600g pork platter and doenjang jjigae in Gyeongsan: Kkotdwaeji Sikdang

Why Kkotdwaeji Sikdang for a pork dinner in Oksan-dong, Gyeongsan?

My wife and I argued for ages over where to take the family for weekend dinner. There are so many pork restaurants around Daegu and Gyeongbuk that it actually made choosing harder. Funny how I can buy Gunpla kits for my son in two seconds but can't decide on a restaurant... man, I really have decision paralysis. In the end we went with an Oksan-dong pork restaurant that had a ton of reviews. Today I'm introducing Kkotdwaeji Sikdang Gyeongsan Branch.

Kkotdwaeji Sikdang Gyeongsan Branch

An Oksan-dong pork favorite

Since it's right in the Oksan-dong food alley, the big sign catches your eye immediately. Parking is through the alley beside the Sea-A Sauna building — finding a spot to park in Oksan-dong is precious.

Inside Kkotdwaeji Sikdang: the dining room and the aging fridge in the middle

I liked how spaciously the tables are spread out in the dining room.

An unexpected highlight is the meat-aging cabinet placed right in the center of the restaurant. The red lighting has that old-school butcher shop vibe — really tasteful interior design. That lighting splits the restaurant in half, and on the other side there's a group seating area that fits quite a lot of people. I wanted to take a photo but even on a weekday there was a team having a work dinner there. It's a good spot to book for a work gathering.

The interior decor mostly runs on witty posters.

What comes with the 600g Kkotdwaeji mixed grill?

Ordered the Kkotdwaeji mixed grill~

What we ordered at Kkotdwaeji Sikdang Gyeongsan Branch was the Kkotdwaeji mixed grill (600g) — a combo that lets you taste several cuts at once. Along with the daechang (beef intestine) mixed set, this seemed to be the restaurant's signature dish.

Right after ordering, the side dishes arrived. Less "side dishes" and more an array of sauces and pickled sides to pair with the meat.

You can tell a Gyeongsan pork restaurant is good even from the side dishes alone, and here they bring out a wide variety: whole garlic, wasabi, gochujang sauce, soybean powder, curry powder, ssamjang, baek-kimchi (white kimchi), and various pickles. It's a spread that lets you enjoy the meat in many different ways, and you can feel the care put into it. Dip it in soybean powder, top it with wasabi, wrap it in baek-kimchi — the same meat can taste different three times over.

This is the steamed egg our kid had his nose buried in. The seasoning was spot on and delicious.

Pork belly grilled by the staff: what it changes for a family dinner

The core of this place is that staff grill the aged pork themselves and bring it to your table. No conversation gets cut off because someone's busy holding the tongs and timing the flip. As a dad who's usually scrambling to look after the kid and my wife at the same time, this was the most welcome part.

A professionally grilled, neatly portioned spread arrives. The salted shrimp sauce is good, the various cuts of meat are good, but on top of that, side dishes like mustard-leaf kimchi, bean sprouts, kimchi, and tomatoes all come grilled cleanly and deliciously too. There are plenty of days where you never even look up at your family while flipping meat, but this time we sat facing each other, talking as we ate.

By the time it lands on the table, it's already at the perfect state to eat — just sit and move your chopsticks. The outside was nicely browned and the inside stayed juicy, so the juices spread through your mouth, and just as many reviews say, a light dip in the sauce brought out even more savoriness. Today I told myself, let's just eat plain for once~ The pork's own flavor really came through, and having so many sauces to pair with meant even a single cut could be enjoyed several different ways. It hit the spot for me exactly. This is why so many people looking for Gyeongsan pork belly keep naming this place.

The oversized stone-pot doenjang jjigae at Kkotdwaeji Sikdang

A doenjang jjigae that came out enormous

After the meat came doenjang jjigae with rice. The moment the stone pot landed on the table, I was surprised by how much bigger it was than expected. Even split three ways among the family, there was more than enough. It's rare for a Gyeongsan pork belly restaurant to serve even the stew course this generously. It was the kind of broth that made a bowl of rice disappear easily even after we'd already filled up on meat. After eating rich, greasy meat, spooning rice into a savory stew like this is how a proper Korean meal gets finished. I get why this place's name keeps coming up on lists of Gyeongsan's best doenjang jjigae.

Does Kkotdwaeji Sikdang work for a group work dinner?

They grill it for you, so it's perfect for a work dinner

Looking through reviews overall, evenings bring a good mix of family diners, groups of friends, and office workers on company dinners. Since no one has to grill it themselves, there's no awkward moment of figuring out who's stuck holding the tongs at a work dinner. Both the new hire and the department head can just sit comfortably and focus on the conversation. Last order is 11 PM, so it's not stressful even for gatherings that run late. If you're stuck on a venue, I'd definitely put this on the list for a Gyeongsan company dinner.

Given the quality of the meat, the price doesn't feel like much of a burden, which makes me want to come back often. Next time I'm definitely trying the yangdaechang set and the fried rice they say comes out crispy for ₩3,500. It was a happy meal — the whole family ate comfortably and left full. I'll be coming back to Kkotdwaeji Sikdang Gyeongsan Branch. It's a Gyeongsan pork restaurant that saves you the trouble of grilling, a go-to for Gyeongsan pork belly, and a solid pick for a Gyeongsan company dinner all in one.