Suwon Korean BBQ restaurant with lava cheese fondue: Ssosam 208

Ssosam 208 Suwon Station Branch hours and parking

Ssosam 208 Suwon Station Branch ⏰️ Hours Mon–Fri 15:30–02:00 Sat–Sun 12:00–02:00 Last order 01:00 Parking ⭕️ 2 hours free at Hwanggeum Parking Lot behind Ssosam 208

I was craving samgyeopsal (pork belly) today, so I went to Ssosam 208 Suwon Station Branch, a popular pork BBQ spot in Suwon. Just seeing the images of pork sizzling away on that stone grill had me drooling before I even walked in, you know??

My heart was erupting from the flavor, and apparently my salivary glands were too 🤤 The bul lava stir-fried noodles looked seriously spicy just from the photo~ If you love spicy food, they seem like a perfect match with the meat!

As it turns out, Ssosam 208, a Suwon pork BBQ favorite, has been featured on TV programs including Live Info, Tonight, Idol Tour, and Golden Compass~

Shops around Suwon Station can be hard to park at unless you use AK Plaza, but Ssosam 208 Suwon Station Branch covers 2 hours at the Hwanggeum Parking Lot behind the restaurant, so it was easy and convenient to visit.

There were plenty of parking spaces too~ Absolutely approved for visiting by car!! 😤

From the assorted stone grill to plenty of sides

Ssosam 208, a Suwon pork BBQ favorite, has an assorted stone-grill menu that makes ordering easy! Of course, you can also choose individual cuts when you want variety: pork belly, pork neck, thousand-layer pork belly, pork jowl flower meat, Daegu-style makchang (beef intestine), and chewy pork skin~ Oh! I thought it was unique that the side menu includes stone-dropwort greens too~ There were lots of meal options as well, so I had a little trouble deciding what to eat 🤔

A spacious restaurant busy even on Sunday afternoon

We reserved in advance and came at 5 p.m. on Sunday, but I was surprised that there were already so many people 😲 The restaurant was spacious and pleasant, so it looked great for company dinners and get-togethers. The restrooms are at the back inside the restaurant and are separated by gender. There is a central hand-washing area, plus sinks inside both restrooms too~ Everything was clean, which I liked. Aprons and the Wi-Fi details are posted together on one side of an interior pillar like this.

Pre-set banchan and quick ordering

Because we reserved ahead, the banchan (Korean side dishes) were already set out, so we only had to quickly order the mains. We ordered the medium assorted stone grill with lava cheese fondue, 5 grilled cheeses with 5 rice-cake wraps, Paldo Bibim Men, and drinks. Everything was prepared so quickly with practically no wait, which was great. Weekend dinner hours are usually busy and waiting is just part of it, but our food came out right after we sat down and ordered.

Refillable kimchi rice noodles on the house

And unlike other meat restaurants, Ssosam 208 Suwon Station Branch gave us kimchi rice noodles as a complimentary service. The broth was pleasantly spicy and clean, and I was surprised because it was as delicious as noodles from a specialty restaurant! Plus, you can get refills, so keep that in mind~ We wanted to try lots of things, so we could not get a refill 😢 Ssosam 208 Suwon Station Branch has so many side dishes too, which makes it nice to build a combination that suits your taste.

How to enjoy it

There are tips for eating it deliciously above each table-ordering screen, so try following them at least once.

Grill until golden brown! Turn the kimchi often! Dip it in the sauce!

They set out this basic spread for us! And they brought a whole bowl full of ssam (wrap) vegetables~ They are refillable too, so it is perfect for anyone who loves wraps.

On one side was this unusual crater-shaped feature, and they poured it full of lava cheese fondue, which was so fascinating~ I have seen plenty of ordinary stone grills, but it was fun to look at one served with the sauce right there too, haha. Alright, and we got two drinks ready too: Fanta and Milkis!

Stone-grilled pork belly cooked for you

They grilled all the meat for us, so all we had to do was sit there holding our chopsticks and wait to eat—it was so convenient! Even if you are not good at grilling meat, do not worry; just come in, because they grill it all for you~~

These are the grilled cheese and rice-cake wraps. We put them on the stone grill, cooked them until chewy, and ate them with the meat—they went together so well.

Ta-da, we were finally ready to eat! Even the tofu and kimchi were perfectly in place 😎

They even thoughtfully moved the cooked meat up to one side like this~ And now, the long-awaited lava cheese fondue! Even when I dipped a generous amount in, it was not salty at all. It was a little spicy and nutty, and the combination with rich pork belly was great 👍

I wrapped it all up with myeonginamul (pickled wild garlic leaves), which I have always loved, plus grilled kimchi! Next up: lettuce and perilla leaf with grilled kimchi and pa-jeori (seasoned scallion salad)~ This combination never fails 😁

Everyone knows bibim noodles go with meat, right?? We also properly ordered Paldo Bibim Men and quickly mixed it up.

Straight in with the meat, yum! I ate so much that I made the mistake of not having room for the obsidian snowflake kimchi fried rice 😭 The next time I visit Ssosam 208 Suwon Station Branch, a Suwon pork BBQ favorite, I am definitely getting the fried rice..