Thick-cut pork belly after work in Seocho, Seoul: Yuksam Maeul

📍 51-4 1F, Sinbanpo-ro 47-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea

• 301m from Nonhyeon Station Exit 8
• ⏰ Mon–Sat 10:00–5:00 (next day) / Sun 10:00–22:00
• 🅿️ Free parking available (lot beside the restaurant or underground)
• ✔️ Pet-friendly, corkage allowed (2 bottles free), Naver reservations available

Hi, this is Jinju 🤗 The weather's been so nice lately that after work all I can think about is good pork belly. Why is it that samgyeopsal never gets old no matter how many times you eat it 🤤 I was searching for pork belly spots near my office by Nonhyeon Station and this new place, Yuksam Maeul Nonhyeon Station Main Branch, kept coming up. The cauldron-lid grill and the super fresh lettuce in the photos got me, so I went straight there.

Where is Yuksam Maeul? A 5-minute walk from Nonhyeon Station Exit 7

Yuksam Maeul Nonhyeon Station Main Branch is a 5-minute walk from Nonhyeon Station Exit 7, and also just a 6-minute walk from Sinsa Station Exit 4, so it's very easy to get to 👍🏻 The huge sign is visible from far away, so it was easy to spot, and the yellow lighting made it stand out even more.

The standing sign out front had photos of the lunch specials and the main pork belly dishes, and they looked so good that my feet just carried me straight to Yuksam Maeul Nonhyeon Station Main Branch. Even from a distance the place looked super clean, and it's spacious enough to handle anything from a duo to a big group dinner — I could see why it's known as a go-to spot near Nonhyeon Station.

Inside Yuksam Maeul: a big Korean BBQ room open until 5am

Doesn't the entrance look clean and tidy? A BBQ place open until 5am is even more appealing. There's a sign at the entrance that says something like, 'If the food isn't good, press charges against the chef!' — with a line like that, how could the food not be good? Let's go in 🚶

The inside is even more spacious and clean than it looks from outside — I loved it. There's a window-side 4-top table, and 8-top tables that are great for group dinners or gatherings. The whole place is lit in yellow, which sets a nice mood and makes the drinks go down way too easily! Ha~ 🍺

You know the grill matters just as much as the meat itself at a BBQ place, right? The round cauldron-lid grill conducts heat well, so the meat doesn't stick and grills up really nicely — another plus.

Sometimes it's a bit embarrassing to smell like grilled meat on the subway or bus on the way home, but the seats here have lift-up lids for storing your bag or coat, so there was zero meat-smoke smell on my stuff afterward. Such a smart touch 💕

The menu: thick-cut pork belly, galbi, sets and lunch specials

Cauldron-lid unskinned pork belly, thick-cut pork belly (두껍삼), thin-sliced pork belly, salt-grilled pork neck, gabrisal (pork shoulder), special hangjeongsal (pork jowl), beef brisket, cauldron-lid raw galbi, seasoned galbi... the meat lineup is huge!

There are well put-together sets too — a 2-person set (unskinned belly + thin-sliced belly + gabrisal), a thin-sliced set (thin-sliced belly + brisket) — plus sides like sul-guk (hangover soup), naengmyeon (cold noodles), doenjang stew, steamed egg, cauldron-lid fried rice, and even lunch specials. The lineup is packed and everything looked delicious, so it was hard to decide what to order.

✨ Every table has tablet ordering, so you can order comfortably right from your seat — loved that too ✨

Three servings of thick-cut pork belly and the side dishes that come with it

After going back and forth, we started with 3 servings of thick-cut pork belly (두껍삼).

They brought out the basic banchan (side dishes) first — kimchi, bean sprouts, onion, green onion kimchi, chili peppers, garlic, salt, ssamjang (dipping sauce), pickled onion sauce, and shredded scallions — basically every combo you'd want with grilled meat.

The lettuce and wrap greens at Yuksam Maeul Nonhyeon Station Main Branch are super fresh and varied — perilla leaves, lettuce, cabbage, chicory... and if you ask staff, they'll refill them, so you can enjoy meat wrapped in all kinds of greens as much as you like. That's a special touch I really appreciated ⭐️

Three servings of thick-cut pork belly turned out to be a huge portion. The meat had a vivid pink color and good quality, with fat and lean meat well distributed — true to its name, the cuts were thick and juicy when you bit into them.

Ha, grilling the bean sprouts and kimchi together in the meat fat smelled amazing 🤤

One bite of the nicely browned meat and the savory, moist texture was insane. No greasiness at all, just incredibly savory — my chopsticks kept going back for more. It was great dipped in salt, and just as good wrapped in any of the different greens.

The free snail doenjang stew at Yuksam Maeul

Yuksam Maeul Nonhyeon Station Main Branch includes a snail and doenjang (soybean paste) stew as standard, packed with snails, crab, big chunks of tofu, and vegetables — the broth was deep and rich! I expected it to come as a small complimentary bowl, but it arrived in a proper large stone pot 👏🏾

Finishing with fried rice cooked in the kitchen

You can't finish without carbs. Is that really a single serving? The portion was so big I was surprised, and then surprised again by the flavor. It's also not fried at the table but brought out already fried from the kitchen, so it tastes great and there's no risk of sauce splattering on your clothes — another plus.

Is Yuksam Maeul good for an after-work group dinner?

Yuksam Maeul Nonhyeon Station Main Branch, with its genuinely delicious pork belly, is great for a visit with friends, and since the space is big and comfortable, it would also work really well as an after-work dinner or gathering spot. You get to enjoy all kinds of fresh wrap greens, the meat quality is great, and if you want that savory, juicy texture from meat grilled golden-brown on a cauldron-lid grill, a visit to Yuksam Maeul Nonhyeon Station Main Branch won't disappoint.