Group dinner pork belly with myeoljeot dip in Seocho: Yuk Tongryeong

Hi everyone! It's finally cool, breezy fall, and good weather means I keep making plans with people. While figuring out what to eat, I ended up at a pork belly restaurant. This one's rumored to be one of Seoul's top three samgyeopsal spots — Yuk Tongryeong Gyodae Direct Store! (It's a Blue Ribbon-rated pork belly place, by the way.)

Where is Yuk Tongryeong Gyodae Direct Store, and how long is the weekday wait?

Yuk Tongryeong Gyodae Direct Store sits on the main street near Exit 14 of Gyodae Station, open Monday through Saturday from 11:30am to 10:30pm, every single day. I arrived at 7pm on a weekday and there was already a wait.

I'd heard they get a lot of reservations and there's usually a wait on weekday evenings, so I rushed straight there after work — and sure enough, there was a wait at 7pm. If you go as a walk-in, there's a high chance of waiting since so many tables are already reserved!! So I'd really recommend booking ahead. You can reserve through Naver Place. (Book through Naver and you get a doenjang stew coupon.)

Yuk Tongryeong's menu: ordering yukgyeopsal and ogyeopsal

At Yuk Tongryeong, we ordered the signature yukgyeopsal (six-layer pork belly) and ogyeopsal (five-layer pork belly) together. The wang-dokkibbyeo ogyeop (giant axe-bone five-layer belly) was also something a lot of other tables were ordering.

Looking at the reviews, apparently you absolutely have to try the yukgyeopsal, right? So we ordered both yukgyeopsal and ogyeopsal!! The wang-dokkibbyeo ogyeop is made from specially selected cuts, and a lot of other tables were ordering it too. (But we tried the restaurant's signature menu first, haha.)

Why Yuk Tongryeong suits a company dinner: the room and free scallion salad refills

One reason I'd recommend Yuk Tongryeong Gyodae Direct Store for a company dinner is that the atmosphere is genuinely great. It's clean but has a dignified, grown-up feel, so it doesn't feel like just a casual pork belly joint. The side dishes come out beautifully arranged too, and the scallion salad in particular... you have to try it. The sauce is so good I refilled it three times, haha. (I was hungry before the meat even arrived, so I basically turned into a competitive eater.)

Pickled cucumber, aged kimchi, and wild garlic leaves came out too. There were so many sauces and side dishes to eat with the meat that it was great.

The top is ogyeopsal, the bottom is yukgyeopsal. I thought the ogyeopsal looked like it had way too much fat, so I asked the staff member grilling it, and apparently if there's less fat than this, it gets tough. That was surprising, but once it was fully grilled, I completely understood why.

What do the stew and rice at Yuk Tongryeong taste like?

Yuk Tongryeong's stew came packed with big chunks of tofu and meat, so it was great to eat alongside rice. It's not heavily seasoned, but the broth is delicious, so it's the kind of mild flavor you keep spooning down without noticing!! I think it'd suit more mature palates even better than mine — a comforting, mild taste.

Ordering rice came with seasoned laver and kimchi on the side. Even the rice wasn't served in the usual silver bowl we're all used to — it came neatly plated, making the place feel more than suitable for a dinner meeting or a company dinner.

Staff-grilled charcoal pork belly with myeoljeot dip

At Yuk Tongryeong, staff grill all the meat for you, and while grilling, they brush the whole mushrooms with the meat's rendered fat — that part was fun to watch! They grilled the yukgyeopsal and ogyeopsal in sequence so we wouldn't mix them up, and... I get why they told me I had to try the yukgyeopsal. 💚 There's not a huge difference, but it has this oddly extra savory, umami quality. I ended up ordering more yukgyeopsal!

They grill it crispy, and dipped in myeoljeot it's just the best combination,,,,, from now on, samgyeopsal isn't about ssamjang for me, it's myeoljeot. Yuk Tongryeong had so many customers it was chaotic, but the staff still looked after every single table, catching anything about to burn and keeping it all grilling without missing a beat.

Yukgyeopsal vs ogyeopsal: which one to order at Yuk Tongryeong?

If I had to order just one thing at Yuk Tongryeong,, I'd go with yukgyeopsal. It has more fat than regular samgyeopsal, so it's richer, and since the skin is still attached, it gets crispy. Both the yukgyeopsal and ogyeopsal came out beautifully crispy. It's charcoal-grilled but has a crispiness like it was fried — makes you wonder how they even do it, lol.

By around 7:30pm, even the reserved seats were completely full, and a lot of people were waiting outside!! Wrapping the yukgyeopsal in wild garlic leaves, the juiciness was just insane. This was my first time trying yukgyeopsal at Yuk Tongryeong, and honestly it deserves to be even more famous.

Grilled moist and golden-brown, Yuk Tongryeong totally lived up to its reputation as one of Gyodae, Seoul's top three samgyeopsal restaurants — I left very satisfied! If you're looking for a great samgyeopsal restaurant around Gangnam, I'd confidently recommend Yuk Tongryeong. The location is a plus, but beyond that, it has this not-too-casual, dressed-up feel. It seems like a solid place to bring guests, too. Plus, since staff grill everything for you, there's zero interruption to conversation!! Just as you'd expect from a Blue Ribbon-rated samgyeopsal spot in Seoul, I ate really well. With that many side dishes, you'll genuinely eat yourself full.