Janggi-dong Korean BBQ with 6 dipping sauces: Donpu The Grill, Gimpo

I was looking for somewhere to eat in the Janggi-dong food alley after a while and spotted a Korean BBQ place that looked delicious, so I made a reservation and went. This is Donpu The Grill! There was so much to eat — not just the meat, but the sauces, side dishes and extras too, haha.

Donpu The Grill in one line

• Aged meat pre-seared over open flame
• Staff grill it for you at the table
• A wide range of sauces and side dishes
• Both the meat and side dishes are delicious
• Kimchi rice included as a freebie

Hours, parking and location

Donpu The Grill is open Mon, Wed–Sun 11:00–23:00, closed on Tuesdays. Break time is 15:00–17:00.

I'd recommend parking at the nearby public parking lot! It's located in the Janggi food alley, haha.

Why Donpu The Grill in Janggi-dong needs a reservation

When I arrived outside the restaurant, I could already see how many customers there were from the street — it caught me off guard.

Sure enough, once inside every table was full. With staff bustling around and so many customers, the whole place had a really lively energy. Luckily we'd made a reservation, so we got seated right away without waiting. Seeing how crowded it was, I'd definitely recommend booking ahead if you're planning to visit!!

There's a self-serve bar on one side of the restaurant where you can grab the basic side dishes yourself.

And each table has a kiosk, so you can order easily!

Above the kiosk there was a detailed explanation of the sauces you eat with the meat — the variety was pretty impressive. I love dipping meat in sauce, so this made me really happy haha.

Check the photo above for the Donpu The Grill menu! We ordered the Donpu Signature Set. It lets you try beef and pork together, so it's a great fit if you want to eat several kinds of meat.

What comes with the Donpu Signature Set

The table was set pretty quickly after ordering, and there was SO much haha. The food was arranged neatly on a tray made specially for Donpu The Grill, so even though the spread was generous, it felt organized rather than overwhelming — really nice to look at.

Another thing I loved was that there were 6 kinds of sauce, haha. Having this many dipping sauces for the meat made it fun to pick and choose — switching up the meat-and-sauce combos let me enjoy the same meat in totally different ways.

Kimchi and water celery come out too, to grill alongside the meat. The kimchi in particular was really delicious — pairing a bite of meat with well-grilled kimchi is basically a cheat code haha. Adding shredded scallion too helps cut the greasiness!

And here's the amazing part — boiled pork (suyuk) comes as a freebie too, haha. Unexpected items kept appearing, which made the spread feel really generous and satisfying.

Steamed egg (gyeranjjim) came out too, and it was really tasty as well haha. Instead of the fluffy, soft version, this one had a firmer, denser texture. When I make steamed egg at home it always turns out runny!! The different texture kept me coming back for more, haha.

Flame-seared short rib meat and grade 1 Korean pork

And now for the star — the Donpu Signature Set meat! It's made up of short rib fingers, pork belly, and pork neck.

The meat comes pre-seared, and staff grill it for you, so all you have to do is eat comfortably. The cuts were thick too, and looked seriously appetizing from the moment I saw them.

After being pre-seared over an open flame and then grilled again over charcoal, the meat had a subtle smoky flavor, and cooking the thick cuts properly really brought out the juiciness.

Tasting all 6 dipping sauces, one by one

With the beautifully grilled meat and all the sauces set out on my plate, I dug in properly >_<

First, I tried the meat plain, without any sauce, to taste it on its own. The meat itself was delicious enough to enjoy plain! After that, I started switching through the sauces one by one.

With so many sauces, every bite of meat tasted different, which made it fun, haha. I'm not great with wasabi usually, but the wasabi mayo was way tastier than expected! The sharp bite of wasabi mellowed out mixed with mayo and paired really well with the meat.

On top of the sauces, I also ate it with shredded scallion and with grilled kimchi, trying it so many different ways that I never got tired of it through the whole set.

The staff recommended eating the boiled pork with grilled water celery. I'd honestly never seen that combo before, but the fragrant water celery paired with the boiled pork way better than I expected!

Finishing with kimchi rice after the meat

Another thing I loved at Donpu The Grill, haha — the kimchi rice (kimchi-jjipbap). It's rice soaked in kimchi jjigae, and it came as a freebie?! I had no idea this was coming, so having it show up made me really happy. You need some carbs after eating meat, right, haha.

Inside was black rice, and the spicy kick of the kimchi jjigae blended so well with the rice — it was seriously good after eating meat. The fact that it's included for free made me really, really happy.

Is Donpu The Grill worth it for a big meat feast in Janggi-dong?

After visiting Donpu The Grill, I get why it's so popular. The meat itself was delicious, but on top of that, the spread was so generous — 6 sauces, grilled kimchi, water celery, shredded scallion, boiled pork, and steamed egg. And with kimchi rice on top of all that, I left feeling really full and satisfied!

If you want to eat a hearty meat feast in Janggi-dong, or you're looking for a Korean BBQ spot where you can enjoy beef and pork together, I'd recommend giving Donpu The Grill a try. I had such a filling, delicious meal that day — it was a really satisfying experience!!