Kid-friendly Korean BBQ in Jongno, Daegu for family dinner: Hubaldae

Hubaldae is the Jongno, Daegu restaurant I went to for dinner with my husband and our kid!

There are so many good restaurants around Jongno in Daegu that it's honestly hard to decide what to eat. That day we were craving good meat, so we finally made it to Hubaldae, a well-known Jongno restaurant.

Busy even on a weekday evening at Hubaldae Daegu Jongno Branch

Hubaldae Daegu Jongno Branch is famous for having a wait even on regular days. We went on a weekday evening and it was already really busy. I remember thinking, it's a weekday, really? But after eating, I understood why it's so popular.

Since it was the three of us — my husband, our kid, and me — whether we could eat comfortably as a family mattered a lot to me. Bottom line: the meat was great, but the staff were so kind that we left this Jongno, Daegu meat restaurant in a genuinely good mood.

Hubaldae Daegu Jongno Branch: location, hours and parking

Hubaldae Daegu Jongno Branch is located at 50 Jongno, 1st floor, Jung-gu, Daegu, South Korea. It's open daily from 5:00 PM to 12:30 AM the next day, year-round.

There's no dedicated parking lot, so if you're driving you'll need to use a nearby paid lot — Hanseong Parking and Moa Parking are both close by. The menu includes pork belly, pork neck, grilled daechang (beef intestine), grilled teuk-yang (beef stomach), and more.

What was the service like at Hubaldae?

With so many people, you'd expect chaos, but what surprised me was the staff. It wasn't just one or two kind ones — every single staff member who helped us was genuinely kind. When it's busy like this, you'd totally understand if service was a bit slow.

They even poured our water for us, glass by glass!!! So, so kind! Even with our kid there, they made sure we could eat comfortably, which personally stuck with me.

Ordering 3 servings of pork belly and 2 of daechang

Our family's pick was 3 servings of pork belly and 2 of daechang (grilled beef intestine). We wanted pork belly but couldn't give up daechang either, so we ordered both — and it turned out to be a great call.

When you order meat, several side dishes come out to go with it, and what felt different about Hubaldae compared to other pork belly restaurants was the potato and basil.

The grilled potato our child loved — and the trade secret behind it

Grilling thin-sliced potato alongside the meat was unusual. At first I thought it was just a side, but once I tried it, this potato turned out to be a real highlight. Golden-browned in pork fat, it was nutty, soft, and delicious.

Our son really loved the potato too. Mid-bite, he suddenly looked up at the staff member and asked, how do you make this potato? The staff member put on a serious face and said, that's a trade secret, I can't tell you or I'll be in big trouble — haha, our kid cracked up and so did we, and the potato became the running joke of the meal for a while.

It's not just a place where the meat is good and that's it — these little moments of playful, kind service made it even more memorable.

Why Hubaldae is easy with a kid: staff grill every piece

At Hubaldae, you don't grill the meat yourself — staff handle everything from start to finish. Honestly, when you go to a Korean BBQ place with a kid, whoever's manning the grill barely gets to eat — haha.

Flipping meat, watching the kid, keeping track of side dishes — you often end up eating in a total blur and leaving. But at Hubaldae, staff take over all the grilling, and it genuinely made things easier.

They cut the pork belly into easy bite-sized pieces and kept an eye on doneness themselves, so all we had to do was sit back, chat, and wait.

Pork belly with basil: the first wrap is made for you

Alongside the pork belly browning nicely, they grill potato and even basil — pork belly with basil is an unusual combo if you've never seen it before. But the staff kindly walked us through how to eat it the first time and even made and handed over the very first wrap themselves.

Taking a bite with the meat, potato, side dishes, and basil together, I immediately understood why you eat it this way. The nuttiness of the meat, plus the potato, plus a faint basil aroma at the end — it's a totally different feel from regular pork belly.

How do the daechang and ramyeon taste?

Even after being pretty full from the pork belly, we still kept reaching for the daechang. The chewy, nutty flavor unique to daechang came through clearly, and both my husband and I enjoyed it a lot.

Three servings of pork belly plus two of daechang — our family had ourselves a proper meat party, haha.

The ramyeon (instant noodles) had a really distinctive flavor too — super chewy noodles with an amazing broth! Even our ramyeon-obsessed son approved, haha.

Final verdict on Hubaldae Daegu Jongno Branch

What kept striking me throughout the meal was how good the staff's mood was despite how packed it was. Usually when a place is this busy, the staff would be run off their feet, but every single person we encountered was kind, without exception.

And it wasn't over-the-top chatty or fussy attention either — they just checked on the meat when needed, explained how to eat it, and made sure we could eat comfortably.

I found this kind of thing quietly matters a lot when eating out with a kid. Having them grill everything was especially convenient from a mom's perspective — my husband and I could eat at our own pace while still keeping an eye on our kid.

Of course, if you prefer a quiet, calm dining atmosphere, it might feel a bit crowded. Even on the weekday evening we visited, it was packed. But if you enjoy the lively energy of a Korean BBQ restaurant, this place should suit you well.

If you're looking for a great pork belly spot on Jongno in Daegu, a Jongno meat restaurant where staff grill for you, or a place to have both pork belly and daechang together, give Hubaldae Daegu Jongno Branch a try.

A Jongno, Daegu restaurant that's busy even on weekdays for a good reason. Great meat, great service — we left Hubaldae in a happy mood with my husband and kid.