Gangnam Korean BBQ with kkakdugi fried rice for two: Sansol

Today I want to introduce a pork restaurant that ranks among the best meat I've had in 30 years of life. It's Sansol Sinnonhyeon (산솔 신논현점), an aged pork specialist near Sinnonhyeon Station. I love meat and have been to plenty of BBQ spots, but this time I kept saying "this place is seriously good" throughout the meal. What I especially loved was that staff grilled the meat for us, so we could just relax and eat — a real Sinnonhyeon favorite.

Where Sansol Sinnonhyeon is, plus parking and hours

Sansol Sinnonhyeon is at 15 Gangnam-daero 112-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, ground floor. Hours are weekdays 16:00–23:00, weekends 12:00–22:30. Parking is available at the mechanical parking lot of the Designers Hotel across the street — 2 hours allowed, ₩3,000 for compact cars / ₩5,000 for large cars.

What the dining room at Sansol Sinnonhyeon looks like

Sansol Sinnonhyeon says it serves food made with fresh ingredients sourced from Gangwon-do farms. You can book through Naver Reservation or CatchTable, which makes visiting a lot smoother if you reserve ahead.

When we visited, we looked around and the interior was more spacious than expected, with generous space between tables. Some BBQ places cram tables together or leave the whole room smelling of meat, but Sansol felt clean and comfortable overall. The floor didn't have that typical greasy, slippery BBQ-restaurant feel, and the smell of meat wasn't heavy in the air either — good!

Did you know pork actually has grades? Sansol only serves 1+ grade meat. On top of that, the downdraft ventilation meant our clothes didn't end up smelling of meat afterward — really solid, this Sansol Sinnonhyeon.

How many side dishes Sansol Sinnonhyeon serves

Before the meat arrived, we tried the side dishes one by one. Salad, kkakdugi (diced radish kimchi), aged kimchi, Maldon salt, herring roe jeot (salted herring roe), myeong-i wasabi (mountain leek with wasabi), yuzu radish salad, pa-yukjang (scallion soybean paste), barley ssamjang, and wasabi were all laid out. It was great being able to try so many combinations with just one order of meat. Everything is apparently made fresh by hand daily, which probably explains why each one tasted good. There were so many good pairings that we barely needed lettuce wraps.

One portion each of pork neck and pork belly, grilled by staff

At Sansol Sinnonhyeon we ordered one portion each of pork neck and pork belly. The meat comes about 80% pre-grilled, and staff finish it off at the table, which made things really easy.

The visual alone got me excited, and eating it made me understand why people flock to this Sinnonhyeon BBQ spot. Wow... the juiciness was on point. The moment I bit in, moist juices spread through my mouth with a rich, savory flavor.

With so many side dishes on offer, there was fun in trying different combinations with the meat. Pairing it with myeong-i and wasabi made it fragrant and clean, while salad or yuzu radish salad added a refreshing twist!

Red snow crab ramyeon, 8,000 won

A must-try at Sansol Sinnonhyeon is the red snow crab ramyeon (홍게라면) at ₩8,000. After enjoying the meat, we wanted something refreshing and spicy, so we ordered this too.

The size of the crab alone was impressive. A whole, brightly cooked red snow crab sat in the bowl with legs sticking out over the rim — visually generous from the start.

I tried the chewy, well-cooked noodles first, and the broth had soaked into them perfectly. One sip of the broth brought a burst of cool ocean flavor from the crab.

It wasn't just typical ramyeon broth — the umami from the crab made it feel more like eating a seafood stew. Following the hot meat with a warm yet refreshing broth was a great combination. The broth was rich and clean enough that I kept reaching for another spoonful, and of course, ramyeon has to be eaten with kimchi.

Why staff grilling makes a difference at Sansol Sinnonhyeon

In 30 years of eating a lot of meat, this was personally among the best I've had. It wasn't for nothing that I kept saying "this is really good" throughout the meal. Every bite was packed with rich flavor, and at some point I forgot to chat with my company and just focused on eating. Above all, having staff grill the meat for us made things so easy. When you grill it yourself, you end up worrying about burning it or checking how done it is, sometimes missing the actual flavor. At Sansol, staff grilled it perfectly so we could just relax and eat.

Yum yum, this is so good 💛🫧💛🫧

Griddle kkakdugi fried rice, 10,000 won for two

Lastly, we ordered the kkakdugi (diced radish kimchi) fried rice. It comes on its own griddle, ₩10,000 for two, which at first seemed a bit pricier than fried rice at other BBQ places??! But after trying it...

Ah, this was worth every won haha. It was genuinely delicious — honestly one of the best kkakdugi fried rice dishes I've had, to the point I wanted to know the recipe. We were both eating the fried rice before the meat even finished grilling, and we laughed about it for a while. The tangy kkakdugi and the savory fried rice went so well together, making it the perfect finish after the meat. If you visit Sansol, definitely try the kkakdugi fried rice.

Is Sansol Sinnonhyeon worth it? Final verdict

After eating through everything, I understood why I kept saying "this ranks among the best pork of my 30 years" that day. The meat itself was excellent, and having staff grill it made the whole meal so easy to enjoy. On top of that, the variety of side dishes and sauces let us enjoy the meat in many different ways, and the red snow crab ramyeon and kkakdugi fried rice rounded out the meal perfectly. With a clean atmosphere and delicious meat, I'd love to come back to Sansol Sinnonhyeon next time I'm eating BBQ near Sinnonhyeon. If you love meat, this Sinnonhyeon favorite, Sansol Sinnonhyeon, is worth a visit.