Jongno 3-ga Korean BBQ second round: pork belly vs pork neck, Tapgol

Why Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch for a second round?

Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch (탑골공원 종로3가점) is an outdoor Korean BBQ spot in Jongno 3-ga where you sit outside and grill frozen pork belly and pork neck. I was looking for a second-round place in Jongno 3-ga and ended up here. There are so many old restaurants and outdoor-seating favorites around Jongno 3-ga that it's hard to choose, but the weather was great that day, so I picked somewhere we could grill outside.

Where is Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch and how to get there

The restaurant is at 111 Supyo-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 1st floor by the east gate of Tapgol Park, about a 2-minute walk from Jongno 3-ga Station Exit 5. It's open daily 17:00 to 01:00 (next day) and serves flash-frozen pork belly, pork neck, duck roast and more. Remember the name and it's easy to find, and it's convenient by public transport too.

We got there on an electric bike, hehe.

Does Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch have indoor seating?

The outdoor-table atmosphere here is totally great. What surprised me was that there are no indoor seats at all, and

it looked like every single table is outdoors.

The tables are set along the Tapgol Park stone wall, so it was such a lovely spot for soaking up a Jongno 3-ga evening.

It was the hour when the sun had set and the lights nearby were coming on, which made the mood even better. Great for a date.

When to go to avoid the wait for outdoor Korean BBQ in Jongno 3-ga

It was busy even on a weekday evening, so I figure there can be a wait when lots of people want outdoor seats. Weekend nights and nice-weather days are probably even more packed! If you want to eat in peace, I'd recommend going early in the evening rather than late.

Tapgol Gongwon menu: can you mix frozen pork belly and pork neck?

The menu has the Tapgol Set, grade-1 flash-frozen sow pork belly and flash-frozen pork neck, plus brisket and duck roast. For meals there were kimchi fried rice, brisket doenjang (soybean paste) stew, pork kimchi stew and steamed egg.

If this had been our first round, I'd have ordered the Tapgol Set without thinking, but we'd already had dinner, so we ordered 1 serving of frozen pork belly, 1 serving of pork neck, rice and a cola. The minimum is 2 servings, and they said we could mix types, so we picked one of each to try both at once.

• 1 serving frozen pork belly
• 1 serving pork neck
• Rice
• Cola

Frozen pork belly vs pork neck at Tapgol Gongwon: which was better?

The meat came out in something like a big jar(?). It looked pretty fresh.

Eating the two meats alternately made the difference in flavor and texture really clear, which I liked.

I ate pork neck and pork belly back and forth, and personally the pork belly was far better. I'm a fat person, after all...

The frozen pork belly is thin, so it doesn't take long to cook on the grill, and it was great for enjoying that rich, nutty flavor.

The pork neck has no greasiness, so it felt like something good to eat when you're dieting...

Side dishes and the self-serve bar at Tapgol Gongwon

Along with the meat came side dishes like kimchi, seasoned bean sprouts, bracken, green onion kimchi, salted seafood and wasabi. The way it all comes out on one tray is kind of very Tapgol Park style.

These sides are good just as they are, but putting them on the grill to cook with the meat is the golden rule.

If you want more of the basic side dishes, you can use the self-serve bar, which is inside the restaurant. (The restroom is inside too...)

Ordering rice made it feel more like a proper meal than just eating meat.

Is Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch good for a date or blind date?

The outdoor tables under the dusk lighting gave off real date vibes. It's been a while, so I loved feeling like I was on a bit of a date, hehe. It seemed like a decent place for a second or third blind date meeting too.

Verdict: Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch

Honestly, this was my first time eating like this at an outdoor table by Tapgol Park, and the atmosphere was so good. It seems well suited to anyone who wants a meat meal in the open air in Jongno 3-ga on a nice day. If you want frozen pork belly or pork neck in Jongno 3-ga along with the outdoor-table mood, put Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch on your list.