Saturday-night wait at a Gwangalli Korean BBQ, Busan: Gwangan-mok

Last weekend I was in Gwangalli with a friend and finally tried Gwangan-mok, a Korean BBQ place that's really hot right now. I'd read a lot of reviews saying the sauces are unusual and the meat quality is great, so I went in with high hopes. I went at peak time on a weekend evening, so here's everything from the wait to my honest take on each dish.

Gwangan-mok Gwangan Branch: location, hours and parking

Gwangan-mok Gwangan Branch is at 156 Gwangnam-ro, Suyeong-gu, Busan (1st floor), open 12:00–24:00 with a break from 15:00 to 16:30. Parking support is available at Gwangan Sinho Parking Tower, and you can book through Naver.

How long is the Saturday-night wait at Gwangan-mok?

This is what the place looked like when I arrived around 7 pm on Saturday! I expected it, but the front was packed with people waiting on a weekend evening. It's right in central Gwangalli so it's easy to reach, but at peak time a wait is pretty much guaranteed.

Inside, every seat was already full. It's a hip-feeling BBQ place, and the customers looked especially like people in their 20s and 30s. Since it's so famous and the waits are long, I'd suggest coming a bit before mealtime or definitely making a reservation.

Gwangan-mok's seated waiting area

Luckily, Gwangan-mok has a separate waiting area on one side of the restaurant. It's decorated cozily, and since you can sit and wait instead of standing, the wait didn't feel boring at all, haha. It felt like a space designed with customers in mind.

Gwangan-mok menu and what we ordered

We ordered the 2-person set, which comes with pork neck, pork belly and butter-grilled vegetables. When our turn came and we were seated, I checked the menu: there are à la carte items, but most people order sets. Besides meat, the meal dishes range from stews to noodles, so there's a wide choice!

Gwangan-mok signature sauces and side dishes

Gwangan-mok's signature sauces are Gijang anchovy salt and chimichurri sauce. Once we ordered, the basic side dishes were set out, and there were definitely a lot of unusual ones. I especially liked the many fragrant herbs that go well with meat! Overall the sides weren't salty and tasted clean.

• Gijang anchovy salt: said to be made with anchovies sourced from clean southern-sea Gijang, giving it a deep aroma
• Chimichurri sauce: an unusual sauce said to include angelica root and perilla leaves, which lifts the flavor of the meat

There's a neat self-service bar on one side of the restaurant where you can grab side dishes and sauces yourself! Since the unusual sauces are the signature, you go through them fast while eating, so it was convenient to refill as much as I wanted without feeling awkward.

Chimichurri sauce with a hint of angelica (dangui)

This was the sauce I was personally looking forward to most. It seems like a South American sauce reinterpreted for Korean tastes, and with perilla leaf and angelica root as the base, a herbal-medicine-like fragrance spreads softly in your mouth~~! The angelica scent might be hit or miss, but it cuts the richness of the meat so cleanly that I kept reaching for it!!

Gijang anchovy salt and minari (water dropwort) with chojang

My second favorite was the Gijang anchovy salt! Unlike regular salt, the grains are slightly coarse, so it has a crispy bite. The saltiness isn't overly sharp and has a subtle savory depth, so it was perfect for a little dab when you want to taste the meat itself.

Fresh water dropwort (minari) comes with chogochujang (sweet-sour chili sauce). It's just right for washing away the greasy feeling after meat and cleansing your palate.

Does Gwangan-mok grill the meat for you?

Gwangan-mok first pre-grills thick cuts of meat in an area near the kitchen, then brings them to the table! A staff member keeps checking the meat at the grill and cooks it carefully, so you can chat with your friends and enjoy the meal at ease. Not having to grill is very convenient, and since it arrives pre-grilled, you can eat soon after ordering, which I liked too.

Gwangan-mok set for two, 57,000 won: pork neck and pork belly

Ta-da~ the pre-grilled meat of the Gwangan-mok 2-person set has arrived. The cuts are visibly thick, so I figured the juices were well preserved. Pork neck and pork belly come in a nice balance!

The 2-person set is ₩57,000. The staff cut the meat into bite-size pieces and finish grilling it, haha. The pork neck I tried first wasn't dry at all and had a texture like tender steak, which surprised me!!! The pork belly, on the other hand, was pleasantly fatty with a distinctive chewy, springy bite, so the two cuts really have different charms. Ordering the set lets you try several cuts, which I liked.

Butter-grilled vegetables in the Gwangan-mok set

Alongside the meat come the butter-grilled vegetables included in the 2-person set: king oyster mushrooms, corn, cherry tomatoes, basil, baby potatoes, garlic and more, a pretty generous lineup! The well-grilled mushrooms burst with juice at the first bite and were as good as the meat, and picking at them like garnish was fun.

Stella draft beer at Gwangan-mok, 6,000 won

I had a Stella draft beer (₩6,000) with it. Eating the golden-grilled meat made me want something cold, and it was refreshingly fizzy and very cold, so it seems well kept, haha. A sip of beer cleanly cut the richness of the pork, which I loved!

What do Gwangan-mok's basil wraps taste like?

The best thing at Gwangan-mok was these basil wraps!! They're provided by default at first, and you can order more for ₩3,000. They lightly scorch the basil on the grill to bring out the aroma, then place it on top of the meat, and when an exotic herb scent is added to the very Korean(?) pork belly flavor, the taste becomes so much more upscale,,, It felt like eating a fusion dish, different from ordinary wrap vegetables, so fresh and so good!!

After enjoying the basil wrap, I tried the Gijang anchovy salt I mentioned earlier, dabbed on the grilled mushrooms and meat. With each bite the crunchy salt grains pop, mixing the moisture of the mushroom with the nuttiness of the meat. I'd recommend this combination to anyone who prefers a clean, mellow flavor without artificial seasoning, haha

Gwangan-mok meal menu: dongchimi cold noodles and doenjang stew rice

When we were nearly done with the meat, we ordered dongchimi naengguksu (cold radish-water kimchi noodles) from the meal menu! The broth is not sharp at all and very mild. The base is a mellow flavor like Pyongyang-style naengmyeon, and the pickled chili on top is the kicker! lol If you're used to the punchy cold noodles at BBQ places you might find it bland, but if you want a clean finish it's an appealing dish.

The noodles are thin somen-style rather than thick ones. They aren't tough and go down softly, so they were a light slurp even after eating meat. There was shaved ice floating in the broth, so I could cool my palate right to the end.

I also wanted rice, so I added ₩2,000 to the doenjang stew (soybean paste stew) to get it as sul-bap (rice cooked into the stew). The rice comes simmered in an earthenware pot, with a savory yet fragrant flavor that fills you up! It was a hot finish to go with the warmth of the grill we'd cooked on, a meal made for Korean tastes.

Souvenirs on display at Gwangan-mok

On my way out after paying, I noticed they sell a few small souvenirs on one side of the restaurant, haha. There were cute little items like keychains with Korean patterns, and they'd be nice for foreign tourists or travelers visiting Gwangalli to browse and buy as a keepsake.

Gwangan-mok Gwangan Branch: final verdict

• Steak-like pork neck
• Fragrant angelica-root chimichurri sauce
• The unique fusion of the basil wraps

If you want to try an unusual style of pork belly, this is a Gwangalli BBQ spot worth visiting at least once 🩵