Yongin fish grill restaurant, mackerel and pork bulgogi sets: Guigo

While staying at my parents' place and going restaurant-hopping with my mom, one of her acquaintances recommended a grilled fish spot in Yongin. It's Guigo, near the Korean Folk Village!! I usually can't handle seafood well, but she talked it up so much I couldn't hold back my curiosity, so mom and I went straight there 🏃🏿‍♀️

What is Guigo? A wood-fired fish grill specialist in Giheung, Yongin

What we ordered at Guigo

Mom ordered the grilled mackerel set, and I ordered the pork bulgogi set, and we shared them haha. I'm usually not great with seafood so I was a little worried since it's a grilled fish specialist, but I was glad they also had bulgogi and pork options 👍🏿 Thanks to that, mom got her fish 🐟 and I got my meat 🥩 — we each ate what we liked and shared, which makes it a great spot for a work dinner or a date, and honestly good to visit with anyone, any age!!

Wood-fired grilled mackerel: is there really no fishy smell?

First up was the wood-fired grilled mackerel 🐟 look at that shine!! Guigo is known for its wood-fired grilled fish, and apparently the owner personally receives the whole fish, cleans it, and even ages it himself?? It takes twice as long, but you could tell at a glance that the difference in flavor was worth it 👀

They said it's cleaned and aged from the whole fish without any re-thawing, and maybe that's why there was absolutely no fishy smell 🙊 That's usually the thing I worry about with grilled fish, but here that worry was completely unnecessary.

Dipped in wasabi soy sauce, it tasted clean and light right from the first bite 👍🏿

If you can't eat fish: Guigo's fire-grilled gochujang pork bulgogi

Right after, my fire-grilled gochujang bulgogi arrived too 😆 Even if someone in your group finds fish daunting, no worries — this fire-grilled bulgogi was spicy-sweet, chewy, with a subtle smoky char, satisfying even for someone like me who's not great with seafood 😚

The rice also came as sotbap (hot-pot rice), which made it even tastier, and the side dishes served alongside were neat and tidy, giving it a real full-table-spread feel 🙌🏿

Guigo's self-bar: free refills of side dishes, soup, rice and coffee

On top of that, at the self-bar you can refill whatever side dishes, soup, and rice you want, unlimited!!

There's also an ice machine and a coffee machine, so you can get a glass of ice or an iced Americano too ~~🧊

✨ Final verdict on Guigo ✨

From cleaning the whole fish to aging it and cooking it wood-fired, you could feel the care put into this place, so it was a satisfying meal for both my mom and me 🍚 Even someone who can't eat fish can enjoy it together thanks to the bulgogi, so it's really a great spot to visit with family 🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒

If I had to find a downside, it's that there are so many kinds of fish that you end up with the happy dilemma of what to order next time. Since it turned out to have no fishy smell and tasted great this time, I think I'll go for fish myself next time haha. I feel like every visit, I'll want to try a different fish 🐟🐡

Rating: 100 out of 100. If you're looking for a healthy meal or trying to decide on a place for a family meal, I recommend Guigo 👍🏿