Pork BBQ in Jungangno, Daegu where staff tear wild garlic: Hubaldae

Hubaldae Daegu Jongno Branch opening hours and reservations

Hubaldae Daegu Jongno Branch (후발대 대구종로점) is open daily from 17:00 to 00:30, with last order at 23:30. It's open all year, and you can book through Naver Reservation.

When I have plans in downtown Daegu, the Jungangno and Jongno area is one of the places I end up most often. There's so much food around that it's perfect for meeting friends or an after-work dinner. This time I went to Hubaldae's Jongno branch, a Jongno BBQ place known among Samseong Lions fans and said to be popular with baseball players. I'd been curious about it for ages, so here it is!

Where is Hubaldae Daegu Jongno Branch, and is there a wait?

The restaurant is in the Jongno food alley close to Jungangno Station, so it was easy to find. There are waiting chairs out front in case a line forms, and just seeing how many chairs there were, I could smell a popular place already, haha.

I came on a weekday evening without a reservation and luckily got in right away with no wait. I'd heard a lot about long lines and was nervous, so I think I just got lucky with the timing. By the time we left, guests kept streaming in, so yes, popular places really are different.

Hubaldae menu and corkage-free drinks

The menu was pork neck, pork belly, Korean beef daechang (small intestine) and teukyang (beef rumen), with a few simple sides. It's not complicated, which actually made choosing easy. It's also corkage free, so if you have a drink you usually like, feel free to bring it! We ordered pork belly and pork neck~

The walls had signed items from baseball players and related memorabilia. As Samseong Lions fans, we found it fun and oddly heartwarming to look around. If you like baseball, it'd be a nice bit of entertainment while you eat, haha.

Side dishes and friendly service at Hubaldae

The basic setting comes with potatoes, myeongi-namul (pickled wild garlic leaves), kimchi, scallion salad, basil leaves and more, and I liked the combination of accompaniments. A big pile of thinly sliced potatoes comes out too.

I felt it from the moment we walked in and they took care of our coats: this might be the friendliest BBQ place in Daegu,, They put scallion salad on each of our small plates and even tore the wild garlic leaves into pieces so they'd be easy to eat, T_T hahaha

Before the meat arrived, they grilled the vegetables and basil for us, and they also gave us a little kimchi jjagll (kimchi stew), which was nice to pick at whenever things felt greasy.

Does Hubaldae grill the meat for you?

Yes, the staff grill the meat for you at Hubaldae Daegu Jongno Branch, and that's a big part of why it's popular. There's no need to be frantically busy at the grill, so we could chat and eat comfortably.

Their hands are so fast. It's a busy restaurant, but they checked on us attentively, so we could eat comfortably to the end, haha. Next to the meat they grilled sliced potatoes, sweetly seasoned, and those were even better. Sweet and salty, sweet and salty~~

How does Hubaldae pork belly taste?

They cook the pork belly just right on the grill and cut it into bite-size pieces, and just from the cross-section I could tell: tasty meat, confirmed >_< ~~~

The pork belly was crisp on the outside and juicy inside, with a great texture. The savory juices burst out, and it was the best meat I've had lately. Just dip it in salt and eat!

Great snacks can't go without a drink, so cheers~~ On an in-between weather day like these, having it ice cold was even better!

The must-try basil honey potato wrap

The honey potato wrap, which people say you have to try at Hubaldae, was also made for us by the staff. You stack potato, wild garlic leaf, kimchi, basil and wasabi with the meat and eat it in one bite, and it's incredibly harmonious. The basil is the real kicker.. a flavor you don't find anywhere else.

Hubaldae pork neck and fresh pork belly

The pork neck was juicy too, the kind you keep reaching for. I always thought fresh (unaged) pork belly was a bit chewy, but it turns out that when the meat is simply good, it's moist and tender. Absolutely delicious,,

2 extra servings, potato refills and a promise to return

Partway through, we ordered 2 more servings. That's how good it was,, We finished the potatoes too, so they refilled them. I don't even like potatoes and I inhaled them, which says it all, hahaha.

It was everyone's first time, and we were so satisfied that we decided to come back. The staff were sooo friendly, and we left in a great mood. I recommend Hubaldae Daegu Jongno Branch, a baseball-player BBQ place near Jungangno Station in Daegu!