Seoul Korean BBQ dinner near City Hall: Geumseong Hoegwan

Location and visit atmosphere at Geumseong Hoegwan Seoul City Hall Direct Branch

This is Geumseong Hoegwan Seoul City Hall Direct Branch, a great meat restaurant near Seoul City Hall that my boyfriend and I visited for a weekend date dinner :) It is conveniently located between City Hall Station and Seoul Station. It looked like a good spot for office dinners or an after-work meal, and it would also be easy to pair with plans around Deoksugung Palace or Gwanghwamun.

We made a Naver reservation and got straight in, but a wait started building up later on..! If you are visiting at dinner time or on the weekend, I recommend making a reservation.

Geumseong Hoegwan is said to be a brand inspired by Geumseong, the old name for Naju in South Jeolla Province. It is known for its special marinated galbi made with Naju pears.

The restaurant itself was not enormous, but it felt like a compact, well-equipped Korean BBQ spot with everything you need. Even with lots of guests, tables turned over quickly, and there were truly many international diners as well as Korean ones. I think it could be a good choice when looking for a Korean BBQ restaurant near Seoul Station to take overseas guests to.

Separate menus in English, Chinese, and Japanese are available, so it also looks good for a meal with international friends.

You can order at the table, and for the Naver review event, one participant receives complimentary pork skin while two participants receive complimentary pork ribs, so keep that in mind!

A menu where you can choose both beef and pork

Geumseong Hoegwan, a Seoul City Hall Korean BBQ restaurant, specializes in charcoal-grilled meat where you can order pork and beef together. There was a wide range of choices, from samgyeopsal (pork belly) and pork neck to Hwangje Galbi, Korean beef snowflake meat, and marinated king beef ribs. The prices did not feel overly burdensome, so it felt like good value for a meat restaurant in central Seoul.

• Hwangje Galbi (₩19,000), 2 portions
• 1% pork neck (₩17,000)

The day we tried Hwangje Galbi and 1% pork neck

Once you order, a variety of side dishes and sauces to enjoy with the meat arrive. The kimchi in particular is called Naju pear kimchi. From the name, I thought it might be sweet kimchi with pear in it, but it was actually quite spicy. The spicy flavor came through much more strongly than sweetness, so if you do not handle spicy food well, I recommend trying just a little at first! I thought it was nice with the meat because it cut through the richness.

Also, kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew) comes free with a main-menu order, and this was tasty! It had big chunks of tofu, and we practically scraped the bowl clean :)

Grilling the pork neck and Hwangje Galbi! They come with zucchini, king oyster mushrooms, tomato, and shishito peppers. This was three portions in total, and it was quite a lot.

We grilled the Hwangje Galbi first. For a beef item, the price was quite reasonable. Of course, we had the first bite dipped in salt, and beef rib meat with salt is always a success :) The most surprising thing was the barbecue sauce and breadcrumbs pairing. It was my first time seeing breadcrumbs at a Korean BBQ restaurant, so I wondered how I was supposed to eat them, but lightly dipping barbecue-sauce-coated meat in the breadcrumbs gave it a subtle crunch and worked really well.

The 1% pork neck is premium Korean pork neck with nice marbling and chew. It was thick, not dry at all, and delicious. It was especially good wrapped in ssam vegetables :) And topping it with the jangajji (pickled vegetables) that came as a side dish made it even tastier with its tangy flavor.

Complimentary pork skin from the review event

We joined the review event and tried the pork skin too. Since it was complimentary, I did not expect much, but it was tastier than expected! It had a nice chewy texture, making it great to grill as a finish after all the main meat, and it also paired well with sauce or breadcrumbs. If the review event is running when you visit, it seems worth taking advantage of!

If you want to enjoy both beef and pork around Seoul Station or City Hall Station without breaking the bank, I recommend Geumseong Hoegwan Seoul City Hall Direct Branch :)