Yangju galbi restaurant for a three-generation lunch: Manpo Garden

Today I'm bringing you a galbi restaurant review from Yangju!! I know a lot of you are looking for good galbi spots in Yangju, so let me share my review of Manpo Garden haha.

It's known as one of the famous galbi spots in Yangju, so I went in with high expectations. I visited on a weekday for lunch — it wasn't crowded during the early lunch hour, but by the time we left there were tons of customers!!!

Manpo Garden location, hours and parking in Yangju

Manpo Garden is located at 28-37 Godeok-ro 355beon-gil, Yangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, 1st floor, and it's open 11:00–22:00. You can use the building's large private parking lot for free.

The location is great and the parking lot is spacious, so parking was really convenient!!!

What is the dining room at Manpo Garden like?

From the entrance, the grand, restaurant-like exterior and that feeling you get from the word "garden" made me really excited — it seemed perfect for a family meal out or a gathering hahaha.

Right by the checkout counter near the entrance, they were also selling meat. The quality looked really good, so I thought it'd make a great gift too haha.

The entrance was upscale too, and once we went in, the dining room was really spacious and clean!!! The place felt so classy that my mom loved it haha.

The whole wall is floor-to-ceiling glass, so you can see the blue sky outside — it looked amazing. It had the kind of elegant atmosphere that older folks would love too haha.

Private rooms at Manpo Garden

There's also a sizable private room inside, which looked great for gatherings or company dinners. It seemed like a perfect spot not just for people searching for galbi in Yangju, but also for family gatherings or work dinners!!!

What comes in the Manpo Garden weekday lunch special, and the price

The reason I visited on a weekday for lunch was specifically for the lunch special.

When you order one serving of galbi at Manpo Garden, you get free naengmyeon, and the weekday lunch special — the hand-cut galbi set — also comes with doenjang sulbap (soybean paste rice) on top, so you get around ₩8,000 worth of food for free when you order the lunch special.

Delicious charcoal-grilled pork galbi, plus naengmyeon and doenjang sulbap!!

On top of that, Manpo Garden serves yukhoe and yukjeon as side dishes, and after the meal you can even have ppeongseukeurim and iced americano — it's such great value!!!!

All of this for under ₩20,000 — just ₩19,000!!! There really is a reason this place is famous. With this lineup plus the upscale atmosphere, I think it's better than going to most hanjeongsik (Korean set-course meal) restaurants haha.

• Lunch special hand-cut galbi set ₩19,000
• Pudding egg custard ₩3,000

That's what our family ordered haha.

Ordering was done through a kiosk, and besides pork galbi there were plenty of beef menu items too, so it seemed like a great spot for a family meal out!!

Yukhoe and yukjeon basic sides plus the self-service bar

Neat side dishes came out along with the charcoal and meat, and each serving was 250 grams, so there was a lot of meat!!

We ordered three servings of the set, so with 750 grams of meat and the neat side dishes, everything looked so delicious ㅠㅠㅠ

The yukhoe was savory and chewy — so tasty — and the yukjeon was tender and easy to eat ㅠㅠㅠ Yukhoe and yukjeon as free side dishes... seriously... isn't that such a steal ㅠㅠ The portion wasn't too little or too much for a starter, so it was great that the whole family got to share and taste a bit of everything ㅠㅠ

You have to pay extra for more yukhoe and yukjeon, but all the other side dishes are available at the self-service bar, where you can help yourself as much as you like — that was so nice haha.

Gentle charcoal that keeps the marinated galbi from burning

Once we started grilling the meat in earnest, the most surprising thing was how gentle the charcoal was, so the meat didn't burn easily!! With marinated galbi, if you look away even for a moment the sauce burns, making it tricky to grill — but here the charcoal burns so mildly that the meat cooks evenly all the way through without the marinade scorching, which made grilling really easy!!!! It was such a neat, welcome surprise haha.

Doenjang sulbap, pudding steamed egg and how the pork galbi tastes

While we were eating side dishes and grilling the meat, the doenjang sulbap arrived — it had rice mixed in along with plenty of vegetables and meat, and it looked really delicious!!!! It tasted cleaner and slightly spicier than the usual doenjang jjigae you get at meat restaurants, which paired really well with the meat.

Having it mid-meal refreshed my palate while warming and filling my stomach — it was so good haha. The portion was pretty generous too, so it was great for everyone to share!!!

The pudding egg custard also came out, and true to the name "pudding," the egg was super soft and jiggly. Eating it after the sulbap when things got a little spicy was such a perfect pairing — so delicious haha.

I also had the pork galbi — it wasn't overly sweet, and it had that charcoal-smoke aroma, so it wasn't sickening and was easy to keep eating. It truly lived up to being called one of the top galbi spots in Yangju!!!

Eating it alongside the various side dishes, the flavor kept changing with every bite, so I just kept reaching for more ㅠㅠㅠ It wasn't overly intense in flavor, which I actually liked even more haha.

Is the free naengmyeon cold broth or spicy mixed?

While we were busy eating the galbi, we ordered our free naengmyeon — we got both the spicy mixed and the water-based versions.

Eating the spicy mixed naengmyeon together with the pork galbi was sweet, spicy, cool, and the chewy noodles were so good!!!! It felt like it refreshed my palate, and even though I was full, I kept reaching for more haha.

The water naengmyeon was also tangy, sweet, and refreshing — it felt like it cleared everything out, so good haha. Being able to enjoy either water or spicy mixed naengmyeon with the meat depending on your preference feels like Manpo Garden's own special charm!!!!

Dessert: ppeongseukeurim and iced americano

After the meal, we finally had ppeongseukeurim — even though I was so full, the ice cream and puffed rice crackers were so tasty that I just kept eating it lol. My mom made an affogato by pouring coffee over hers, which was also delicious haha.

They make the puffed rice crackers here themselves too, and they're so nutty and good lol. My daughter basically just ate the crackers the whole time lol.

We finished it off with an iced americano on the way out — it was a meal so good I had nothing left to envy!!!

Final thoughts on lunch at Manpo Garden

Manpo Garden is loved by both kids and grown-ups — why not give it a visit for a family meal, a gathering, or a company dinner?

If you want to make the most of it, I really recommend trying the weekday lunch special.