Galbi BBQ in Jongno, Daegu: private room & icy mul naengmyeon, Jangjak

What is Jangjak Saenggalbi Jongno Main Branch like?

Jangjak Saenggalbi Jongno Main Branch (벽돌생갈비 종로점) is a fresh-galbi BBQ restaurant at 38-1 Jongno, Jung-gu, Daegu, open from 17:00 to 01:00. The exterior caught my eye right away, with wood-based interior design and softly glowing lights.

They say this place is the original home of brick fresh galbi. There's a poster outside announcing that it's the original.

Atmosphere on the 1st and 2nd floors

The restaurant runs from the 1st floor to the 3rd. The 1st floor is styled with chandeliers, wooden walls and even tiled floors, and it feels really stylish.

Head up the stairs and there's a 2nd floor too. It has a similar interior to the 1st floor, and on the day I went there were lots of Japanese guests as well.

Is there a 3rd-floor room for groups and business dinners?

The 3rd floor has private rooms where you can grill meat in privacy. Go up the stairs from the 2nd floor and you'll find hangers for your coat, and a bit further in is the room.

It looked great for group visits too: entertaining company clients, meeting friends, family gatherings. I liked that there's a space where you can grill meat privately.

The tables inside the 3rd-floor room have a lovely look, with moody wallpaper, posters and soft lighting.

Receipt review perk and facilities

A notice about the original fresh galbi is posted on the wall. They also run a receipt review event: join in and you get naengmyeon (cold noodles) or ttagwi-jjim, so it's worth knowing before you visit.

Posters for bul-ttagwi-jjim (spicy) and ttagwi-jjim are on the wall too. Eaten with rice, they look like total rice thieves (a dish so tasty you keep eating more rice).

There's a self-serve bar in one corner of the 1st floor.

On the landing between the 1st and 2nd floors there's a separate area where they trim the meat themselves, and it's open to view, so you can eat with confidence.

Aprons, an essential at any BBQ place, are provided. There are separate men's and women's restrooms indoors, which is convenient.

Menu and prices

We ordered the brick fresh galbi, 500g (₩58,000). Every table has a tablet for easy ordering.

The menu is built around brick galbi in various forms, plus side dishes to eat with rice, and alcohol and drinks.

What side dishes come with the meal?

The side dishes include white kimchi (baek-kimchi) and pickled celery. Both were fresh and went really well with the meat.

These two are Japanese-style, so I don't know their names, but they also paired nicely with the meat.

Lettuce jaeraegi (a fresh seasoned salad) and mu-saengchae (shredded radish) come out too. The radish was served frozen. Once it thaws you eat it with the meat, and being frozen made the radish even crunchier.

Salt and dipping sauce for the meat come with it, plus garlic and ssamjang (dipping paste), the BBQ essentials.

500g brick galbi and the free cypress steamer

This is the brick galbi we ordered. Even in the photo you can see the rich red-and-white marbling, so you can tell it's super fresh.

They also gave us a free cypress steamer (편백찜) with mushrooms, shrimp, brisket and bean sprouts. I dipped the sprouts and shrimp in the sauce and took a bite. The tender shrimp and crunchy sprouts were excellent.

I put all the food on one table and took a photo. The side dishes come neatly in wooden boxes, which feels extra clean, and every side and ingredient is so fresh.

Staff-grilled galbi over charcoal

When you order meat here, the charcoal arrives in big brick-like chunks too, and the heat was really strong.

The meat went onto the grill and the cooking began. Since a staff member grills it for you, it was so easy to just sit and eat.

Once the meat was done, they separated the ribs out for us. Because it's beef, they grilled the outside golden brown and left the inside slightly red.

Here's the finished meat. Even in the photo it's glistening, and you can sense how soft and juicy it is.

Dip it in salt and eat it with the cabbage jaeraegi and it's honestly so, so good.

Lastly, they cut off the rib meat still clinging to the bone and you eat that. The rib meat on the bone has a chewy texture, which is the best part.

Finishing with icy mul naengmyeon

After finishing the meat at Jangjak Saenggalbi Jongno Main Branch, I ordered mul naengmyeon (cold noodles in broth) as my meal. The broth, loaded with slushy ice, was tangy-sweet and so tasty, and the noodles had just the right chew. The best.

Pros of Jangjak Saenggalbi Jongno Main Branch

• Meat: It's been a while since I found a BBQ place this tasty and distinctive. The meat here really does melt in your mouth. Seriously delicious.
• Atmosphere: The interior is really nice. With meat this good, the atmosphere stands out even more. Eating a bite of luxurious brick galbi grilled over charcoal under dim lighting was the best.
• Grilling service: The staff grill the meat for you. You don't have to grill it yourself, so you can eat comfortably.