Gangnam Korean BBQ with beef rib rice and scissor-cut jar naengmyeon

Visited Bongu Hwarro, a Korean BBQ restaurant near Gangnam Station — had beef short rib, pork belly, and even Hangang ramyeon!

A great spot near Gangnam Station to grill meat with a group

You know that feeling when you want to gather everyone after work or on the weekend for good grilled meat, but can never quite decide where to go?

So I happily headed to Bongu Hwarro, a Korean BBQ restaurant near Gangnam Station with a spacious layout and plenty of tables — perfect for a group gathering.

A table set with 15 free banchan

Right after we sat down and ordered, the banchan started arriving one by one on the table — a whopping 15 different side dishes, all neatly served for free.

Everything from salad to pickled vegetables and seasoned dishes that pair well with meat came out in variety, so the table looked pretty full even before the grill got hot.

Two servings of beef short rib, one of pork belly, and ubap

That day we ordered two servings of beef short rib (u-samgyeop) and one serving of pork belly, and slowly laid them on the grill. Sizzling meat is always good, no matter when!!

The beef short rib, browning nicely on the grill, was thin and tender, going down soft and juicy, while the pork belly kept its savory flavor and was easy to pick up without feeling heavy 🤤 After eating our fill of meat, we added the specialty ubap — a bibimbap-style rice mixed with beef short rib, flying fish roe, and shredded radish — and it was savory with a nice crunch from the radish, making it a good pairing alongside the meat.

Free Hangang ramyeon corner for the 20th anniversary event

As the meat course was wrapping up, we moved over to the Hangang ramyeon corner set up on one side of the restaurant and cooked our own ramyeon.

Right now there's a 20th-anniversary event letting you use the ramyeon corner for free, so it felt great to enjoy without worrying about the cost!

The ramyeon comes out automatically bubbling from a machine, so you can enjoy it hot, and it's perfect as a palate cleanser or extra soup dish after the meat. We finished off the meal with a bowl of cool, clean-broth naengmyeon (cold noodles) 🤍

Even dessert ice cream is covered

Overall it's a place with comfortable seating in a spacious layout, plus 15 free banchan, ubap, free Hangang ramyeon, and even a self-serve ice cream corner by the entrance on your way out — the basics are all well taken care of.

You can cleanly finish off your meal with some sweet, cold ice cream, so if you visit, don't forget to make good use of the after-meal ice cream corner 🍦✨

The scissor-cut jar naengmyeon may be polarizing

The jar naengmyeon, which you cut open with scissors, has such a distinct character that I could see it being a bit polarizing.

It might come down to personal taste, but it was worth trying for the unique visual and unusual combination.

The finishing fried rice portion was a bit small

And of course we tried the fried rice you can't skip after eating meat! The portion left a little to be desired, but mixed with the leftover meat and sauce it had a nice savory finish.

Right now there's a 20th-anniversary event letting you use the ramyeon corner for free, so it felt great to enjoy without worrying about the cost!

The ramyeon comes out automatically bubbling from a machine, so you can enjoy it hot, and it's perfect as a palate cleanser or extra soup dish after the meat.

You can cleanly finish off your meal with some sweet, cold ice cream, so if you visit, don't forget to make good use of the after-meal ice cream corner.