Late-night pork ribs and instant ramyeon at Yeontan Gongjang, Gangnam

Hey guys! Today I went to Yeontan Gongjang, famous as one of the best Korean BBQ restaurants for ribs in Apgujeong Rodeo.

There was another restaurant right next door, so I wondered if it was the same place — I walked in, thought "this doesn't look like Yeontan Gongjang," looked again, and realized it was actually Mankai Apgujeong branch haha. I apologized and hurried out, then walked into the real Yeontan Gongjang, the Korean BBQ restaurant everyone raves about for ribs.

Just so you know, Yeontan Gongjang also offers valet parking, so keep that in mind ✨

An open-air seating area between buildings, with an old-school exterior

Wow, even before walking into Yeontan Gongjang, it had that full old-school, hole-in-the-wall vibe. It's wide open so you really get that outdoor seating feeling, which got me excited. The sign says "(Ju) Yeontan Gongjang" — literally means "Briquette Factory" — so at first glance you might think it's an actual briquette manufacturing company, which made the exterior kind of fun. They said locals come here regularly too, and people kept streaming in, with the place packed inside, so it wasn't easy to even get a seat!

Yeontan Gongjang sits between two buildings, spread out like an outdoor seating area! So even late in the evening you can enjoy delicious meat with the sky as your ceiling. Apparently in winter they close the outdoor ceiling — it's fascinating and charming how it opens and closes freely.

Yeontan Gongjang preheats those drum-can grills with fire in advance, so the meat cooks faster — while they're heating it with a torch, you even get to watch a little fire show 🔥. Plus the meat comes pre-seared, so there's no long wait, and you get to enjoy the fun atmosphere while eating right away 😆

The menu — from meat to meal options

Here's the menu at Yeontan Gongjang, the Korean BBQ restaurant known for ribs. The main items are pork king ribs, pork neck, beef short rib meat, pork jowl, pork belly, and pork skin. Beyond that there's a wide range of meal menu items 👍 Honestly, meat tends to taste pretty similar from place to place, so I think having distinctive meal menu options matters too. I love that Yeontan Gongjang's menu gives you plenty of choices — golbaengi (whelk salad), stew, noodles, whatever you're in the mood for 👍

Yeontan Gongjang has Wi-Fi, and they use domestic rice, napa cabbage kimchi, and dongchimi (radish water kimchi). Just note that alcohol, drinks, and glasses are all self-serve. The icy sikhye (sweet rice drink) may vary depending on the day — when we ordered it, it was so frozen we had to wait for it to thaw a bit before eating it. If you want to try it, I'd recommend checking with staff first before ordering.

Side dishes and table setting

Once you call over a staff member and order, they bring you seasoned bean sprouts, napa cabbage kimchi, dongchimi, lettuce, garlic, and ssamjang (dipping sauce), like this!

They also bring scissors and tongs, and you can ask for more if needed! The lettuce looked super fresh, right?

And this seasoned bean sprouts side is pickled together with green onion, and it was delicious — even before tasting it, the seasoning color looked next-level, and sure enough, the taste didn't disappoint.

Oh, and this seems meant to be eaten wrapped with the meat — it's got mustard sauce drizzled on top, which cuts through the greasiness while eating the meat really nicely haha

My first time having meat grilled over charcoal briquettes

I've had plenty of meat grilled over charcoal, but this is my first time at a restaurant that grills over charcoal briquettes.

The owner brings over the briquette, sets it in place, then lays down the grill plate on top — and the setup for grilling meat is done!

We each got a Sprite and a Zero Pepsi.

Pork king ribs, served in a metal bowl for that outdoor-seating vibe

First up, the pork king ribs we ordered. It seemed like the signature menu item at Yeontan Gongjang, the Korean BBQ restaurant known for ribs, so we had to try it — and honestly, just the way it's served in that metal bowl already nails that outdoor-seating vibe.

We visited late, so we were super hungry and quickly threw it all on the grill.

Pork ribs can easily burn if you look away for a second, right? But since it comes pre-seared, you can just flip it a few times and get it perfectly cooked without burning it, which was even better. Even people who aren't great at grilling can easily manage here!

Once it was cooked, we pushed the meat off to the side and started eating like it was a battle 🤤 The pork king ribs melted in my mouth.

It's great wrapped in lettuce with ssamjang and seasoned bean sprouts, and it's also delicious eaten with cabbage, vegetables, and mustard sauce like this.

A lunchbox with real substance

We were craving a lunchbox so we ordered one — inside was stir-fried kimchi, dried anchovies, a fried egg, and pink sausage. Truly a lunchbox with real substance. It pairs really well with the meat, so I'd recommend it!

Adding 2 servings of pork belly

After finishing one serving each of pork king ribs, it felt like a shame to stop there, so we immediately ordered 2 more servings of pork belly ✨ They swapped out the grill plate for us too.

Can you see the juices from the pork belly? The juiciness is no joke,, at Yeontan Gongjang, the Korean BBQ restaurant known for ribs, the pork belly also comes pre-seared, so you can eat it right away. So, so good 🤤

And here's the salt that comes with the pork belly — dip it in and it's salty and even more delicious.

Flipped it around, cut it up, and that's a wrap on the pork belly ^^

Finishing with pot ramyeon

And then, another meal-menu order — pot ramyeon ^^ We really went all out eating past 9pm that night.. This would be perfect as hangover-cure ramyeon, the broth is spicy and sharp, ideal for the morning after! Lol

As expected, since Yeontan Gongjang is a restaurant with real substance, even the ramyeon comes in a metal pot,,, 😆 There's clearly a reason it's been running strong since 2002. We ate like it was a battle until nearly 10pm. That's how good the meat and meal menu were! On a cool evening it's an even better place to enjoy, so I'm recommending Yeontan Gongjang as one of the best Korean BBQ restaurants for ribs in Apgujeong Rodeo hahaha