Changwon charcoal grill restaurant with chawanmushi: Godansu Yongho

Where is Godansu Changwon Yongho Branch, and what are its hours?

• Address: 18 Changidaero 464beon-gil, Seongsan-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongnam, basement level 1
• Hours: 17:00–23:00 (last order 22:00)
• Closed: Mondays
• Parking: 4 spots in the building, plus street parking
• Reservations: Naver Reservation or by phone

Today's stop was Godansu Yongho Branch, tucked in an alley off Garosu-gil.

Godansu specializes in pork grilled over charcoal and cast iron, with an array of house-made sauces, side dishes, and extras. What I really liked was that a dedicated grill master cooks the meat for you the whole way through, so you can just sit back and eat.

Parking and finding the entrance: basement of the 'Daramgol' building

The restaurant sits down an alley off Garosu-gil, and since it's on the basement level, the entrance isn't obvious at first. Look for the building marked 'Daramgol' and head down to the basement.

They said the building has parking for up to 4 cars, so I gave it a shot — no luck, of course haha. An earlier review mentioned parking at a nearby repair shop, but when I checked with the restaurant directly, they said that's no longer possible. If the building lot is full, you'll need to hunt for street parking nearby, or on weekends use the Yongho-dong Community Center parking lot.

As we got close to the building, a red neon sign by the basement stairs made the entrance easy to spot. With the stairwell and the red lighting, the vibe felt less like a BBQ joint and more like a hip Seoul bar.

Godansu tends to have a wait, so if you're visiting during peak hours, it's worth booking ahead through Naver Reservation or by phone.

Right at the entrance, the first thing I saw was a fridge full of aging meat. Charcoal was placed underneath the cuts, which already set a different tone from your typical pork restaurant.

Inside Godansu: more bar than grill house

The interior also feels more like a bar than a typical grill house. From the lighting to the overall decor, it's got a hip atmosphere, and the space itself is fairly roomy. It's not a fully separate room, but there's a section set apart from the other tables. If you're looking for a Changwon Garosu-gil restaurant with great atmosphere, this one's worth keeping in mind.

Godansu's table setting: 5 sauces and 5 side dishes

Once you sit down, a full lineup of sauces and side dishes arrives all at once.

The sauces were galchisokjeot (fermented silver hairtail guts), gochujang sauce, fresh wasabi, salted seafood, and spinach-basil pesto, and the side dishes were pickled celery, konjac mayo salad, mustard leaf kimchi, cucumber peppers, and white kimchi. Not pictured, but each place setting also came with kelp salt made from dried kelp.

The galchisokjeot has a bit of a spicy kick from sancho pepper powder, and the gochujang sauce has pineapple mixed in for a sweet, refreshing taste. The spinach-basil pesto is apparently basil pesto with spinach and ground almonds added for extra nuttiness.

The complimentary chawanmushi (Japanese-style steamed egg)

And here's the item that was pretty unusual for a BBQ place — chawanmushi!

This Japanese-style steamed egg dish comes complimentary, and it's brought out piping hot, so you get to enjoy it warm and silky like an appetizer. It was getting chilly enough that I felt a bit cold even inside, and the warm chawanmushi melted that right away haha. The portion was generous too, so it was already pretty filling before the meat even arrived.

Two servings of pork neck and one of gabrisal, grilled for you

We started by ordering two servings of pork neck and one of gabrisal. The two servings of pork neck come out as one thick chunk.

Godansu offers a full grilling service, meaning staff cook the meat from start to finish. Even thick cuts that are tricky to grill get handled for you, so all we had to do was eat.

Once cooked, the meat was moved to the edge of the grill so it stayed warm without burning. Thanks to that, even the very last bite was still hot — actually so hot I nearly burned the roof of my mouth haha.

Best dip for the pork neck: kelp salt

And now, my beloved pork neck 💛

I tried it with the gochujang sauce, spinach-basil pesto, galchisokjeot, and more, one at a time. All of them worked well, but my top pick was definitely the kelp salt. It let the meat's own flavor shine through the cleanest, so I kept reaching for it.

If you want something a bit different, I'd also recommend the spinach-basil pesto! It's not as strongly seasoned as the other sauces, so it didn't overpower the pork neck — light and nutty instead.

Gabrisal (pork jowl) with fresh wasabi

The gabrisal (pork jowl meat) was ordered for my husband. Since it's a fattier cut, the staff recommended eating it with fresh wasabi.

I'm more of a lean-meat person, so I only tried one piece — it was tasty, but still a bit too fatty for my taste haha. My husband, on the other hand, demolished the gabrisal in no time. He loved it and ate every bit.

Adding one more serving of pork belly

The meat must have hit the spot, because we ended up ordering an extra serving of pork belly. It was just as thick, and the lean-to-fat ratio looked well balanced.

As expected, most of the finished pork belly ended up going to my husband haha. I tried just one piece of that too. I'm firmly Team Pork Neck. But my husband, who eats every cut equally well, enjoyed the belly just as much.

Dessert at Godansu: mul-bibim noodles instead of naengmyeon

Today's dessert was mul-bibim noodles!

Instead of the usual naengmyeon (cold noodles) you'd find at most BBQ places, Godansu offers mul-bibim, bibim, and green tangerine soba — all served with buckwheat noodles.

I went back and forth between mul-bibim and green tangerine soba, and ended up choosing mul-bibim, which didn't even look like a typical BBQ-restaurant dessert. It arrived as neatly plated as if we'd ordered it from a dedicated noodle shop.

Once you push aside the mound of vegetables on top, the bibim sauce underneath is revealed — mix it thoroughly with the broth and buckwheat noodles beneath, and the mul-bibim is complete!

I especially loved the finely chopped perilla leaves, which really brightened up the aroma. I'd worried that without naengmyeon, it might not feel refreshing enough after all that meat, but the spicy sauce actually made for a clean, satisfying finish.

I ordered it thinking I'd only have a light dessert, but it must have been good, because my husband — who'd already had meat and a bowl of rice — grabbed half of my mul-bibim noodles too haha. If I had to recommend one dessert after BBQ here, it would be the mul-bibim noodles.

Is Godansu Changwon Yongho Branch worth a visit?

After trying all three cuts today, I — a lifelong pork neck fan — still found the pork neck the tastiest, while my husband, who loves belly and gabrisal, enjoyed the gabrisal most. Different tastes, but we both left Godansu satisfied!

• Tableside grilling service where staff cook the meat for you
• A wide range of accompaniments, from kelp salt to spinach-basil pesto
• Mul-bibim noodles for a spicy, fragrant finish after the meat
• A hip atmosphere that's great for both a meal and drinks