Saetgang Station Korean BBQ, grilled kimchi and minari: Smile Samgyeop

I was looking for somewhere to eat dinner in Yeoido when I found out you could grill meat with minari (water dropwort) here — Smile Samgyeop Main Branch in Yeoido♥ There are so many companies in Yeoido, so there are tons of BBQ places, but when you actually search for a Yeoido Station pork belly restaurant, it's hard to decide where to go.

This time I visited with a friend, just the two of us, and we ordered two servings of kimchi minari pork belly. To cut to the chase, the pork belly itself was delicious, but the combo of grilling minari and kimchi together on the pan was really the standout haha. If you already like minari, you'll enjoy this place even more, so let me walk through it in detail for anyone looking for somewhere to eat meat in Yeoido.

Location and hours of Smile Samgyeop Main Branch

Smile Samgyeop Main Branch is at 1F 108, 109, Oryun Building, 34 Gukjegeumyung-ro 8-gil, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Hours are Mon–Fri 12:00–02:00 the next day, Sat–Sun 12:00–24:00.

Parking is available too, so it's fine to drive, and it's walkable not just from Yeoido Station but also from Saetgang Station. It's close to Yeoido's dense business district, so it looked like a good spot for an after-work dinner or a company dinner (hoesik).

Size and atmosphere of the restaurant

Once inside, Smile Samgyeop Main Branch was bigger than I expected. There are seats not just on the first floor but on the second floor too, with plenty of tables upstairs, so it looked fine for a larger group.

Yeoido gets packed with office workers on weekday evenings, and a lot of people are looking for a hoesik (company dinner) spot in Yeoido. This place had that comfortable, have-a-drink kind of BBQ restaurant vibe, and felt well suited to a group meal. It's also listed as running outdoor seating in good weather, so on cooler days it might be nice to enjoy the outdoor dining (yajang) atmosphere.

The menu and ordering kimchi minari pork belly for two

Looking at the menu, alongside the signature kimchi minari pork belly, there was a wide range of meats from pork to Korean beef (hanwoo). There were also side dishes and extras to go with the meat, plus drinks like soju and beer, so it looked like a good spot for dinner and drinks in Yeoido.

The two of us didn't hesitate — we ordered two servings of kimchi minari pork belly♥ Once you've come this far, you have to try the pork belly piled high with minari haha. The menu was also written in both Korean and English, which looked convenient for picking dishes if you're visiting with a foreign friend.

The wraps and vegetables we ate alongside!!

Why the kimchi grilled in pork belly fat was so good

Fresh kimchi is nice with meat, but personally I really love kimchi that's been grilled thoroughly in the fat from samgyeopsal or ogyeopsal (pork belly). Here you can put the kimchi right on the grill with the meat, which I loved. As the pork belly cooks, the fat renders out, and the kimchi browns beautifully in that fat — it's hard for that combo to fail haha.

Ogyeopsal (five-layer pork belly) has a chewier texture than regular samgyeopsal because of the skin part, so it had a nice bite too. Even one piece of meat is savory on its own, but adding the grilled kimchi kept me eating without it feeling greasy. We ordered two servings between the two of us, but with the minari and kimchi added in, it felt more filling than expected.

The minari here is truly something else

And the thing that stuck with me most at Smile Samgyeop was the minari. Once the meat is cooked to a certain point, they pile a really generous amount of minari right on the pan — that's this restaurant's signature move. Lightly cooking the minari and eating it with the pork belly, I understood why this combination is famous.

While eating the rich pork belly, the fragrant minari comes in and cleans up your palate, making you keep eating more meat haha. Rather than cooking the minari all the way through, eating it when it's just slightly wilted kept a bit of crunch, which I liked.

Pork belly + grilled kimchi + minari — grabbing all three together in one bite was the most delicious way to eat this♥

The savoriness of the meat, the tanginess of the kimchi, and then the minari fragrance rushing in at the end — the combination really worked well together.

Could this work as a Yeoido company dinner spot?

We came as just the two of us, but Smile Samgyeop Main Branch is pretty spacious, so I thought it could work well as a hoesik (company dinner) venue too. The space is split between the first and second floors, and reservations for groups of about 30 to 40 people are available!!

Yeoido especially has a lot of people looking for somewhere to eat dinner with coworkers after work, and meat dishes tend to suit a wide range of tastes while also being great with drinks.

This time I ate two servings of pork belly with a friend, and personally I liked being able to grill minari and kimchi together like this more than just eating plain meat somewhere.

The savory, chewy texture of the pork belly paired with the fragrant minari cutting through the richness was a great combo, and the kimchi browned nicely in the fat kept my chopsticks coming back haha. If you already like minari, I'd recommend this place even more. If you have a dinner plan in Yeoido or are looking for a Yeoido Station pork belly restaurant for meat and drinks after work, this is a good place to visit!

Next time I'd like to properly try a closing dish after the pork belly too♥ Smile Samgyeop Main Branch in Yeoido was a Yeoido BBQ spot I'll remember for the pork belly piled high with minari and the grilled kimchi combination.