Apgujeong Rodeo Korean BBQ with valet parking: Yeontan Gongjang

My sister and I both had plans in Seoul recently and our schedules happened to overlap, so we grabbed dinner together! We were both around Apgujeong Rodeo, so while looking for a place to go we found a BBQ spot with a kind of unique vibe. That's Yeontan Gongjang (연탄공장) — literally "charcoal briquette factory":)

A 25-year-old grill house, not a styled retro set

Yeontan Gongjang is a 25-year-old BBQ restaurant tucked in an alley near Apgujeong Rodeo Station. My first thought walking in was "this place must actually be old" haha. According to the shop's own intro it's been around 25 years, and it doesn't have that intentionally styled retro feel you see a lot these days — it's got the real vibe that only comes from an actually old place.

The chairs and tables are all mismatched, and the walls, the fridge, even the menu board all show the marks of time, which honestly made it more fun.

Why the outdoor tables fill up first at Yeontan Gongjang

Yeontan Gongjang has seats inside, but there's also a row of tables set up outside, so it works like an open-air (yajang) grill spot. When we went, the outdoor tables were nearly all full. Some tables had groups that looked like they were on a work dinner, some were pairs like us, some were groups of three or four — the customer mix was more varied than I expected.

When I think of Apgujeong I usually picture cleaner, more polished restaurants, so the completely different vibe here was fun in its own way. The owner was really cheerful and the staff were kind too. And there's one thing that stuck with me the most here haha—

While clearing the table, the owner ran a torch right across it and said "fire disinfect." He genuinely disinfected it with fire, and my sister and I both burst out laughing haha. This felt like something to capture on video rather than photo, so I got it on camera right away.

What two people ordered and what it cost

We ordered 2 servings of seasoned pork rib and 2 servings of samgyeopsal. When I visited, the menu board listed the seasoned pork rib at ₩21,000 and samgyeopsal at ₩19,000. Besides grilled meat, there were quite a few meal options too, like stews, noodles, and naengmyeon (cold noodles). There was a decent drink selection too, but I'd driven that day so I skipped alcohol. Honestly, the vibe was perfect for a shot of soju haha.

The basic side dishes were lettuce, kimchi, garlic, ssamjang, and salt, plus seasoned bean sprouts and pickled cabbage. The pickled cabbage had a slight mustard kick, which was nice to break up the meat-only bites now and then. If you run low on sides, you grab more from the self-serve zone, and water and alcohol work the same way — you get them yourself. I hesitated for a second in front of the fridge at first, but you just take what you need haha.

First up: pre-grilled samgyeopsal

Yeontan Gongjang's samgyeopsal doesn't come out raw — it's pre-grilled (초벌, cho-beol), so you just finish it off on the grill. The samgyeopsal came out first. Placed over the charcoal, it browned up nicely in no time.

I'm usually reluctant to eat samgyeopsal if there's a tough part, but this one wasn't chewy at all, so it was great. The fat and lean meat came together, so it was savory even with just a light dip in salt. Wrapped in lettuce with meat and kimchi it was delicious, and it also went well paired with the pickled cabbage. My sister and I each held up a piece for a photo haha. We ordered 4 servings of meat total that day, and eating it just the two of us, it was pretty filling.

Then the king-size seasoned pork ribs

While we were still eating the samgyeopsal, the seasoned pork rib arrived too. Personally, while the samgyeopsal was good that day, the rib was the one that stuck with me a bit more. Since it's marinated, if you leave it sitting on the fire the color darkens fast, so I kept flipping it. Between cutting and flipping, being right in front of the charcoal kept me pretty busy haha.

I cut it into bite-sized pieces, let it cook a bit more, and tried it right away. It was a salty-sweet pork rib. The seasoning wasn't a mild style — it had a pretty definite kick, so the flavor came through even eaten plain, and it seemed like it would go great with rice too. I'm not usually a fan of meat with a strong sweetness, but this one didn't have the sweetness jumping out on its own, so I ate it happily. And seeing the charcoal glowing under the grill somehow fit the whole vibe really well.

Does Yeontan Gongjang work for two, or only for groups?

The day we visited, the outdoor tables were nearly all full, and going there myself I understood why the outdoor seats fill up first. With tables set between buildings and grilling meat over charcoal outside, it felt different from eating at an indoor BBQ place. It's not really a quiet, calm kind of spot — you hear people chatting, smell the meat grilling, and the whole atmosphere is lively.

It's fine to come as a pair like we did, and there were also tables with several people gathered like the day I went, so if you're looking for a rib spot or a group dinner place near Apgujeong Rodeo, it's worth checking out. We were a little sorry we couldn't drink since we'd driven, but we left stuffed after 2 servings of samgyeopsal and 2 servings of seasoned pork rib:)

Valet parking is available, so if you're driving, keep that in mind. It was my first time using valet so I stood around a bit unsure where to park, but a staff member came right over and took care of it haha. If the weather's nice when you go, my vote is for the outdoor tables over the indoor seats!

Address, hours and valet parking

• Location - 36-4 Apgujeong-ro 48-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours - 16:00 – 24:00
• Parking - Valet available