Family-friendly Korean BBQ in Siheung: LA galbi lunch at Gyesu Garden

We went out for meat with the family last weekend, and it was so satisfying I had to write about it! This place is already well known, so when we showed up for weekend lunch it was absolutely packed. Still, the restaurant is spacious and has a solid waitlist system, so we got seated without any stress. If you're looking for good food in the Siheung Eungye district, you really need to check out Gyesu Garden!

There's also plenty of parking in the front yard!

Gyesu Garden's pre-meal tomato salad and seasoned raw crab

As soon as we sat down at Gyesu Garden, the side dishes started coming out one by one, and the first thing that caught my eye was a tomato salad served before the meal.

Honestly, I don't usually like tomatoes, so when this first arrived I wasn't going to touch it. But my husband took one bite and made such a fuss about how good it was that I gave it a shot anyway... and wow, this is seriously amazing! The sauce is tangy and sweet, with crunchy nuts mixed in, and there's none of that grassy tomato taste — it just cleans your palate right out. Even if you're not a tomato person like me, you have to try this. You won't regret it. Highly recommend!

The quality of the side dishes here is on another level. Getting seasoned crab (yangnyeom gejang) as a side dish alone is a pass in my book. 👍👍 The seasoning clings perfectly to the rice and the meat was packed full, so I ended up scooping big spoonfuls of rice with it before the meat was even cooked.

What's on the ssam vegetable self-bar at Gyesu Garden?

There's a really clean, well-organized self-bar tucked into one side of Gyesu Garden! It's stocked with everything you need for wrapping your meat — fresh lettuce leaves, garlic, ssamjang (dipping paste), pickled radish, pickled onion — so you can just help yourself to as much as you want without feeling awkward about it.

At the spot where you make your garlic oil dip, there's even a cute little sign that says "Just a little garlic oil! Even a small amount cooks well," and it made me smile at the owner's sense of humor.

LA galbi and pork galbi: how a picky eater reacted

Finally the main event — the meat — showed up and went onto the charcoal grill. Just looking at how the meat sat on the grill, you could tell how good the quality was.

We grilled it up nice and golden and took a bite — the seasoning wasn't overly sweet, it just soaked in perfectly, so it was really tender and delicious. My kid is usually a bit of a picky eater, but the moment she tried Gyesu Garden's LA galbi, she made a huge fuss about wanting more!

The meat was so tender that she happily picked up the ribs and gnawed them right off the bone. She ate so well I felt proud, and honestly there was no way we weren't going to order more. Haha.

Of course it wasn't just the LA galbi — the pork galbi was also incredibly delicious!!!

Which free dessert drinks does Gyesu Garden serve?

At Gyesu Garden, if you order one portion of meat per person, they give you a slip so you can order a dessert drink for each person in your group. Most other meat restaurants just have a vending machine coffee at best after the meal, right? But Gyesu Garden's dessert game is honestly no joke. I was genuinely surprised when I saw the menu.

They have Americanos and café lattes, of course, plus pu-erh tea, buckwheat tea, hot/iced chocolate for the kids, and even a seasonal fresh fruit juice (shine muscat grape juice)!

And the coffee machine isn't some fully automatic push-button dispenser — they actually make it with a real professional espresso machine, the kind you'd find in an actual café. We ordered the shine muscat fresh fruit juice for our kid, and it was cool and refreshing, giving the meal a really nice finish. She loved it and said it felt like being at a café.

Is Gyesu Garden worth it for a family lunch in Siheung?

Great meat quality, side dishes, the pre-meal salad, the self-bar setup, and finally a cafe-level dessert service — nothing about this meal fell short. I'd highly recommend this as a dining spot for families with kids or for family gatherings! I'm already planning to go back soon for more galbi 💕