Texas BBQ near Hongdae, Seoul: à la carte brisket and ribs, Locos BBQ

What is Locos BBQ Sangsu Branch?

Locos BBQ Sangsu Branch is the new Hongdae-area (Sangsu-dong) outpost of Locos BBQ, a Texas barbecue place whose original is in Itaewon's Gyeongnidan-gil. The branches are the Gyeongnidan-gil original, the Namyangju directly-run branch and the Sangsu branch, and if you love barbecue, I'd suggest going to whichever one is closest to home.

Locos BBQ was also featured on Sung Si-kyung's YouTube show 'Mukeul Tende' (먹을텐데), uploaded on November 18, 2023, and I'd been craving it badly, so when I heard the Sangsu branch had opened I rushed over! BBQ is great for dates, and you have to go whenever the craving hits, right? The Sangsu branch opened before a year had passed since my last visit to the original, so off to Sangsu I went.

Platter or à la carte: how to order at Locos BBQ?

The signature item at Locos BBQ Sangsu Branch is the BBQ PLATTER, and you can also order single dishes from BBQ PLATES. After I tried a platter at a barbecue place in Noksapyeong, my very first BBQ experience, I've only ordered à la carte. Honestly it's totally a matter of personal taste, so order whichever suits you.

Locos BBQ Sangsu Branch smokes its barbecue over real oak, and it's the only place in Hongdae selling barbecue like this, which makes it a great spot for a birthday party. The space is the kind kids would love, so it's also good for a family meal out.

What I ordered: brisket and half-size back ribs with original sauce

This time I ordered only from the BBQ à la carte list. With the half-size back ribs you can pick one of 3 sauces, and I was curious about the original, so I went with that.

• Brisket ₩23,900
• Half-size back ribs, original ₩23,900

Self-serve water and house-fried nachos

At Locos BBQ Sangsu Branch you can fetch water from the self-serve bar, and the staff explained that the nachos are fried in-house, so you can help yourself to as many as you like.

All the dishes I ordered came out! It's a place where you get a generous spread, which puts me in a good mood.

How does the brisket at Locos BBQ taste?

The brisket at Locos BBQ Sangsu Branch is beef (cow's brisket, 차돌양지) smoked over oak for 14 hours with the fat rendered right out. Brisket barbecue tastes best fresh out of the smoker. Think of it as the steaming-hot icon of Texas barbecue.

I got hooked on skirt steak (안창살) recently after having 130g for ₩62,000 at Honsogogi, and this brisket was just as tasty as that cut.

Ah, even looking at it again, I want to eat it again. Sunlight comes into the restaurant nicely too, so it was a good place for taking photos.

Opening event and review event at Locos BBQ Sangsu Branch

When I visited, Locos BBQ Sangsu Branch was running an opening event: Hanmaek (한맥) 1+1 and Stella draft beer 1+1. You get 2 glasses of Hanmaek for ₩8,000 or 2 glasses of Stella for ₩9,000, so you definitely have to order them.

The SIDES at this Hongdae barbecue place, the one from Sung Si-kyung's Mukeul Tende, are Havana corn, french fries, cheese fries, garlic rice, grilled corn, mac and cheese and smashed potatoes. Since Locos BBQ Sangsu hadn't been open long, they were running a review event: with a Naver review you can pick one of french fries, cheese fries or a drink. The pricier cheese fries are the better deal, so go for cheese.. I'm on a diet, so I picked a drink.

I didn't have draft beer this time, but I'll order one when I come back. A chance to taste Stella on draft isn't something you see often.

How to get to Locos BBQ Sangsu Branch

Locos BBQ Sangsu Branch is a 1-minute walk from Sangsu Station Exit 4.

This spot used to be Saonseo (사온서), a Sangsu-dong bar I loved. After Saonseo disappeared, a fusion dining place called Samsippyeong (30평, "30 pyeong") opened, but it didn't last long either. I never got to visit Samsippyeong, but the small hidden bar on its first floor was good too.. it had a kind of hangout-in-a-rice-mill feel. With those places gone, going to the newly opened Locos BBQ Sangsu Branch brings back mixed emotions.

What table sauces and sides come with the meal?

Locos BBQ Sangsu Branch has sauces set out at every seat. Tabasco and chipotle sauce are my style, the sweet barbecue sauce is for those who like things sweet, and the mustard barbecue sauce was pretty good too.

Jalapeños, fries and nicely toasted bread come along too. The bread is split halfway through, so it's designed for making a sandwich.

Restroom, pets, rentals, corkage and parking info

The restroom at Locos BBQ Sangsu Branch is downstairs. It's clean.

It's so tasty, and pets are allowed too. Private rental, group bookings and corkage are available, so it would be pretty nice to enjoy with wine as well.

As is typical in Mapo-gu, Locos BBQ Sangsu Branch has no parking, so let's use the Truparking Sangsu-dong lot, the Fine Golf Club lot or the Hapjeong 1 and 2 public lots.