Apgujeong samgyeopsal BBQ with free doenjang soup: Yeontan Gongjang

What kind of place is Yeontan Gongjang, the open-air BBQ spot in Apgujeong Rodeo?

Yeontan Gongjang is a charcoal-fire outdoor grill restaurant in Apgujeong Rodeo. It's a yajang (open-air seating) spot you can only enjoy in cool weather like these days — impossible during the scorching summer.

The weather has turned properly autumn with cool breezes blowing. There's a really delicious open-air grill restaurant in Apgujeong Rodeo I want to introduce — it's called 'Yeontan Gongjang' (연탄공장), and both the vibe and the taste were so good that I'd give it a 100%!!! repeat-visit rating. Let's get right into the post :)

Yeontan Gongjang's storefront and the alley entrance

Yeontan Gongjang, the open-air grill restaurant, gives off such a warm, nostalgic vibe at first glance!

Walk deeper into the alley and it feels like a whole different world opens up with this fresh open-air atmosphere haha

One good thing — Yeontan Gongjang offers valet parking! Parking is easy even if you drive here, which makes visiting so convenient :)

What's on the menu at Yeontan Gongjang

Yeontan Gongjang's menu has a wide variety of meats — raw meat, marinated meat — and above all, it's packed with solid, classic side dishes ㅠㅠㅠ The drink selection is diverse too, basically like they have everything you could want.

Looking around at the neighboring tables, hardly any of them had ordered the same side dishes aside from the meat. Doesn't that just mean every single item on the menu is delicious?

Outdoor charcoal seats vs. indoor tables

With the weather so nice, Yeontan Gongjang's outdoor seating was completely full! There are indoor seats too, but almost every guest was enjoying the open-air area haha

Since it's a bustling, freewheeling open-air grill spot, drinks, beverages, and glasses are all self-serve~!

The nostalgic scenery of Yeontan Gongjang's interior! There were actually a lot of retro knick-knacks you'd expect to see in a museum, which made the atmosphere even more fun.

The defining feature of Yeontan Gongjang is that the meat is grilled over charcoal briquettes — and it was definitely much tastier than just grilling on a pan!

The banchan spread at Yeontan Gongjang

Yeontan Gongjang's banchan included seasoned bean sprouts, lettuce, seasoned cabbage, kimchi, garlic, ssamjang, and dongchimi (radish water kimchi)!

Pre-seared samgyeopsal and the signature pork king ribs

The samgyeopsal came out thick~~ Since it's already pre-seared, you just cook it a bit more, which is really convenient.

And here comes the pork king ribs, Yeontan Gongjang's signature dish that we ordered together!

I started with the raw samgyeopsal first — visually it looked like ordinary pork belly, but it turned out to be the top pick among all the samgyeopsal I've had recently. The thickness and the savory richness were the best..

The complimentary doenjang soup was incredibly rich — seriously deep and delicious! Even though it was just a free side soup, it was packed with meat.

Tender samgyeopsal full of savory, melting fat!

The ratio of fat to meat was just right — a delicious samgyeopsal.

Wrapped up in one bite with the garlic, ssamjang, and lettuce from the banchan~!

And together with fluffy rice too~!

Looking at the photos again, I can taste it all over — that thick samgyeopsal was seriously so good ㅠㅠㅠ

The pork king ribs had a marinade that was neither too salty nor too sweet — just perfectly seasoned!

Grilling the marinated ribs over charcoal really brings out that full smoky flavor!

Even the last rib bone came out nicely browned! I finished every last rib bone at Yeontan Gongjang, and ate so well.

Is Yeontan Gongjang worth a visit? Final verdict

I was curious — an open-air grill spot with this kind of homey charm in Apgujeong Rodeo? — so I went to check it out, and I'm so glad I did ㅠㅠ Crowded, delicious, no reason not to go — that's Yeontan Gongjang.

If you want to soak up the autumn weather near Apgujeongrodeo Station while grilling meat and cooling off, definitely make sure to visit Yeontan Gongjang!