Minari half-bundle at a Hongdae Korean BBQ in Seoul: Chopilsal

Isn't it always a little stressful when you've got plans in Hongdae for the weekend or an evening~.~ There are a million places to choose from, but finding a truly good Mapo/Hongdae Station BBQ spot that you don't get sick of by the end is surprisingly hard!!

I've walked into random places before and been disappointed by the same generic samgyeopsal taste~ And if there's any gamey smell to the meat, that just ruins the whole evening lol

But Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch is a place I came to a while back with a friend, paying out of my own pocket, and I was shocked at how good it was⭐️ This time I luckily got a chance to visit as part of a press campaign, so I didn't hesitate to come back haha.ha It felt extra nice going back since I'd already paid for it myself the first time and loved it+_+

Where is Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch, and how far is it from Hongdae Station?

Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch is located at 172-1, 2nd floor, Donggyo-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul. If you're coming by subway, Exit 1 of Hongdae Station is the fastest way! It's about 273m from the exit, so you'll get there in 3-4 minutes on foot >.<

It's really close to the station so the access is great~ Even my directionally-challenged boyfriend found it without getting lost hahaha. Given how Hongdae is, public transit is much more convenient than driving~.~

What Chopilsal Pork Grill is like at 8pm on a weekday, and is there a wait?

We visited Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch around 8pm on a weekday~ Once we walked in, the place was completely packed with customers @.@ The seating isn't huge, and it really has that proper Korean BBQ restaurant feel haha

We got lucky and there was a table free right when we arrived, but it seems like during peak times it's popular enough to have some wait~ If you're planning to visit, booking ahead or coming slightly off-peak is a good tip⭐️

The order: three servings of salted ogyeopsal, Pilsal pork skin and a minari half-bundle

The menu at Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch was simpler than I expected+_+ You know how a place that focuses on just a few kinds of meat instead of doing everything is usually the real deal, right? lol The minimum order was 3 servings~

Even coming as two people, 3 servings goes down easily, so even two women visiting wouldn't feel like too much

We ordered the signature salted ogyeopsal (pork belly, ₩12,000) x3, pork skin (₩9,500) x1, and minari (half bundle, ₩7,000) as a side~ For reference, each serving of meat was 120g

The side dish spread and how the salted ogyeopsal tastes

The biggest cheat code at Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch is the side dish spread +ㅇ+ Kimchi, salted pollock roe, and green onion salad come as standard, plus various pickles, perilla leaf wraps, cheongyang chili with garlic, and even fermented anchovy sauce for the grill — the table comes out fully loaded!

When you eat ogyeopsal, it tends to get greasy toward the end and you start losing your appetite for it~ Here, you can keep switching it up — wrapping the meat in perilla leaf with a little salted pollock roe on top, then next time dipping it in fermented anchovy sauce and wrapping it with pickles haha.ha

Thanks to that, you never get sick of it and just keep eating!! The minari we added also got grilled right in the pork fat on the grill, and the fragrance was explosive ⭐️

Even while eating something as greasy as pork, the fragrant minari balanced it out enough that it somehow felt healthy ^.^ For reference, the meat is grilled by the guests themselves~

The grill's heat was strong so the meat cooked quickly, and there was something fun about flipping it around this way and that! When you bite into the nicely browned ogyeopsal, the juices burst out with no gamey smell at all, just savory flavor left behind >.<

Pilsal pork skin arrives grilled from the kitchen

And there's one thing I really wanted to mention — the pork skin. Usually when you grill pork skin at a BBQ place, it splatters oil and pops loudly, making it a hassle to grill yourself, right? But at Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch, the kitchen grills the pork skin completely and brings it out ready to eat +_+

Not having to grill it yourself is genuinely convenient, and it comes out cooked to the perfect degree so you can just pick it up and eat it the moment it arrives haha. It was truly the ultimate pork skin 😍

Dipping the crispy, chewy pork skin in the soybean powder that comes as standard, plus a little spicy sauce, made it the perfect pairing for a cola lol

Verdict: is Chopilsal Pork Grill in Hongdae worth a second visit?

The staff at Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch were very kind and welcoming, which made for a pleasant meal >ㅇ<

There's the fun of grilling the meat yourself, but above all, the insane combination of the standard side dishes with the ogyeopsal alone is worth coming back for~

If you want a meat feast near Hongdae Station where you won't get tired of the varied side dishes, definitely stop by Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch. Adding the pork skin is a must…❤️