Suseong, Daegu pork BBQ restaurant with chewy cuts: Matdongsam

A new meat restaurant in Daegu? I had to go. I visited Matdongsam Beomeo Main Branch! Let me introduce this Beomeo-dong favorite, with a retro atmosphere and properly chewy pork belly 🍚

It is at 47-12 Beomeo-dong, Suseong-gu, Daegu, and open daily from 17:00 to 23:00. Parking is available in front of the restaurant.

A retro Beomeo-dong pork BBQ restaurant: location and space

Matdongsam Beomeo Main Branch is near Venture Valley Intersection, toward Eonadeu Beomeo and Beomeo Xi. Its retro sign stood out, so it was not hard to find even in the alley! About two cars can park in front, and the surrounding alleys have quite a bit of parking space too, so it was convenient to visit by car :)

It is a good restaurant that feels like an old house converted into a dining space, so the retro mood hit me right from the entrance! There was a restroom in the courtyard (?), and even the women’s restroom had air conditioning 👀 I liked that thoughtful detail, since even the restroom was comfortable to use.

The Beomeo-dong pork restaurant is fairly spacious. Since it is a converted house, it is divided into several rooms, and there is also an annex connected to the main building next door. Every seat had powerful air conditioning, which was great! There are plenty of tables for four to six people, so I do not think you would need to worry about seating for a family meal, work dinner, or gathering.

Ordering is easy on a tablet, and they served bottled water, which felt hygienic.

Matdongsam Beomeo Main Branch menu and order

• Special five-layer pork 120 g — ₩11,000
• Matdongsam platter 600 g — ₩50,000
• Gabrisal (pork collar) 120 g — ₩11,000
• Chewy pork 120 g — ₩9,500
• Grandma’s doenjang jjigae — ₩5,000
• Braised meat and tofu — ₩10,000
• Yeolmu cold mixed noodles — ₩6,000
• Yeolmu bibim noodles — ₩6,000
• Earthenware pot pork curry — ₩3,000
• Steamed egg — ₩2,000

Even the grill had the perfect retro feel, which I loved. You know that vibe of grilling pork belly on a round grill, right? It felt just like a truly old-school pork belly place, so warm and familiar. That day, we ordered two portions of special five-layer pork, one portion of chewy pork, Grandma’s doenjang jjigae, and steamed egg.

Special five-layer pork and chewy pork: what was different?

You could tell special five-layer pork and chewy pork apart at a glance, right? The meat looked so excellent that you could almost feel its springy texture just by looking at it.

The basic side dishes at this new Daegu meat restaurant were plentiful: ssam vegetables, pickled radish and chili in gochujang, bean sprouts, kimchi, jaeraegi (seasoned scallion salad), garlic sauce, and more! Looking at the table setting gave me that little feeling of having gone to a valley, spread out a picnic mat, and grilled meat there.

There were so many sauces for dipping the meat, too! Salt, barley doenjang, herring roe jeot, garlic sauce, wasabi, and ssamjang were all ready. As a sauce lover, I had fun choosing according to my taste, and everything was clean overall.

We started by grilling the special five-layer pork! With thick-cut pork, kimchi, mushrooms, and potatoes covering the grill, this was exactly the vibe of a real pork belly hotspot, was it not??? The kimchi and mushrooms browning in the pork fat—owner, I fully recognize your excellent taste in food...

The round grill was slightly tilted, so the fat naturally ran down toward the bottom! The gas burner was not the usual butane-canister style either; its heat was quite strong, so everything cooked quickly and there was no need to wait. Eating the nicely browned special five-layer pork with kimchi confirmed it again: pork belly and kimchi are the best combination...

And the garlic sauce truly felt like Matdongsam’s secret kick! It seemed to be made in-house at the main branch, and it was sweet with a subtle garlic aroma. Dipping the meat right into it was seriously addictive.

Look at that pork belly color....🥹 The lean-to-fat ratio was just right, and the thick cut became more savory the more I chewed. I ate it with jaeraegi, then kimchi, then mushrooms, then jaeraegi again—switching up the accompaniments one by one meant I never got tired of it and finished it in no time.

Fluffy steamed egg and chewy pork

We also ordered Matdongsam’s steamed egg, and I loved how nicely fluffy it was! It was not the kind of steamed egg that quickly collapses; it was filled with egg all the way through, so it stayed soft and airy throughout the meal. The seasoning was a little mild, so a light sprinkle of salt made it just right :)

The chewy pork really did have a chewy texture, just as its name suggests. It slightly reminded me of pork skin, but while it had that same chew, it also had the rich savoriness unique to meat, making it delicious in a different way. We added jaeraegi and kimchi to eat with it too, and what more can I say about this combination...🥹 Maybe because it was such an uncommon chewy texture, it was actually the flavor I kept thinking about afterward. I think I would order the chewy pork again on my next visit!

Grandma’s doenjang jjigae, great with meat

For our meal, we also ordered Grandma’s doenjang jjigae! Just as its name suggests, it had that comforting, savory flavor as though a grandmother had cooked it at home. It was spicy, with a subtle sweetness from the onions, the kind of flavor that makes you reach for another spoonful. It was perfect alongside meat and rice, and it would be easy to finish a whole bowl by mixing rice into the broth. I think it would pair wonderfully as an anju with drinks, too!

The retro atmosphere was truly alive here, giving it a warm, familiar feeling unlike newer pork restaurants, and I was satisfied with every cut from the special five-layer pork to the chewy pork. The owner and staff were all kind too, so I was able to enjoy the whole meal in a great mood :) I think I would order both the special five-layer pork and chewy pork again on my next visit 🤍🤍🤍