Korean BBQ near Jonggak Station with private rooms and a 2-person beef set: Yukrab Jongno

I'd been craving beef for the first time in ages, so I went to Yukrab Jongno (육랩 종로점), a popular Korean BBQ spot near Jonggak Station. Here's my detailed review of Yukrab Jongno!

Where Yukrab Jongno is and how to get there

Yukrab Jongno is a 2-minute walk from Exit 4 of Jonggak Station, right inside the main dining alley by the station, so lots of office workers nearby come here for team dinners at one of the go-to restaurants around Jonggak Station.

Go up to the 3rd floor of the building and you'll see the entrance. Turn left from the entrance for the counter and regular seating, or right for the restrooms and group rooms. There's a floor map right at the entrance, so I knew where to go at a glance.

The private room we were shown to after reserving

We reserved before visiting and were shown to a room. It was just the 2 of us and we hadn't even asked for a room, but they booked one for us anyway, which was lovely! There are about four or five rooms along the corridor, each with its own door, so it's perfect as a private-room restaurant near Jonggak Station for a private dinner.

Going the opposite way from the rooms at the entrance, there's the regular seating, mostly 4-seat tables, with floor-to-ceiling windows that give it a nice open feel. The regular seating has a good atmosphere too, so it somehow didn't feel like a typical BBQ joint.

6-seat rooms that are great for small group dinners

Each room seats 6, so it'd be great for a small team dinner near Jonggak Station or a get-together. The point is that it isn't noisy.. Every room has its own air conditioner too, so you can eat BBQ comfortably even at the height of summer.

Yukrab Jongno menu and how to order

Yukrab Jongno's signature is jin galbisal (boneless short rib), and beyond that there's a wide range: sirloin, tosisal (hanger steak), garlic beef ribs, lamb ribs and 1++ hanwoo (Korean beef) tenderloin.

Ordering à la carte is fine, but if you're here for a team dinner near Jonggak Station, ordering several set menus seems like a good idea too. The sets let you try a variety, and since they come with cheese and doenjang stew (soybean paste stew) as well, the value seems even better. You order yourself on a tablet at the table, which is convenient.

The 2-person Yukrab Set plus extra sirloin

What I ordered at this Jonggak Station BBQ place was the 2-person set, the Yukrab Set. The 2-person Yukrab Set consists of jin galbisal 120g + tosisal 120g + lamb ribs 230g + doenjang stew + 3 pcs of 10-second cheese. The basic banchan (side dishes) and all the sauces come set up too, so it looks even more generous.

Galbisal first, in the recommended order

The meat is arranged on the tray from left to right as galbisal, tosisal, lamb ribs, and they recommended eating in that order, so I grill the galbisal first.

It isn't hanwoo, but I honestly mistook it for hanwoo,, hahaha. That's how tender it was, and the juiciness was no joke.. Now I get why it's famous as a top BBQ spot near Jonggak Station.

Tosisal, my new number one

After the galbisal, the tosisal goes on~ They gave us a tip to put the cheese on top of the potato and squash that come as sides and grill it, so I diligently got grilling.

Spoiler alert: my top pick is the tosisal... Less fatty than the galbisal and cleaner-tasting, it was delicious. Tender as expected and bursting with juice.. Turns out I've been a tosisal person all along..

Wrap the meat up with the cheese on the squash and some asparagus and it's pure heaven.. I liked that there was so much to eat alongside the meat, not just the meat itself.

Lamb ribs can be swapped for tosisal

I really love lamb ribs too,, Since lamb is a love-it-or-hate-it thing, you can swap it for tosisal, but I kept the lamb ribs as they were. Once the lamb has cooked a little, call a staff member and they'll come and cut it off the bone and slice it into easy-to-eat pieces. Full marks for thoughtfulness~~!

The lamb ribs were so good too.. Not the least bit chewy, no gamey smell, and right up my alley!

The sirloin we added because we wanted more

After polishing off the galbisal, tosisal and lamb ribs in the set, we still felt a bit unsatisfied, and after going back and forth between another round of tosisal or something different, we decided to try something we hadn't had and ordered the sirloin.

The sirloin was delicious, maybe because the fat and lean meat were so nicely balanced!!

It doesn't have the same melting texture as the galbisal or tosisal, but it wasn't chewy at all and tasted great. Good call ordering something new~ After the sirloin I was really full and too greased-out to eat any more..haha

A dinner with no smoke smell, just comfort

Eating at a BBQ place is tasty and all, but I don't usually love it because the smell soaks into everything, it's hot in front of the grill, and it's loud,, But at this private-room restaurant in Jonggak, maybe because the ventilation is so good, there was no smell at all, which amazed me. It wasn't hot either; I think this was the first time I've eaten at a BBQ place in real comfort.. Yukrab Jongno would be really great for a team dinner near Jonggak Station, and I'd definitely go back.