Foil-free stone-plate brisket at a Jongno 3-ga Korean BBQ: Chowon

Jongno is so hot right now, a hangout for both older folks and the MZ generation 🔥🔥 The weather was perfect for eating outside, so my friend and I looked up the famous Jongno outdoor-tent restaurants, and we heard there's a new naengsam (frozen pork belly) tent place near Tapgol Park called Chowon Restaurant (초원식당), so we went! haha

Where is Chowon Restaurant in Jongno 3-ga, and how late is it open?

Chowon Restaurant is a frozen-pork-belly BBQ tent place within a 5-minute walk of Jongno 3-ga Station Exit 5. It's open Monday to Sunday, 17:00 to 01:00. It's close to the station, which was nice haha

How long is the weekday evening wait for an outdoor table at Chowon?

We got there at 6pm on a weekday and there was still a wait. There were indoor seats, but no outdoor tables, so we waited about 20 minutes~ The weather was so nice that we couldn't give up on an outdoor table lol

Maybe because it's autumn, the sun sets early, and once it got dim the atmosphere got even better!.! So good vibes ㅎ.ㅎ

By the time we were done waiting, the indoor seats were almost full too~~ If you're going to Chowon on a weekend, I recommend getting there right at opening..!!

Chowon Restaurant menu and prices

The main items at Chowon are kkosun (nutty, savory) beef brisket (150g) for ₩20,000 and frozen pork belly (180g) for ₩18,000, and there are hanwoo (Korean beef) and set menus too. Here's what the menu says.

• 1++ ribeye hanwoo set (300g) — ₩55,000
• 1++ hanwoo striploin (150g) — ₩28,000
• Kkosun beef brisket (150g) — ₩20,000
• Pork belly set (540g) — ₩53,000
• Frozen pork belly (180g) — ₩18,000
• Frozen beef short plate (180g) — ₩18,000
• Makchang (grilled pork intestine, 180g) — ₩18,000
• Sides: beef brisket doenjang stew ₩8,000 / self-serve fried rice ₩5,000 / steamed egg ₩5,000 / kimchi stew ₩9,000
• Drinks: gourd-bottle makgeolli ₩6,000 / soju ₩5,000 / Terra beer ₩6,000

I was craving thin-sliced meat that day, so we ordered 2 servings of kkosun beef brisket and 1 serving of frozen pork belly!

Banchan and the self-serve bar

The banchan (side dishes) at Chowon are napa cabbage kimchi, green onion kimchi, bracken fern, seasoned bean sprouts, lettuce wraps, ssamjang, chili peppers and garlic! If you run out of anything, just help yourself at the self-serve bar~

Grilling straight on a stone plate, no foil

I liked that Chowon doesn't wrap the grill in foil, so you cook the meat right on the stone plate itself!.!

This is one serving of naengsam~ It comes out in a earthenware pot!

And this is two servings of brisket~

Tips for grilling beef brisket at an outdoor table

At the Chowon tent, don't put all the brisket on at once. Grill a little at a time and eat it right away, because it cools down fast outdoors.

Eating while looking at a stone-wall lane... a big spoonful of romance 🥰 As soon as the grill heated up, I put the brisket on first! Sizzle sizzle....

I put kimchi and bracken fern on too to set up the grill~ and cooked everything golden brown!

Chowon beef brisket vs frozen pork belly: which tastes better?

The kkosun brisket at Chowon was tender and nutty and sooo good! Though somewhere along the way I missed taking a photo of the cooked naengsam.... 😅

My friend said the naengsam was better~!! It's thicker than the brisket, so you taste the meat more and it has more chew. I'm a brisket person, so I liked the brisket more. I'd say order one serving of each, then add more of whichever you like better!

Is it enough food for two?

When we first ordered I worried it might not be enough, but with 1 serving of naengsam + 2 of brisket, we were full as two people! (The portions were more generous than I expected....!)

Is Chowon worth it for outdoor Korean BBQ in Jongno?

The mood makes it impossible not to drink. Eating tasty meat in the cool evening breeze felt amazing! If you're looking for a great outdoor naengsam spot in Jongno, I totally recommend Chowon 🩷

It's newly opened so it's clean, the vibe is retro, and the meat is good too, so I left with my mood and my appetite fully recharged~