Dongseong-ro date dinner at Suyeong Naengsam, a Daegu BBQ restaurant

DAEGU, KOREA / Suyeong Naengsam Daegu Direct Store — a Dongseong-ro naengsam (frozen pork belly) spot, a Gyodong date dinner, parking, and menu recommendations

Today my boyfriend and I went out for naengsam (frozen pork belly) after a while. We're both big fans, so we tend to hunt down good naengsam spots around Daegu — especially since my boyfriend calls himself a self-appointed naengsam connoisseur, so whenever we find a promising place we always end up going together.

This time we visited Suyeong Naengsam Daegu Jongno Direct Store, near Jungangno Station. I was curious because they use quick-frozen pork belly supplied from Busan Seocho Galbi. Apparently Busan Seocho Galbi is known for celebrity visits, and my boyfriend told me there's even a story that Psy once ate 20 servings there...? Haha.

Hearing you could get this kind of naengsam at a reasonable price in Daegu too, we decided to check it out on a date :)

Where is Suyeong Naengsam in Daegu, and is there parking?

Suyeong Naengsam Daegu Direct Store is located at 1F, 570-18 Gukchebosang-ro, Jung-gu, Daegu, on the Jongno side, so it's convenient to reach from Dongseong-ro or Gyodong. It's also about a 2-minute walk from Jungangno Station Exit 1 on Line 1, so it's easy to get to by public transport too.

It's about a 5-minute walk from Mangyeonggwan and Kwak Hospital, and about 7 minutes from Gyeongsang-gamyeong Park. It's also within walking distance of The Hyundai Daegu, Donga Department Store, Yangnyeongsi, and Banwoldang Station!

Parking is available across from the restaurant, with room for up to about 4 cars. It's not a huge amount of parking, so it's worth keeping that in mind before you visit. We went during dinner time and it was already full, so we ended up using the nearby BL Parking Lot!

Can you book a table at Suyeong Naengsam?

If you'd like to reserve ahead, it's best to call the restaurant and check availability. This is especially useful during busy times like evenings or weekends, so you can be sure of getting a table when you want. If you're visiting for a date like we did, checking reservations in advance makes things a lot more convenient.

Inside Suyeong Naengsam: the room and the self-serve side bar

Overall, Suyeong Naengsam Daegu Direct Store has the familiar, comfortable interior of a Korean BBQ restaurant, good for a relaxed meal. It has that cozy, casual naengsam-restaurant vibe that works well for a night out drinking with friends, but also worked fine for a date meal for two like ours.

There's also a self-serve bar where you can help yourself to lettuce, jaeraegi (young radish kimchi), kimchi, and green onion kimchi, so you can easily refill whenever you run low. With naengsam, the meat itself matters, but the side kimchi and vegetables you eat with it matter more than you'd think — it was nice being able to take as much as we wanted.

Menu and prices: how much two people ordered

The prices were genuinely great value. Quick-frozen sliced pork belly, pork belly, pork neck, and jowl meat are all ₩7,900 per 100g, kimchi stew and soybean paste stew are ₩5,000, rice is ₩1,000, fried rice is ₩2,000, and bibim noodles are ₩3,500. Just note that the first order starts at 400g, with additional orders from 200g!

We ordered 5 servings of naengsam for two, plus kimchi stew and fried rice. Maybe because the naengsam is sliced so thin, we kept eating more than expected. On top of that, with the kimchi stew and the fried rice finish, we ended up completely full. If you love naengsam, I'd recommend ordering kimchi stew or fried rice alongside the meat rather than just eating meat alone.

Honest review: how does the quick-frozen sliced pork belly taste?

Before the meat came out, we grilled some rice cake and potato from the self-serve bar, and they were seriously delicious...

Since my boyfriend is ISTP plus a self-declared naengsam connoisseur, I was extra curious about his one-line verdict that day..! And he ended up giving it a total rave review??? Because it's thinly sliced quick-frozen pork belly, it cooks fast on the grill, and once it's browned nicely you can really taste that nutty, savory flavor.

Naengsam can sometimes turn out dry when it's sliced too thin or the meat quality isn't great, but this one was totally juicy... Honestly, the meat was so good on its own that just a little salt would've been perfect, but once things started to feel a bit rich, pairing it with kimchi, green onion kimchi, and jaeraegi made it keep going down easily..!

And of course, as Koreans, you can't skip fried rice after meat!! After eating a good amount of meat, finishing with kimchi stew and fried rice was just perfect. Honestly, the meat was great, but the fried rice really hit my taste buds just right..! Best thing I've eaten recently ★★★★★

On top of everything, it's in a great location to reach from Dongseong-ro and Gyodong, so if you're looking for naengsam restaurants around Dongseong-ro or Gyodong, I think it's worth a visit at least once.

Verified with my picky-eater boyfriend, mission successful!!

Being close to Jungangno Station made it easy to get to, and I also liked being able to freely help ourselves to kimchi, green onion kimchi, and vegetables at the self-serve bar. If you're a fan of frozen pork belly, it's worth visiting once just to try quick-frozen sliced pork belly made from Busan Seocho Galbi meat, right here in Daegu.