Beef short rib dinner for two in Banpo Shopping Town basement: Ugojip

The weather was so nice after work today that I was totally craving meat haha. There's not much to eat around Banpo where I work, so I usually head toward Express Bus Terminal Station nearby — and while searching around, I found out Banpo Shopping Town has a bunch of hidden gem restaurants. That's how I discovered Ugojip, a beef spot with great value and great taste, and it was so good I wanted to introduce it!

Where is Ugojip? — basement level near Exit 8-2 of Express Bus Terminal Station

Come out of Exit 8-2 of Express Bus Terminal Station and head down into the basement of Building 5 at Banpo Shopping Town. It's on B1, so you can find it right away by taking the stairs or the elevator. It's right next to that famous pub, Heat Time, which a lot of people know from the terminal area!

You can spot the beef-shaped sign from far away. Nice touch that they've got chairs out front for anyone waiting! There's a menu board at the entrance too, so you can check the menu and prices before going in. We visited a bit after peak dinner hours, and there was still a waitlist showing from the dinner rush. They take Naver reservations, so I'd recommend booking ahead ✨

The vibe and seating

The space is pretty spacious and wow — genuinely spotless. It's set up with 4-person round tables, and you can stash your coat inside the chair, which was great since it meant my bag and jacket didn't end up smelling like grilled meat. Every table has a call bell so it's easy to flag down staff, and the grill, scissors, and tongs are all preset at each table! They even had self-serve aprons and fabric deodorizer spray to use after the meal — such a nice touch 👏🏾

What's on the menu, and how much?

Ugojip's beef menu is split into sets and à la carte items.

• Couple Set (400g) ₩49,000 — usamgyeop (thin beef belly) + galbisal (rib fingers) + toshisal (butcher's steak) + beef brisket doenjang stew
• Signature Set (600g) ₩79,000 — chadolbaegi (thin sliced brisket) + galbisal + toshisal + salchisal (chuck flap) + anchangsal (skirt steak) + beef brisket doenjang stew
• Chadolbaegi Sambhap (chadol 300g) ₩39,000 — chadolbaegi + scallops + aged kimchi

The set menu lineups and prices were really solid. Since the sets come with doenjang stew (soybean paste stew) alongside the meat, I went with the Couple Set for ₩49,000. There's also a wide range of side dishes — kimchi fried rice, yukhoe (beef tartare), tteokbokki, water/mixed naengmyeon, Hong Kong-style ramyeon, and more — so between the beef and the meal menu, it felt like a totally complete lineup.

The drink selection is varied too — beer, soju, makgeolli, wine, and more — and they even have wine split into red/white, by the glass or bottle, that pairs perfectly with beef. Even by the bottle, wine runs ₩29,000–35,000, which felt totally reasonable! (Beef + wine is such a great combo, you know 😘)

From the banchan to usamgyeop, toshisal, and galbisal

The basic banchan (side dishes) arrived, and wow — such a great lineup to pair with meat: scallion salad, green salad, myeongi-namul (wild garlic leaves), yeolmu kimchi, salt, fresh wasabi, and a garlic-and-chili sauce, all giving us plenty of options to eat alongside the meat and making everything taste even better. (That garlic + chili sauce especially was a real kick — the savory richness of the beef plus the sharp bite of the chili worked so well together.)

We ordered the Couple Set (400g) ₩49,000 — usamgyeop + galbisal + toshisal + beef brisket doenjang stew — and the raw meat came out first, and I loved that each cut was labeled so we knew exactly what was what! The staff recommended grilling the usamgyeop first, so we started with the thin slices of beef belly and vegetables 🤗

The usamgyeop was thin, so it cooked up quickly, which I loved. It was incredibly savory with just the right amount of fat, and grilling it together with zucchini and mushrooms made it taste even better.

You can't have delicious usamgyeop without a drink! A bite of usamgyeop, a sip of beer, and it just went down so smoothly.

Next we grilled the toshisal with onions, and the moment I took a bite it was incredibly tender with an appealing chewy texture — the grill was so good that a short grill and a light dip in salt made it taste clean and savory in the best way.

Last up was my personal favorite cut, galbisal, and we grilled it all up — tender, savory, and with a bite that was just artful.

We finished with chadolbaegi doenjang stew and rice, and with beef, potato, tofu, and zucchini all packed in, it had this deep, rich, hearty flavor that was truly the real deal! Between the two of us finishing chadolbaegi, toshisal, galbisal, and the stew, we were seriously full. Great value, good meat quality, and generous portions made for a very satisfying dinner.

Maybe it's better because it's aged beef

The meat quality was so good that I looked into it, and it turns out they age the beef — that's probably why it tasted even better! The atmosphere is great, the meat quality is great, the prices are reasonable, and the owner was so kind, so this is definitely a place that'll come to mind whenever I'm craving beef. If you're looking for a good beef restaurant near Express Bus Terminal, a family gathering spot near the terminal, a company dinner spot, or a beef restaurant near Banpo, I'd totally recommend it 👍🏻

And there's a review event running with a grilled cheese coupon, plus if you turn on Naver notifications you get a free wine corkage coupon for one bottle, so it might be worth using those too 😘