Korean BBQ group dinner in Jongno 3-ga, partition seats: Simin Sikdang

What kind of restaurant is Simin Sikdang Main Branch in Jongno 3-ga?

Simin Sikdang Main Branch is a Jongno 3-ga BBQ restaurant located at 30 Donhwamun-ro 5-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, and it's said to have held down the Pimatgol alley in Jongno since 2014. After work on a weekday evening, I headed to Jongno 3-ga with a friend for some meat and soju.

I found it while looking for a place to eat pork belly in Jongno. The restaurant is quite large, spread across the 1st and 2nd floors, and even on a weekday evening it was genuinely packed — the 2nd floor in particular had whole company divisions holding their dinners there. The meat was really good and the space was spacious, so it was clear why Simin Sikdang has become a sacred spot for Jongno office workers' group dinners.

Outside the restaurant and the mood on both floors

I visited in the evening, and the sign was lit up brightly so it caught my eye from a distance. It's an easy spot to find in Jongno 3-ga, and it seemed like a good place to gather right after work.

Even from the entrance the place felt sizable, which built up my expectations before I even walked in. Even on a weekday evening people kept streaming in, and I could feel it was a popular Jongno pork belly spot.

The 1st floor also has plenty of tables. It's a nice spot for a meal and a drink with a friend, but looking at the overall scale, it made sense why so many office groups and dinner parties come here.

Partitioned group seating on the 2nd floor

Once I got up to the 2nd floor of Simin Sikdang Main Branch, the space was even bigger. That day, a company division really was having a large group dinner there, which made it obvious why this place gets used so often as a Jongno 3-ga group dinner spot.

What I especially liked was how the group tables are separated by partitions. Even though the restaurant is spacious, the partitions give some separation from the next table over, so a large group sitting together can almost feel like they've rented out the space. If you want a private atmosphere, this kind of setup could work just as well as hunting down a Jongno private-room restaurant.

Walking up the stairs, I noticed framed photos from TV appearances hanging on the wall. It gave off the feel of a long-running Jongno BBQ restaurant.

I also spotted a certified Korean pork sign. Since I was there for pork, I tend to pay attention to origin and quality, so this stood out to me.

There were colorful Chamisul soju-bottle-shaped cups sitting around, and I thought they were just decoration — turns out they're actually humidifiers.

What comes with the 69,000 won Asamyuk Set?

We ordered the Asamyuk Set for ₩69,000 plus drinks.

We ordered the ₩69,000 Asamyuk Set. It's a set of wagyu flap meat 100g + fresh pork belly 150g + stir-fried pork 200g, plus kimchi stew and wagyu gujeolpan cheese fried rice — a good combo to order on a day you want to eat a bit of everything.

The self-serve vegetable bar, chilled with dry ice

The self-serve vegetable station listed not just the types of vegetables but even the health benefits of each one.

What genuinely surprised me was that the vegetable station had dry ice going. I'd only ever seen that in the fresh produce section of a supermarket, and this was the first time I'd seen a BBQ restaurant manage its vegetables that way. The vegetables looked really fresh too, and it was great being able to grab as much as I wanted from the self-serve bar.

There were also bowls set aside specifically for the fried rice.

There's a separate beer fridge too, and several kinds of soju ready to go.

What I especially liked was that they don't just hand you regular soju — they serve it ice-slushed. Perfect for a cold drink alongside the meat.

Wagyu flap meat and fresh pork belly, grilled by the owner

After a short wait, our Asamyuk Set arrived, all laid out.

With wagyu flap meat, fresh pork belly and stir-fried pork all on the table, it was a lineup that let us enjoy several flavors rather than sticking to just one menu item.

Basic side dishes like scallion shreds, onion shreds and kimchi were neatly laid out, and you can grab extra vegetables from the self-serve bar.

Now, time to actually start grilling!

Here, the owner grilled the meat for us personally. Starting with the wagyu on the grill, he watched for the perfect timing — we just had to sit and wait.

While flipping the wagyu, he grilled the pork belly alongside it too. It was great not having to worry about the grilling ourselves, so we could just relax and chat with each other while eating. That said, on busy days like Fridays or weekends, it might be harder for him to grill it personally since it gets so busy — worth keeping in mind.

He cut the meat into easy-to-eat pieces and even trimmed and placed the vegetables on the grill one by one.

I tried the well-cooked wagyu dipped lightly in salt, and the meat was really tender. No gamey smell at all, just a savory meaty aroma, and the more you chewed, the more the juices spread through.

The pork belly was also grilled to a nice golden brown and cut into easy bite sizes.

Garlic, bell pepper, tomato, zucchini, onion and enoki mushrooms were all grilled together on the pan, and the vegetables soaked in meat fat were surprisingly delicious.

Cheers with the icy soju!

We also had the kimchi stew that came with the set. The broth was rich and well-seasoned, so I kept going back for more while eating the meat.

Everything — meat and vegetables — cooked together nicely. With so many different types of meat, it was fun changing up the combinations with every bite.

Wrapping the meat and vegetables in a perilla leaf and eating it as a ssam cuts through the richness of the meat nicely. Adding scallion shreds or kimchi gives it a whole different flavor too. Being able to grab plenty of vegetables like this was great.

The stir-fried pork was grilled separately on the hot plate. Even after eating quite a bit of meat already, the smell of the seasoning kept pulling me back in.

Finishing with wagyu gujeolpan cheese fried rice

I couldn't just stop after all that meat, so we finished with the wagyu gujeolpan cheese fried rice. The ingredients come divided into sections like a gujeolpan (nine-sectioned platter), so it looks quite appetizing right off the bat.

There were even instructions on how to make it taste best, so you just add the ingredients in order.

With kimchi, wagyu and various vegetables mixed in, it was a great fried rice to finish off a meat-heavy meal.

K-dessert, indeed.

At the very end, the cheese stretches out in long strings — total visual explosion. Between the meat and the fried rice, we finished up thoroughly stuffed.

Verdict: is Simin Sikdang a good group dinner spot in Jongno?

Simin Sikdang Main Branch was great for a weekday evening drink with a friend, but it seemed especially well suited to people looking for a Jongno group dinner or Jongno team dinner spot. I liked that with the 1st and 2nd floors, plenty of tables, and partitions on top of that, even a large group can eat with relative privacy.

The wagyu flap meat was tender and full of juice, and the fresh pork belly was tasty with no gamey smell at all. On top of that, having stir-fried pork, kimchi stew and wagyu gujeolpan cheese fried rice made for a satisfying meal. I also really appreciated that the owner grilled the meat for us personally, making the whole meal that much easier.

This place will probably come to mind again when I'm looking for Jongno 3-ga pork belly, Jongno pork belly, a Jonggak restaurant, or a Jonggak group dinner spot. If you're an office worker hunting for a Jongno restaurant that takes reservations or a Jongno BBQ spot, it's worth checking whether they have group seating before you go. It's a solid pick if you're looking for a place in Jongno 3-ga to hold a group dinner, and it's also worth considering if you're widening your search to include Euljiro dinner spots. Next time my friend and I make plans in Jongno, I'll definitely be back for more meat!