Jeju black pork restaurant with a volcanic stone grill: Don Gueo

Don Gueo, a Sehwa restaurant in Jeju 38 Sepyeonghang-ro, Gujwa-eup, Jeju-si, Jeju Daily 11:00 - 22:00 Last order 21:00

What kind of place is Don Gueo, the black pork restaurant in Sehwa, Jeju?

Don Gueo is a black pork restaurant on Sepyeonghang-ro in Gujwa-eup, Jeju. You've got to eat black pork when you're in Jeju, right? This is one of the best restaurants my husband picked on this Jeju trip — Don Gueo in Sehwa! I noticed plenty of tourists here, but it really felt like a genuine local favorite too.

Don Gueo menu and set prices

Don Gueo's set menus start from ₩56,000 for the 2-person 500g set, and the 1-person set is 250g for ₩28,000. The set includes black pork belly, neck, jowl, gabrisal, and doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew).

• 4-person set (900g) ₩98,000 — pork belly + neck + jowl + gabrisal + doenjang jjigae
• 3-person set (700g) ₩77,000 — pork belly + neck + jowl + gabrisal + doenjang jjigae
• 2-person set (500g) ₩56,000 — pork belly + neck + jowl + gabrisal + doenjang jjigae
• 1-person set (250g) ₩28,000 — pork belly + doenjang jjigae

Black pork aged in-house at Don Gueo

We ordered first, and on the way to the restroom I spotted Don Gueo's aging fridge! They really age the meat right there in the restaurant. Jeju black pork already tastes good on its own, but aging it like this can only make it better!

Self-bar and side dishes at Don Gueo

Don Gueo also has a clean, tidy self-bar. There's bean sprouts, bracken, kimchi, lettuce wraps, ssamjang, garlic, peppers and more to pair with the meat — help yourself as much as you like.

After a short wait, the side dishes started coming out one by one! I was already excited to grill the kimchi, bean sprouts and bracken. The lettuce wraps were fresh and the scallion salad looked freshly tossed. It felt kind of like grilling meat at home haha.

And included with the Jeju black pork set was black pork kimchi jjigae and rice — this kimchi jjigae was genuinely so good. Total rice thief, you could finish a whole bowl of rice on this alone!

And then there's the steamed egg custard that comes free when you order meat! Fluffy steamed egg is always a win. A free egg custard at a meat restaurant is such a nice touch, love it so much!

Aged black pork belly on the volcanic stone plate

What sets Don Gueo apart is the volcanic stone grill plate. I think this plate might be the secret behind this black pork restaurant in Sehwa, Jeju! Pork belly grilled on stone is the real deal... Using a smooth volcanic stone plate is what makes this place different from other BBQ restaurants.

This is the two-serving portion of aged black pork belly. A mixed set with various cuts is great too, but I'm a pork belly person... the fatty belly was exactly what I was craving. The quality of the meat looked amazing just looking at it.

You grill it yourself, but the owner keeps an eye on the meat

They laid the meat straight onto the preheated stone plate — sizzle! Most BBQ places grill it for you these days, so it's been a while since I grilled it myself. It felt like grilling at home, and I liked being able to eat at my own pace!

Even though it's self-grilled, the owner comes by now and then to check on things kindly. The bean sprouts, bracken, kimchi, mushrooms and onions grilling together in the meat fat — pure love.

Maybe because the grill plate is so good, the meat didn't burn at all, and after flipping it a few times it cooked perfectly on its own. This stone plate... I wanted one for myself haha.

Golden brown outside, moist inside — the more you chew, the softer and nuttier it gets, and with no gamey smell from the clean aging, that signature chewy texture of black pork was so delicious!

Moderately fatty, chewy, thick-cut Jeju black pork belly. Maybe because the meat itself was so fresh, it was the best meat I've had in a while!! My husband especially raved about it haha.

The thick, well-cooked meat is great dipped in salt or dunked in fermented anchovy sauce, but wrapping it up with the grilled bean sprouts, kimchi and scallion salad was also so good... ah, I want to eat it again right now.

The fluffy steamed egg custard that came as a service item was so soft, and eating it alongside the meat made everything taste even better.

Black pork kimchi jjigae and cold buckwheat noodles to finish

Don Gueo's black pork kimchi jjigae can be ordered on its own too, and it comes included with rice in the set menu. And this kimchi jjigae is honestly the real kicker...! An absolute rice thief, and the kind of flavor that soju goes down easily with too. Loaded generously with black pork, tofu and kimchi, the broth was rich and so delicious.

We finished with a refreshing bowl of cold buckwheat noodles for dessert... I really wanted the fried rice too, but I'd already finished a whole bowl of rice with the kimchi jjigae, so it couldn't be helped. That fried rice mixed right on the stone plate would probably be amazing too. I recommend Don Gueo in Sehwa, Jeju as a genuine must-visit black pork restaurant in Gujwa! My husband really raved about how good it was haha.