Beef ribeye and free corkage at Hwaseol, a Gangnam Station Korean BBQ

Why we came back to Hwaseol, this time the Gangnam branch

I recently went to Hwaseol's Isu direct branch and it was so good it stuck with me. So when I saw there was a Hwaseol in Gangnam, I got excited and had to check it out! I'd never walked that particular street before, and it turned out to be packed with beef restaurants. It also seemed to be a known spot — a bunch of foreign tourists were there eating. I thought about ordering the Hwaseol set, but I wanted to try something new this time, so I picked out every menu item I was curious about, one by one!

Short rib (soegalbisal), 120g for 21,000 won

The first thing we ordered was the short rib. It had just the right amount of marbling, so the juices really came through once grilled. Staff grilled it for us directly, so even beginners could eat comfortably without worrying about it.

Out of all the beef cuts, I think kkotsal and short rib are the tastiest. Short rib never gets old for me — I just keep eating it. And the grilled seaweed you can only get at Hwaseol! It brings out so much umami that everything tastes even better.

Ribeye (kkotdeungsim), 120g for 49,000 won

I also ordered the ribeye, which feels like a special-occasion dish. Why? Just because, hahahaha. Honestly, I didn't have a good sense of what 120g would look like, but once I was face to face with the actual piece, it was really quite small? But — it earns its price, ha.

It's on the pricier side, but the melt-in-your-mouth texture was worth it. It's softer and more savory than the short rib, so switching between the two kept things from getting monotonous. Oh right, I was grilling it myself for a bit and then handed it over to the staff, haha, so it got a little burnt, haha, oops.

Pork belly (samgyeopsal), 150g for 17,000 won

Eating only beef can get greasy, but ordering pork belly alongside it balanced things out perfectly. I'm firmly team pork belly. You didn't want to know that? Well, now you do.

Order a bowl of rice, load the pork belly onto a lettuce wrap, and the juices are unreal. The side dishes weren't super varied, which was a little disappointing, but the main dishes were so good I quickly forgot about it.

Cold noodles (mul-naengmyeon), 9,000 won

Cold noodles are something you absolutely cannot skip when eating meat! I always order them, and the noodles here are genuinely chewy! Chewy chewy, that's it exactly!!! The broth was solid but nothing special, but the noodles alone make me want to come back.

How to walk to Hwaseol from Gangnam Station, and what the restaurant is like

It was a little tricky to find at first. The street was unfamiliar since it was my first time there, but I could spot the Hwaseol sign from a distance right away!

It's only a 5-6 minute walk from Gangnam Station, so it wasn't hard to find. There seemed to be some parking spaces in front of the restaurant, but they're not very plentiful, so I'd recommend public transit. It's open daily from 11:30 to 23:00, and it looked like it runs straight through with no break time.

I was surprised by how spacious the dining hall was. It's clearly set up to handle groups. The tables were also wide, so even as a party of two, we grilled meat with almost a four-seat table's worth of space. The generous seating gaps made it feel well-suited for company dinners or gatherings too.

While looking around, I spotted these two mascot dolls and snapped a photo because they were just too cute.

There were so many celebrity autographs on the wall that it felt like you might just run into one of them here. If you're near Gangnam Station looking for a good beef restaurant, Hwaseol Gangnam Direct Branch is worth a visit.

Free corkage, baby-friendly service and parking at Hwaseol

Hwaseol Gangnam Direct Branch offers free corkage, which will especially please wine lovers. There's also baby-friendly service, so you can eat comfortably with little ones. And since so many foreigners visit Gangnam anyway, this is a great place to recommend to foreign friends. That wraps up today's review!