Lamb skewer restaurant in Seongsu-dong, Seoul for two: Hwaro Yangmi

We're a couple who loves lamb. Wanting to properly restock on protein after a while, we searched for good lamb skewer spots in Seongdong and ended up booking Hwaro Yangmi near Ttukseom Station.

I usually enjoy lamb, but places with a really strong smell always felt a bit much for me. At Hwaro Yangmi, from the lamb assortment to the skewers, I barely noticed any gamey smell at all, and the savory flavor was so good I wanted to come back.

What kind of lamb restaurant is Hwaro Yangmi?

Hwaro Yangmi is a lamb specialty restaurant close to Exit 4 of Ttukseom Station. You can get everything from chilled, aged lamb assortments to lamb skewers, lamb ribs, lamb loin, lamb belly, and even some Chinese dishes on the side. We came on a Sunday at 7:30 PM with a same-day reservation, and the table already had the side dishes and grill set up, which was really convenient.

You can book from just 2 people, and groups of up to 80 can rent out the whole venue, so it seems like a solid option for Seongdong office dinners too. Since we'd booked ahead, we got a window seat — the door was open, and with the cool weather it almost felt like sitting at an outdoor pojangmacha (street food tent). Haha. It'd be a great spot for a date dinner or a get-together with friends in Seongdong.

The basic side dishes included radish salad, pickled radish, roasted peanuts, wasabi, whole grain mustard, cumin (jiran) powder, and sautéed shiitake mushrooms, with extras available at the self-serve bar.

How good is the lamb at Hwaro Yangmi?

We first ordered the 500g lamb assortment (₩55,000).

It came with lamb ribs, lamb loin, lamb belly, lamb chuck flap, and king oyster mushrooms, so it was much more fun to taste a variety of cuts than just sticking to one.

Best of all, having staff grill the meat for us was really convenient—

They adjusted the doneness depending on the cut, and it was noticeably juicier than when I grill it myself, with the juices well preserved.

How did the lamb assortment and skewers taste?

What stuck with me most was the lack of any gamey smell. Lamb usually has some degree of its own distinct scent, and I went in expecting that, but I barely noticed it at all while eating.

They explained that using chilled (not frozen) meat reduces the smell, and honestly, it was so savory and tender that the two of us finished 500g really fast. Haha.

Still wanting more, we added 200g of lamb skewers (₩17,000). The staff looked busy at this point so we grilled these ourselves, and even the skewers had almost no gamey smell. I've had lamb skewers before where the smell was so strong I had to dip them heavily in cumin powder, but at Hwaro Yangmi the meat itself was savory enough to enjoy without any fuss.

Who should eat at Hwaro Yangmi?

I'd recommend this to couples in Seongdong who want lamb instead of a typical Korean BBQ restaurant for date night. Even someone who's hesitated over lamb because of its distinct smell could give this a try without much worry, and with the assortment covering several cuts, lamb lovers would be pretty satisfied too.

The restaurant handles group reservations well, and there were plenty of office worker customers even on a weekday evening, so it seems like a good fit for anyone searching for a Ttukseom restaurant or a Seongdong dinner spot for a work gathering. The space is also very spacious, with some seats divided by partitions for a bit of privacy during get-togethers. We really liked the savory, smell-free lamb, and this is a place we'd want to come back to whenever we're craving lamb skewers in Seongdong. :)