Hongdae Korean BBQ after a month abroad: seasoned pork ribs, Chopilsal

My first Hongdae meal after coming home from abroad: seasoned pork ribs

Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch (초필살돼지구이 홍대점) is a pork grill restaurant on Donggyo-ro near Hongik Univ. Station, and I went for seasoned pork ribs the moment I got back to Korea. After a month abroad, meat was the first thing I thought of! I ate lots of tasty food overseas, but for some reason I was dying for a Korean BBQ place with pork ribs and a whole table full of side dishes, haha. So once I was home, I finally headed to Chopilsal Pork Grill in Hongdae for my meat fix :)

Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch: location and opening hours

Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch is at 172 Donggyo-ro, 1F-2F, Mapo-gu, Seoul. It is open 12:00-24:00, with last order at 23:00.

Hongdae has so many restaurants that it's hard to decide where to go. Chopilsal Pork Grill was a good pick when you want properly good pork in Hongdae.

It also looked great for a meal with friends or a bigger group coming for meat.

Join the waitlist with CatchTable

There's a CatchTable waiting kiosk in front of the restaurant, but only one table was ahead of us when I arrived, so we walked right in without waiting!

The menu starts at 3 servings for the first order

At Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch, the first order has to be at least 3 servings. Please see the photos for the menu.

Here's the inside of the restaurant! It was clean, and aprons are placed around the room so you can grab one yourself!

What do the side dishes and sauces look like at Chopilsal?

Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch serves good basic side dishes, and the dipping sauces are varied, including minced garlic and pollock roe (myeongranjeot) sauce. The meat matters, of course, but I also pay quite a bit of attention to how the side dishes come out. Here, even the basic side dishes were really good.

The sides go well with meat, so instead of eating nothing but ribs, it's fun to mix and match, haha.

And you get free extra pork skin if you write a review!

They also bring minced garlic and pollock roe sauce! There were so many dipping sauces that I couldn't decide what to dip in what!

3 servings of seasoned pork ribs, grilled by the staff

The star of the day at Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch was of course the seasoned pork ribs, and we ordered 3 servings. The moment the meat arrived, the look of it made me feel like I had really come for meat.

The staff grilled the meat for us!! Seasoned ribs are really hard to grill, so having the staff do it meant, luckily, that we got to enjoy them at their tastiest!! haha

Are the seasoned pork ribs just sweet?

The seasoning on the pork ribs here isn't just overpoweringly sweet; you can still taste the pork itself, and with the aroma rising from the grill, I kept reaching for more!! haha

They also give you vegetables, garlic and chili peppers, which they dip in soy sauce, cut up and grill alongside the meat!! haha

Ask the staff separately for lettuce wraps

If you're looking for lettuce wraps at Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch, don't panic when they don't show up by default. Just ask the staff and they'll bring them!

Once the meat starts to cook through, the seasoning gets slightly caramelized on the surface and it looks even more appetizing. It was great with rice and also went well dipped in roasted soybean powder (kongbiru).

A side to order with the ribs: cheese steamed egg

Eating only meat felt like a shame, so we also ordered cheese steamed egg (gyeran-jjim) at Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch! A bite of soft steamed egg between pieces of meat resets your mouth, so it paired nicely with the pork ribs.

With the cheese added it tasted a bit richer and nuttier than regular steamed egg, and it was good for sharing among several people.

Finish with the radish-salad bibimbap

Among the sides at Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch, I'd personally recommend the radish-salad bibimbap (musaengchae bibimbap, rice mixed with seasoned shredded radish) too. When you keep eating meat, you always end up craving rice at the end, right? haha

The radish salad has a crunchy texture, so eating it with the seasoned pork ribs cut the richness and brought out the texture. With 3 servings of seasoned pork ribs, cheese steamed egg and radish-salad bibimbap, we finished the meal really full.

Is it good for a late dinner in Hongdae?

Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch stays open until midnight, so it's also a good place for a late dinner or for meat after a night out in Hongdae :) If you're looking for a Hongdae BBQ place, or you love seasoned pork ribs, I recommend Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch 💙