Dog-friendly Chilgok restaurant with whole-duck grill: Yaksamgol

Today I've got a Chilgok pork belly restaurant a Yakmok pork belly spot a Chilgok meat restaurant! A dog-friendly wood-fire stone-plate duck place — an honest review of Yaksamgol Garden (약샘골가든)!

Where is Yaksamgol Garden, and what are the hours and parking?

🚩Address 51-16 Bokseong 15-gil, Yakmok-myeon, Chilgok-gun, Gyeongbuk, South Korea ⏰Hours Daily 11:30–24:00 🚘Parking Dedicated lot in front of the restaurant

Located in Yakmok, Chilgok, this wood-fire stone-plate duck specialist, Yaksamgol Garden, is already a well-known hidden gem for those in the know!

We visited on a weekend evening and true to its reputation, the parking lot was completely full!

Luckily there's a large lot right in front of the restaurant, so parking was easy!

You absolutely cannot judge this place by its outside look! Yaksamgol Garden was full of unexpected charm!

Once you walk inside past the tent covering, a surprising scene unfolds!

There was a white dog at the entrance of the restaurant. It was such a cute, bright pup that I couldn't stop looking at it. It clearly grew up surrounded by love from the owner :)

A wood-fire stone plate at every outdoor table

Finally, here it is — the Chilgok Yakmok pork belly spot, the Chilgok restaurant! Yaksamgol Garden's outdoor dining area opens up before you.

We came in the evening and the atmosphere felt really moody and almost dreamlike.

Every table has a stone plate set up.

Underneath each stone plate, a wood fire is burning. It really is, literally, a wood-fire stone-plate meat restaurant!

The owner's thoughtfulness even extended to setting up arcade games for the kids!

Chilgok pork belly restaurant Yakmok pork belly spot Chilgok Yakmok duck restaurant — Yaksamgol Garden is famous enough to have been featured on TV. They also only use kimjang kimchi (winter-made kimchi) made from domestic produce, which gave me a lot of confidence :)

Further inside the outdoor area, there's an indoor stone-plate grilling section too. I think that's probably where you'd want to be during the depths of winter or summer.

The indoor space was also very spacious with plenty of tables, looking like it could easily hold a large group.

Yaksamgol Garden menu and prices

• Pork belly, 500g — ₩40,000
• Pork neck (mokssal), 500g — ₩40,000
• Whole duck — ₩45,000
• Half-and-half plate — ₩45,000
• Full set — ₩125,000 (pork belly 500g + pork neck 500g + whole duck + 3 sausages + 5 shrimp)
• Half set — ₩70,000 (pork belly 250g + pork neck 250g + half duck + 2 sausages + 3 shrimp, choose one)

Whole duck — ₩45,000

We ordered the whole duck. As soon as we ordered, the side dishes were set out.

What side dishes come with the meal?

Baechu kimchi (napa cabbage kimchi) and baek-kimchi (white kimchi), made directly from domestic ingredients

Fresh lettuce jaerae-gi (quick lettuce salad) and onions in soy sauce

Lettuce, perilla leaves, onion, tteoksari (chewy rice cake strips), and king oyster mushroom

Right down to the garlic and ssamjang (seasoned dipping paste), the whole table was set out generously.

Watching the wood fire, with roasted sweet potato

Wood fire & stone plate

The wood fire is being lit up. Proper fire-watching at Yaksamgol Garden!

Inside the wood fire, they even roast sweet potatoes for you.

A wood-fire stone-plate grill you simply can't feel in downtown Daegu — only here in Chilgok's Yakmok! Yaksamgol Garden really gives off the feeling of grilling meat at your grandmother's countryside house.

Can you bring a dog to Yaksamgol Garden?

This Chilgok Yakmok restaurant, Yaksamgol Garden, allows dogs at the outdoor tables. Since it was the weekend, we brought our dog Dubu along too. Being able to bring my dog made me love this Chilgok Yakmok restaurant even more!

Grilling the whole duck, 45,000 won, on the stone plate

Whole duck — ₩45,000

The whole duck we ordered arrived.

A whole duck is just right for two people to grill and share! Let's grill this duck deliciously on the stone plate heated by the wood fire :)

The stone plate gets so hot that the duck cooks incredibly fast.

A wood-fire stone plate has such good heat conduction that it really brought out the rich flavor of the duck's juices!

Even looking at it again now it makes my mouth water — this Chilgok Yakmok wood-fire stone-plate duck spot!

The duck had absolutely no gamey smell and was so tender — a flavor that everyone, young and old, would enjoy!

The best way to eat the duck

Putting a piece of duck on the freshly-tossed lettuce jaerae-gi is the best way to eat it!

The sweet-and-savory onion soy sauce combo is also great!

On lettuce and perilla leaves, pile duck, well-ripened kimchi, garlic, onion, and ssamjang all together for a big wrap!

Finishing with countryside doenjang jjigae and ramyeon

Doenjang jjigae — ₩2,000 Rice — ₩1,000 Ramyeon — ₩3,000

After finishing the whole duck, we also ordered doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) and ramyeon.

The doenjang jjigae had that countryside-style savory, clean taste. Mixed with rice, it was the ultimate umami!

With tofu, zucchini, and chili peppers inside, this countryside doenjang jjigae comes highly recommended!

We also ordered ramyeon — you'd be sad to miss it!

Why does ramyeon always taste better eaten outdoors :) We cleared the ramyeon too. The duck was delicious and the stew and ramyeon were both fantastic!

Would I go back to Yaksamgol Garden? Final verdict

Chilgok pork belly restaurant Yakmok pork belly spot Chilgok meat restaurant — this dog-friendly wood-fire stone-plate duck restaurant, Yaksamgol Garden! I stumbled onto this place because dogs were allowed here. It turns out everyone else has been enjoying this kind of romantic atmosphere without me all this time. I loved being able to have such a generous, delicious meal of duck, doenjang jjigae, and ramyeon. Next time, I'll bring my dog again and come back for another round of wood-fire stone-plate duck at an outdoor table :)