Chuseok galbi dinner in Gwangju, Gyeonggi: Jeongwon Galbi

A great Gwangju galbi spot for family meals or gatherings — a room-style restaurant where I had some really good idong galbi (marinated short rib)! The food's tasty and it's a nice place for family get-togethers, so my husband's family goes there often, and I tagged along this time too haha!

Where Jeongwon Galbi Gyeonggi Gwangju Branch is, and how to book

Jeongwon Galbi Gyeonggi Gwangju Branch is at 110 Gyeongancheon-ro, 1st–2nd floor, Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, open daily 11:00–22:00, with parking available.

• 📌 110 Gyeongancheon-ro, 1st–2nd floor, Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• ⏰️ Daily 11:00–22:00
• ✔️ Parking available

I visited on the first day of Chuseok, and since our group was big we booked ahead and arrived right on time! Parking turned out to be surprisingly spacious, so no need to worry there. Looking around, there really were a lot of people, wait list included — if you're coming with a large group, I'd definitely recommend booking ahead!

Partitioned booths downstairs, private rooms on the whole 2nd floor

The first floor was packed and split into partitioned booths, so even downstairs you can have a decently cozy meal — most groups seemed to be about 4 people!

The second floor was entirely private rooms, and the side dishes were already set out ahead of our reservation time. Since we had a baby with us, we asked for a baby chair and they got one ready right away.

Side dishes and the self-serve bar at Jeongwon Galbi

Jeongwon Galbi's side dishes were pickled onion, perilla leaf pickles, cabbage salad, scallion strips, garlic scapes, seasoned crab, macaroni salad, and lettuce. They paired well with the meat, though the portions weren't huge, tbh.

If you're short on any side dish or want something else, you grab it yourself from the self-serve bar. But drinks and alcohol are also self-serve, so you have to go fetch those yourself too, which can be a bit of a hassle haha. You'll be going back and forth constantly, so I'd recommend seating the older folks on the inside and putting whoever's up for the back-and-forth on the outside haha. The staff were super busy too, but it makes sense given the self-serve system!

There's also a play area for kids on the second floor, with quite a lot of toys, so the kids had a great time playing haha.

What's on the menu

They have everything from value sets to Korean beef, regular beef, and pork, and the lunch special lets you eat relatively cheaply. I ordered three platters of idong galbi total plus raw galbisal (beef rib meat) to grill ourselves! The portions are decently big, so it's probably smart to start and add more as you go!

Handmade Idong galbi platter, 74,000 won: how much meat do you get?

The handmade idong galbi platter is ₩74,000 — 900g of seasoned beef short rib made with the tender salchisal (chuck flap) cut and a special sauce with amazing flavor, and it's a generous portion. Personally I'd say it's enough to fill up three people comfortably!

When you order the idong galbi, you get six big bone-in chunks. The sauce is on the sweeter side, and overall it seemed like the kind of thing pretty much anyone would enjoy!

How to grill the galbi over charcoal

We grilled the ribs ourselves over charcoal, and the heat was just right — you can adjust the airflow to control the flame, so I'd recommend keeping it low and steady. If you leave it completely alone, the meat can cook slowly!

We grilled it golden brown, and since it's Korean beef, we just ate it even a little on the rarer side — and it was delicious as expected! We picked the meat off the bones down to the last bit too! The sauce is just sweet enough that it's not overwhelming even eaten plain, and the meat was tender and tasty.

It's tasty plain, tasty with the pickled onion, and good for lettuce wraps too!! The meat isn't tough, so I think the older generation would enjoy it too.

Chadol doenjang sulbap and ordering tips

We ordered chadol doenjang sulbap (beef brisket doenjang rice soup) partway through our meal! It came in a generous portion, and since it's basically doenjang stew ingredients with rice mixed in, it went down easy. The doenjang here is tasty too, so I recommend it haha!

We felt like we were a bit short partway through, so we ordered another platter, and by the time we finished that one we were full! For reference, if there are 4 of you, one platter plus some sides should be plenty. Since we had some meat left over, ordering sides instead of a whole extra platter would probably be the smarter move.

We wrapped up with some plum tea as a palate cleanser! With the private rooms, it's a great place for a cozy meal with family or friends, and the meat is delicious too — I'd recommend Jeongwon Galbi as a good spot to visit with family!