I was looking forward to it because you can try four special cuts at once, and the beef soup is supposedly free too. It turned out even better than I expected!

Is parking easy at Jowatso Janghowon Gamgok Main Branch?

There's a big parking lot behind the building, so it was easy to come by car! It seems like a good option for a family meal or dinner plans around Janghowon or Gamgok. There are also several golf courses nearby, so it'd be great for a meal after a round too.

Atmosphere and amenities at Jowatso

I went a little early in the evening, and a few tables were already eating. As it got closer to proper dinner time, the place filled up quite a bit!!! The restaurant was clean overall, and best of all, the staff were really friendly.

They had baby chairs, and even portable fans! Grilling meat can get surprisingly hot, so I was impressed they thought of that too, haha.

Jowatso Signature Special Cuts Platter: price and what's in it

What I ordered at Jowatso was the Signature Special Cuts Platter, 850g for ₩89,000. It gives you four cuts at once: bone-in rib (uidae galbi), bonkkotsal (marbled beef cut), short rib meat (so galbisal) and flat iron (buchaesal). I liked that you can try this many special beef cuts at this price, haha.

The special cuts platter, side dishes and free beef soup

The platter came out with the four cuts neatly arranged, and it looked so appetizing right away!

Lettuce and seasoned chives came with it, and they even prepared rice for sushi so you can make your own beef sushi. But what surprised me most at Jowatso was that beef soup (haejangguk, a hearty hangover-style soup) comes as a standard! And apparently it's free and unlimited per table. The spicy, steaming broth felt like a hangover cure even though I hadn't had a drop of alcohol, haha.

First up: flat iron

Time to actually grill! The flat iron went on the charcoal first. It's a clean-tasting cut that gets nuttier the more you chew, so it's great as the first bite.

Short rib meat, bonkkotsal and bone-in rib

Next I grilled the short rib meat, which was pleasantly chewy and juicy. I usually like it anyway, but grilled over charcoal it was even better, haha. The bonkkotsal had eye-catching marbling and was tender and nutty, and the bone-in rib had a rich beefy flavor to match its thick look.

The best of all: rapeseed-honey marinated beef

The tastiest of all was Jowatso's rapeseed-honey special marinated grilled beef! Maybe because it's aged in rapeseed honey, the subtle sweetness blended nicely with the savory marinade, and the meat was tender, so I kept reaching for more, haha.

Finishing with mul naengmyeon and doenjang stew

After eating a good amount of meat, you can't skip the mul naengmyeon (cold broth noodles) and doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew), right?! Putting a piece of meat on the cool noodles freshened up my mouth and made for a whole different taste, haha. The doenjang stew was also rich and warm, just right for finishing a meat meal!

Is Jowatso Janghowon Gamgok Main Branch good value?

I first came to Jowatso because I was drawn to the variety of special beef cuts, and there was more to like than I expected. The free beef soup in particular made the meal feel even more generous, haha.

I also learned that it's run by a professional chef holding certifications in Korean, Japanese, Western and pufferfish cooking. On top of that, they reportedly give each guest free ground beef after the meal, which is such a nice perk! The meat is tasty and they look after you well, so I'd recommend it to anyone looking for good value, haha.