Sinnonhyeon Korean BBQ weekend lunch with single portions: Sansol

Where to find Sansol Sinnonhyeon

Sansol (산솔) is an easy walk from Sinnonhyeon Station. From Exit 3, go about 50m ahead to the Mega Coffee alley, then head up it for about 200m. The access is so good that it works for after-work dinners or company gatherings, but we deliberately went on a quieter weekend! There are plenty of restaurants and cafés around, so it's easy to carry on to a second round afterwards.

Opening hours: 4pm on weekdays, 12pm on weekends

I also love that Sansol Sinnonhyeon has no break time on either weekdays or weekends! The catch is that it opens at 4pm on weekdays. On weekends it opens at 12pm, so we went for lunch.

Atmosphere and seating

The tables are all spacious and well separated, so the whole place feels tidy and clean. There are also private rooms, so a group dinner looked like no problem.

One portion each of aged pork belly and pork neck

We were shown to a window table! Sansol is a Korean BBQ restaurant built around aged pork belly and aged pork neck, with plenty of meal dishes too. The set menus look good, but we ordered our favorites, pork belly and pork neck, as single portions, one each. I liked that you can order meat by the single portion. Many places don't allow it, sadly...

First, a neat side dish spread! Salad, aged kimchi (mukeunji) and water kimchi, plus a variety of sauces to go with the meat.

Sansol's doenjang stew, rich like cheonggukjang

The doenjang stew (soybean paste stew) came out first. Sansol's version tasted far deeper and more savory than a usual doenjang stew, and the more I ate, the more it faintly reminded me of cheonggukjang (strong fermented soybean stew).

However good the meat is, we only say "Ahh, that was a great meal!" if the rice course satisfies too, and on that count this place was pretty good.

Aged pork belly that arrives pre-grilled

The aged pork belly comes pre-grilled, so only the finishing is done at the table and the wait wasn't long.

The staff cooked it to just the right doneness, so we could eat it at its best right away.

The ratio of fat to lean was good, and the nutty flavor filled my mouth the more I chewed. The pork belly was naturally delicious. I'd expected the pork neck to be a bit drier, but the first bite was softer than I thought.

Just a light dip in salt was tasty, and eating it with the side dishes was delicious in a different way!

Grilled aged white kimchi

Unusually, Sansol Sinnonhyeon grills aged white kimchi (baek-kimchi) for you, and it was really good. Wrapping the meat in it was full of flavor without any greasiness!

The kimchi fried rice is a little sweet

The kimchi fried rice was a little sweet, so to my taste the doenjang stew was far better as the meal.

Final thoughts on Sansol Sinnonhyeon

The pork belly and pork neck were plenty tasty, but it was the deeply savory doenjang stew that made the meal feel complete. Having the staff grill everything made the whole meal easy, and the clean atmosphere made me think it would suit almost anyone you bring.