Korean BBQ restaurant for group dinners in Gangnam: Sansol Sinnonhyeon

Got together with my college friends at a BBQ restaurant near Sinnonhyeon Station. Bottom line up front: this is a place where nobody has to be designated the grill person. We went on a Monday evening and got seated with zero wait. It worked well for our group hangout, so I'm writing down the menu and prices.

Where is Sansol Sinnonhyeon and how do you spot the sign?

Sansol Sinnonhyeon is an aged pork BBQ restaurant on the ground floor of a building on Gangnam-daero 112-gil. There's a row of standing signboards out front.

Lines like 'grilling continues until late night,' 'rice husk-smoked traditional grilling,' and 'Hanwoo chadolbagi (beef brisket).' There was even one signboard written in a foreign language. A lunch special event banner was also set up. According to the banner, from 11:30 to 2:30, if you order the set platter and leave a visit review, you get doenjang jjigae and a bowl of rice. We went in the evening so it didn't apply to us — better to double-check the conditions with the restaurant before you go.

This is a street packed with signboards on every building. Among them, the yellow vertical sign reading 'aged pork BBQ' is this place. I didn't time how many minutes it is from the station.

Stone-wall entrance, meat aging fridge and downdraft grills

The entrance to Sansol Sinnonhyeon is entirely stone wall, and through a hole in the wall inside the hall you can see the aging room. There's also a notice saying the downdraft duct system means you can eat without smelling of smoke.

The entrance is stone wall from top to bottom. Next to the door there's also a Grilling Meister certification plaque.

Right as you walk in, there's an aging showcase. Meat hangs there, along with strings of onions and peppers. There's even a scale in front. It's basically showing off the 'aged pork BBQ' from the sign right at the entrance.

There's a hole cut into the stone wall on the hall side, and through it you can see the aging room. It's labeled 'aging room' in big red letters. There was also a corkage-free sign on the side wall, though I couldn't read the exact conditions. There's a notice that the downdraft duct means you can eat without smelling of smoke afterward — good to know if you're worried about your clothes.

Inside the hall there's an open kitchen shaped like a thatched roof (maybe?). The counter is finished in matching stone. The exterior sign says 'the taste of Gangwon Province,' and the interior seems to follow that theme too.

What banchan comes with the basic table setting?

The basic table setting at Sansol Sinnonhyeon includes soy sauce dip, baek-kimchi (white kimchi), mul-kimchi (water kimchi), pickled vegetables, and a fresh salad. On top of that, salt, wasabi, ssamjang (soybean-chili paste), and gochujang (chili paste) also come out.

As soon as you sit down, the basic table setting gets laid out: soy sauce dip, white kimchi, water kimchi, pickled vegetables, fresh salad. Add salt, wasabi, ssamjang, and gochujang on top and the table fills up fast.

The soy sauce dip is loaded with chopped green onion and pepper. Seems meant for dipping the meat.

The pickled vegetables come in two kinds — leaf and stem. Not sure exactly what vegetable it is.

What's in the 56,000-won sanmodeum platter for 2–3 people?

The main dish is the sanmodeum platter for 2–3 people. ₩56,000. It comes as one plate with thick-cut pork belly, diced meat, and finely sliced meat.

Corn is served alongside, and the pine cone in the back is just decoration — not for eating.

Aside from pork belly, I didn't write down the names of the other cuts. If you're curious about the cuts, it's most accurate to just ask when ordering.

The staff grill the meat for you, everyone. So none of us had to decide who was going to grill.

This is what a whole sanmodeum platter looks like once it's all on the grill.

Cups come as paper cups.

Doenjang jjigae, gyeranjjim and kkakdugi bokkeumbap

Sansol Sinnonhyeon's doenjang jjigae is ₩9,000, with a ₩1,000 add-on for sulbap (rice cooked with makgeolli/liquor added). Gyeranjjim is ₩6,000, and kkakdugi bokkeumbap is ₩10,000.

Eating BBQ, you eventually start craving stew and rice. Doenjang jjigae is ₩9,000, and the sulbap add-on is ₩1,000. We added the sulbap.

The stew has tofu, zucchini, and green onion in it, topped with chili powder.

Gyeranjjim is ₩6,000. It comes in an earthenware pot, topped with green onion and sesame seeds. To finish, we also had the kkakdugi bokkeumbap. ₩10,000. But I don't have a single photo of the fried rice.

What our group dinner cost at Sansol Sinnonhyeon

When you're checking out a BBQ restaurant near Sinnonhyeon Station, price is what you really want to know. Here's everything we ate, gathered in one place.

• Sanmodeum platter (2–3 people) — ₩56,000
• Doenjang jjigae — ₩9,000, sulbap add-on ₩1,000
• Kkakdugi bokkeumbap — ₩10,000
• Gyeranjjim — ₩6,000

We didn't drive, so I don't know about parking. If you're planning to bring a car, better to ask the restaurant before you go.

If you're looking for a BBQ restaurant near Sinnonhyeon Station for a college friends' meetup, this one's worth adding to the list. From the meat to the stew, gyeranjjim, and fried rice, everything was handled in one sitting.