Hongdae-area Korean BBQ with a side dish per person: Jeongyukdo

Even my words are gaining weight now hahaha — now that it's fall, I bet so many of you are hunting for a Hongdae patio BBQ spot (obviously, right?).

Among Hongdae's patio BBQ places, I found an amazing one tucked a bit into a corner, so it's not noisy or crowded, and it almost feels like you've escaped into the countryside..?

It's Jeongyukdo (정육도), the Hapjeong Station restaurant, Hapjeong BBQ spot, Hongdae grill house I visited before on a friend's recommendation! The wide-open patio vibe, the meat quality, and the clean, tidy one-side-dish-per-person setup all left an impression. Here's my second-visit review, go—

Jeongyukdo corkage fee, group bookings and parking

• Corkage available (paid), ₩5,000 per person
• Group bookings possible (up to 20 people)
• Reservations available
• Parking: there are two paid lots in front of Jeongyukdo — a Kakao T unmanned lot and Yeonse parking lot. Using the Modu Parking Lot app can save you on fees.

How to walk to Jeongyukdo from Hapjeong Station Exit 5

Jeongyukdo is a 2-minute walk from Hapjeong Station Exit 5.

You have to walk all the way into the alley before Jeongyukdo comes into view, so it's a bit hidden from the main street — and yet the moment you step inside, there are SO many people... Everyone clearly knew exactly where they were going. It really has become a well-known Hongdae patio BBQ spot by word of mouth. The patio seats were basically all taken, so we moved inside.

Inside Jeongyukdo: hall seats and private room, not just the patio

Gotta snap a shot of this as a blogger, right hahaha

Is this place not new anymore..? I was surprised by how many celebrity autographs there were. Last time, tagging along with my friend, I totally missed this corner hahaha

The inside was set up a bit like a maze on both sides of the entrance — there's a big hall,

and also a small hall & a private room. There's a restroom inside too!

Jeongyukdo menu and prices

Please check the menu photos above for reference. They also sell spicy braised ribs and marinated ribs meal kits, and Jeongyukdo serves both beef and pork! The beef is 1++ Hanwoo, so it runs pricier, but the 1++ Hanwoo set lets you try a variety of cuts relatively affordably!

We ordered the Hanju pork set (500g) for ₩49,000 (fresh ribs 200g + pork belly 150g + kkotmoksal 150g, serves 2–3, includes Hanwoo doenjang stew or Gijang meljeot hot pot), gabrisal 150g for ₩19,000, and some drinks.

The Hanju pork set (500g) ₩49,000 (fresh ribs 200g + pork belly 150g + kkotmoksal 150g, serves 2–3, includes Hanwoo doenjang stew or Gijang meljeot hot pot) — left is fresh ribs, center is pork belly, right is kkotmoksal. Seriously... just look at that freshness. Looking at the raw meat and salivating like this, I have to seriously suspect I was a lion in a past life, the meat looks that fresh.

*Besides the Hanju pork set, there's also a Korean pork specialty cut set (hangjeongsal/pork jowl, gabrisal, galmaegisal/skirt meat)!

One side dish per person: no shared banchan at Jeongyukdo

At Jeongyukdo you get one side dish per person — mu-saengchae (radish salad), pickled chili strips, and salted squid, and the scallion strips and pickled onions each came with their own little tongs so you could portion them onto your own plate. Salt, whole grain mustard and wasabi were also meant to be portioned onto your own plate!

There was zero sharing of side dishes or sauces with anyone at the table! So I thought this would be a perfectly comfortable spot for a blind date with someone you don't know well yet... A patio BBQ place as a Hongdae blind date spot? What do you think? (Who am I even asking here)

Grilling order and the Gijang meljeot anchovy dip

We grilled in the order fresh ribs → kkotmoksal → pork belly. So what's on the grill right now is the fresh ribs! +grilling is self-service!

The set includes either Hanwoo doenjang stew or Gijang meljeot hot pot, and we always go with the Gijang meljeot. Gotta protect that funky fermented sauce flavor forever ♡

Fresh pork ribs at Jeongyukdo

The meat cooked up so deliciously. You all know how rare it is to eat proper fresh pork rib meat... Most people think pork ribs = marinated ribs, but occasionally there's a precious spot that serves fresh, unmarinated pork ribs like this? And that place is right here at Jeongyukdo?

These fresh ribs, with a fat layer somewhere between regular pork belly and pork neck, were delicious dipped generously into the bubbling hot meljeot,

and just as good paired with garlic scapes, salted squid, and other sides — clean, savory, and delicious.

Kkotmoksal, the pork neck cut worth ordering

Just look at the marbling on the kkotmoksal — this is marbling you'd never see on your typical, ordinary pork neck,,

But why is the juice pouring out like it's beef while it grills?

Wow, this is not pork neck. Genuinely packed with juice — honestly it was even more delicious than the fresh ribs earlier.

I prefer meat with a decent fat layer, so pork neck is usually the cut I care least about hahaha, but this was so moist and so appealing..?

If you visit Jeongyukdo, make sure to try the kkotmoksal without fail. All the pork neck I've eaten until now was not real pork neck.

I really wanted to say that line hahahaha

Pork belly on the grill

Last up is my favorite, samgyeopsal (pork belly). Seeing that slightly thick fat layer, yeah, this is it + it's a shame foreigners don't really eat the pork belly cut, such a shame — and grilling away

Wow, this pork belly and the kkotmoksal earlier are basically fighting over who's glowier. Packed with juice from every angle, melt-in-your-mouth texture.. genuinely delicious

A quick aerial shot. So happy to have this many things to pair it with

Extra order: gabrisal 150g for 19,000 won

Gabrisal 150g ₩19,000. Last time we added hangjeongsal (pork jowl), and it was genuinely delicious too! But! Since I wanted to try a different cut, it was gabrisal today.

Gabrisal is a specialty cut from between the pork neck and loin (the connecting part), and you only get about 200–500g of it from a single pig — a rare cut! That explains why I hadn't had much chance to try it before hahahaha

Jeongyukdo's gabrisal was sliced quite thin, and that's the trick, everyone! The gabrisal comes in tender yet chewy, in slightly thin slices that go down easy without feeling heavy.. I'm officially naming it melt-in-your-mouth gabrisal. Genuinely a pork-dopamine kind of day..☆

Was a second visit to Jeongyukdo worth it?

• One side dish per person
• Meat quality is genuinely high
• Private patio vibe without the surrounding crowd noise
• Gijang meljeot dip really elevates the meat's flavor ☆

Ask me if I'd go back and.. yes, I really want to come again. Next time I hope to grab one of those popular patio seats for a proper meat mukbang. Hapjeong Station restaurant, Hapjeong BBQ spot, Hongdae grill house 'Jeongyukdo' — recommended for a repeat visit.