Samseong-dong Korean restaurant, birthday dinner for five: Obongjip

Today I'm bringing you my review of Obongjip Samseong Branch after trying to figure out what to eat near COEX mall in Samseong-dong — I came back stuffed with an amazing octopus and bossam combo! Obongjip is famous for that spicy fire-grilled octopus and tender bossam (boiled pork wrap) combo, right? I love both, so I went in with high expectations, and one bite of spicy octopus with a piece of bossam on the side — the combination was seriously insane lol. Starting from the generously set table to the octopus and bossam I actually ate, let's get into the review~!!

Where is Obongjip Samseong Branch, and what are the hours?

I visited Obongjip Samseong Branch! It's very close to Samseong Station and right on a food street, super convenient for a second round afterward lol.

• Location: 152-9 Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
• Hours: 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM (Break time: 2:30 PM – 5:00 PM)
• Group seating available, takeout, delivery, Naver reservation

Full even on a Monday: why you need a reservation at Obongjip

Our gathering spot today with close friends was none other than Obongjip, a well-known restaurant near COEX mall in Samseong-dong! Honestly, it's so famous I'd already been a few times, so it felt familiar. This is the place I always go to when I want both bossam and octopus.

It's close to Samseong Station and also near Line 9, so access was great haha. I took the subway there too. I visited after booking in advance, and even on a Monday, the place was completely packed — is that even real??

I visited with 5 friends, and reservations are essential. It's a spot where office workers gather after work. When we arrived, there were only 1-2 seats left, so without a reservation, we probably couldn't have gotten in.

The interior is spacious with separate rooms toward the back, and it's a restaurant with really plenty of wide seating! We ended up drinking until closing time like this... secret.............secret? Anyway, we ate really well until closing.

What comes with the nakji bossam large set for five?

It was a close friend's birthday, so our first stop for the gathering was Obongjip near COEX mall in Samseong-dong on a Monday, and I arrived first to order!! The five of us ordered the nakji bossam large set, and these banchan (side dishes) came out. There was a birthday person, so having miyeokguk (seaweed soup) was so nice haha.

It's a convenient system where you order via tablet, with various events including a review event where you can even get free extras.

The restaurant itself has such a friendly, comfortable atmosphere, great for gatherings, and it was clearly a hotspot for office workers in the evening... felt like every office worker near Samseong-dong was gathered there haha. Perfect for a delicious Monday dinner.

How do the bossam pork and fire-grilled octopus taste together?

The bossam I really wanted to eat at Obongjip near COEX mall in Samseong-dong... can you see the color? In person, the glossiness and tenderness stick with you even more — this is a genuine must-eat menu item. I need to come back to Obongjip regularly.

The octopus was really substantial and delicious too. There aren't many places that give such a generous portion, and they served it so refreshingly?????? I came back because I couldn't forget this taste.. the combo with bossam is insane!!!

What was even better is, as you can see, the side dishes are really varied and delicious. Kind of like the perfect sides to fully enjoy the bossam and octopus. Really generous, right? Lol.

We ordered the large bossam and still finished it without leaving any — that's how much everyone, young and old, loves this dish. The quality wasn't chewy at all, tender, with the lean meat and fat balanced so well that it just kept going down. We drank so much soju... it had been a while since we let loose like that.

Being tipsy, we ordered makguksu (buckwheat noodles), and putting bossam on top was amazing.. gotta have the carbs too, and combining them together like this was the best. None of the side dishes fell short either. There's a reason they have so many branches..!

The bossam was so delicious, but the kimchi was really good too, so piling on the mu-mallaengi (dried radish) and bossam kimchi made the meat disappear instantly, and eating the octopus stir-fry as a drinking snack like this — the smoky char and slight spiciness were truly amazing.

Rice mixed into the octopus sauce, then clam kalguksu to finish

And above all, the octopus stir-fry sauce was insane, so we poured in 2 bowls of rice with sesame oil and seaweed flakes and mixed it all up. All five of us let loose and overate that day..? There's a reason nearby office guys pick this place.

Even after eating all that, the rice went down so easily again. Legendary how we scraped the bowls clean without leaving anything. Everyone was on a diet... but we ended up breaking it in the end. With food this good, of course we couldn't resist.

The finishing touch was the clam kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup). Wait, it's not even the main menu item, why is it this good? By this point I was drinking so much soju that my memory started to blur. The broth alone was good enough that you didn't need any other snack.

The kalguksu quality was impressive enough to make you wonder if this is really a bossam restaurant. I lost count of how many dishes we ate.. I came just for a simple bossam meal and ended up eating this much variety — Obongjip really is a great restaurant. Every time I go to a different branch, I leave satisfied because of memories like this. Anyway, it's a no-regrets office-worker hotspot, perfect for both company dinners and regular meals ♥