Seoul Korean BBQ in Jongno 3-ga: 81 teams ahead on a Friday, Tapgol

The weather's been so nice lately~ and on days like this you can't skip an outdoor BBQ (yajang). I heard Jongno 3-ga has a cluster of great outdoor BBQ spots, so I went on a Friday evening. Here's my review of Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch.

Where is Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga, and what are the hours?

Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch is a frozen pork belly BBQ spot located near the east gate of Tapgol Park, close to Jongno 3-ga Station~ It's open daily from 17:00 to 01:00 the next day.

It's right as you come out of the subway station, so I didn't have to walk far to find it.

How long was the Friday evening wait with 81 teams ahead?

Being a Friday, there were so many people! (This place must be a total hotspot.) The waitlist I signed up for around 6:30pm showed 81 teams ahead with an estimated 2-hour wait, but I got in within just an hour.

I think it's because they have so many tables — they turned over quickly, which I really liked haha.

This photo was taken as we were leaving after finishing our meal! It was 9pm and there was still quite a wait haha.

Menu and prices at Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga

There's a variety of meat options available, and here's what we ordered.

• Frozen pork belly, 2 servings — ₩18,000
• Kimchi fried rice — ₩6,000
• Soju — ₩5,000
• Drinks — ₩2,000

Outdoor BBQ places are known for being kind of pricey, but here we could enjoy it at a reasonable price. And isn't it such a nice touch that there's a QR code on the menu for connecting to Wi-Fi?

Frozen pork belly and kimchi fried rice

The food looked so good the moment it arrived that I threw it on the grill right away lol. The quality of the meat was so good that I ate it with real enjoyment.

This photo was taken after already putting about half the meat on the grill! It comes out double this amount!! Sometimes at other restaurants they slice the frozen pork belly super thin, so if you don't grill it just right it dries out and gets tough — but here the slices were neither too thin nor too thick, so I could really enjoy it.

The kimchi fried rice actually comes topped with a fried egg, but it looked so good the moment it arrived that I mixed it all up and ate it before taking a photo haha. The original presentation is much nicer than this.

Free side dish refills at the self-bar

Peppers, garlic, ssamjang (dipping paste), seasoned squid, green onion kimchi, seasoned bean sprouts, kimchi, wasabi, and more come out as basic side dishes with your order, and you can keep refilling them for free at the self-bar. (You have to grab the lettuce wraps yourself from the self-bar!!) Eating the pork belly with all these different side dishes made it even more delicious haha.

This place is seriously great for kimchi!!! I lost count of how many kimchi refills I got haha.

Outdoor tables with air conditioning

Even though it's outdoor seating, there was an AC unit right nearby so we could enjoy the meal comfortably. It's supposedly gotten cooler out, but it was still a bit warm haha. Thanks to the AC, we grilled our meat feeling nice and cool.

Isn't the atmosphere here so nice?? This is the first time I've seen an outdoor BBQ spot decorated like this. It'd be great for a date too.

Also, there's something like a picnic basket next to each table where you can grab cups and utensils, and there were wet wipes provided too, which was so nice. Even this was just too cute...

Is two servings enough for two people?

I thought two servings of meat might not be quite enough for two people, but they actually gave more meat than expected (and the quality was great), and finishing off with the fried rice at the end left us just the right amount full. Most of all, the staff were so kind and the atmosphere was relaxed, which made the meal even better!

I'm planning to visit one more time before this fall ends!! Since it's such a popular spot, I'll have to brace myself for the wait haha. Everyone, go enjoy an outdoor BBQ in this great weather, with a nice atmosphere and delicious food~