Soju night at Daepae Market, a Nonhyeon Korean BBQ restaurant

Daepae Market Gangnam Nonhyeon Branch

Location: 1F, 49 Hakdong-ro 2-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul Hours: Daily 00:00–24:00 *Closed Sep 24–25 for Chuseok Parking: Paid parking lot

Pork and soju with a friend near Nonhyeon Station at Daepae Market

I was meeting up with a friend in Nonhyeon after a while, so we went out for dinner together. Since it had been a long time since we'd seen each other, I wanted more than just a meal — I wanted good meat and a soju while we caught up — so I looked for a samgyeopsal (pork belly) place near Nonhyeon Station and ended up at Daepae Market Gangnam Nonhyeon Branch.

There are tons of BBQ restaurants near Nonhyeon Station, but that day I was looking for somewhere we could comfortably grill meat and have a drink without it being too pricey. Daepae Market caught my eye because it serves thin-sliced (daepae) meat at a relatively reasonable price, so that's why we ended up there.

Where is Daepae Market Gangnam Nonhyeon Branch and how do you get there?

Daepae Market Gangnam Nonhyeon Branch is about a 3–5 minute walk from Nonhyeon Station Exit 3, so it's easy to get to. It's also close to Yeongdong Market and sits in the Nonhyeon-dong restaurant alley, so it was nice to wander around the area before and after the meal.

Best of all, the restaurant is on the first floor with a big sign, so it wasn't hard to find even on a first visit. There are outdoor tables out front too, which looked great for enjoying meat and drinks street-food-stall style on a nice day.

Inside Daepae Market: seating and atmosphere

Once inside, the space was bigger than I expected. The tables were spaced out fairly generously, so it didn't feel too cramped next to neighboring tables, and it was comfortable to chat with my friend over the meal.

There were quite a lot of tables, so it looked fine for larger groups too. It seemed like a solid option for office dinners or group gatherings. There are also separate restrooms for men and women, wifi, and group seating. Apparently they offer birthday perks and paid corkage too, which is good to know in advance.

What does the self-serve bar cost? 2,000 won per person

After ordering the meat, we checked out the self-serve bar. For an extra ₩2,000 per person, you get access to wrap vegetables, various side dishes, and sauces — take as much as you like.

At BBQ places you often end up asking for extra wraps or side dishes repeatedly, so it was convenient being able to grab as much as we needed from the self-serve bar ourselves. Especially if you eat a lot of meat, being able to pick your own vegetables and sides to taste was a nice touch.

The order: 2 servings of pork shoulder, 3 of flower pork belly

Since it had been a while since I'd seen my friend, we decided to have some drinks alongside the meat, not just eat. Daepae Market serves not only regular thin-sliced pork belly but also thin-sliced pork shoulder, flower pork belly, and other cuts. In particular, their signature dish, premium Duroc chestnut-fed thin-sliced pork, uses the Duroc breed and is apparently sliced with a meat slicer right at the moment of ordering. That makes it a bit different from eating pre-sliced frozen thin-cut pork.

That day we ordered

• 2 servings of thin-sliced pork shoulder
• 3 servings of thin-sliced flower pork belly
• 1 bottle of Chamisul

first.

Thin-sliced pork shoulder (daepae moksal)

Since it's thinly sliced pork shoulder, it cooked quickly once it hit the grill. Thin-sliced meat cooks fast, so it seems easy to grill a little at a time while drinking. Even though it was thin, it still had that nutty pork-shoulder flavor and meaty aroma.

Wrapping a piece in lettuce with some sauce made a great pairing with drinks. Not too pricey while letting you grill and eat piece after piece — that seems to be the appeal of thin-sliced meat.

Thin-sliced flower pork belly (daepae kkot-samgyeop)

Next up was the thin-sliced flower pork belly. Its shape was a bit different from regular thin-sliced pork belly, which caught my eye right away. It was also thinly sliced so it cooked fast, and with the fat mixed in the way pork belly should be, it had that nice savory flavor.

It wasn't overly fatty — the ratio of lean meat to fat was well balanced, so I could keep eating without feeling weighed down. Personally, if you want to try a little of several different cuts with a friend over drinks, ordering thin-sliced pork shoulder together with thin-sliced flower pork belly seems like a good idea.

Finishing with kimchi mari guksu, cold kimchi noodle soup

After eating our fill of meat, we ordered kimchi noodle soup (kimchi-mari guksu) to finish. It came with well-fermented kimchi and a chilled broth with bits of ice floating in it. After eating meat for a while your mouth can start to feel greasy, but the refreshing kimchi noodle soup helped reset the palate.

Since we'd been drinking soju that day too, finishing off with cold noodles at the end paired really well.

Side dishes served with the meat

The side dishes were so varied and plentiful, right? It was even more convenient since we grabbed them ourselves from the self-serve bar!

It was a relaxed time catching up with a friend I hadn't seen in a while in Nonhyeon, with meat and soju to go along with the conversation. Overall the restaurant is spacious and easy to get to, so it seemed like a solid choice not just for a meal with a friend but also for group gatherings or office dinners.

If you're looking for a place close to Nonhyeon Station where you can enjoy thin-sliced pork belly or thin-sliced pork shoulder without breaking the bank, this could be a good option.