Seoul Korean BBQ in Seocho with flat spicy noodles: Gamgol Yeontan Jip

There’s a meat restaurant I’ve been completely obsessed with lately. It specializes in charcoal grilling, and not only is the meat delicious, but the sides are excellent too—I liked it so much that I recommend Gamgol Yeontan Jip (감골연탄집) to friends whenever we have plans.

Gamdol Yeontan Jip near Yangjae Citizen's Forest Station: location and parking

Gamdol Yeontan Jip Yangjae Citizen's Forest Branch is a three-minute walk from Exit 3 of Yangjae Citizen's Forest Station. If you’re driving, you can use the free parking lot behind the restaurant, so visiting by car is easy too.

A retro interior

Once inside, you’re greeted by an old-school retro atmosphere. I found the concept so fun, and everything from the typefaces to the chairs and furniture had an antique feel.

They say Gamgol Yeontan Jip is run together by a mother born in 1968 and her son, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, the world’s top culinary school. With the mother’s traditional recipes combined with recipes from her son, a chef with Michelin-restaurant experience, it has distinctive flavors and one-of-a-kind menu items—no wonder it’s one of the places getting lots of buzz lately.

Above all, the banchan (Korean side dishes) came out beautifully neat and tidy, and I loved the variety of sauces for dipping the meat.

Gamdol Yeontan Jip menu and lunch special

• Gochujang charcoal bulgogi ₩14,900
• Charcoal king salt pork belly ₩15,900
• Premium pork neck ₩15,900
• Seolhwa pork jowl ₩17,900
• Seasoned hagfish ₩13,900
• Honeycomb pork skin ₩12,900
• Chicken feet ₩13,900
• Charcoal-grilled dried filefish ₩5,900

These are dishes you can enjoy as a meal or with drinks.

From 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., they say they serve only the charcoal direct-fire pork bulbaek set meal as a lunch special. It could be a nice lunch stop for nearby office workers. And if you join the review event, you get the ₩5,900 dried filefish for free!

Even the cutlery set suited the atmosphere, with that retro sensibility.

One serving each of pork belly, neck, and jowl

We ordered one serving each of pork belly, pork neck, and pork jowl. Seolhwa pork jowl is a special cut sold in limited quantities each day. The charcoal king salt pork belly uses top-grade, carefully selected Korean pork and is grilled over charcoal on a wire rack, while the signature pork neck is also prepared with top-grade selected Korean pork.

Gamdol Yeontan Jip maximizes the meat’s flavor through proper charcoal grilling. They say the aroma of their patented eco-friendly charcoal, with no worry about harmful gases, adds a special flavor.

The juicy signature pork neck

First, we put the signature pork neck on the grill.

It was evenly cut, so it was easy to grill—and truly juicy through and through.

Personally, I thought this basil ssamjang (seasoned soybean-paste dipping sauce) was so unusual and delicious. It cut through the richness, I guess.

Scallion salad, lettuce wraps, peppers, and garlic came as the basics.

Eating the meat with the scallion salad was an umami explosion,, of course they go so well together.

Even dipped in the sesame-oil sauce from a mill passed down for three generations, the meat’s own flavor came through clearly. Since it was premium pork neck rather than ordinary pork neck, it wasn’t dry at all—just moist. They say Gamgol’s original charcoal king salt pork belly is aged in an onggi (traditional earthenware vessel) for over 1,440 minutes, giving you umami, juices, and nuttiness.

Before even taking a bite, the look of it already passed.

The flat spicy noodles you have to order

The flat spicy noodles are ₩6,900. Haven’t you ever seen a side dish like this before? They say it’s a side available only at Gamgol Yeontan Jip anywhere in the world, made with specially prepared flat noodles, so please, you absolutely have to order this.

Chinese liangpi noodles? Ah, what was it—I can’t quite remember, but you know those very thin, chewy noodles. They reminded me of those noodles that slip down smoothly with a big slurp, slurp.

Wrap the flat noodles with cabbage and meat and, I swear,, this is a lifetime favorite restaurant. It got more delicious with every bite and made me gasp in admiration—the meat juices were a work of art.

Limited Seolhwa pork jowl

Seolhwa pork jowl is a specially trimmed cut that yields only a few hundred grams from an entire pig, and they say it’s a texture genius that is sold in limited quantities each day. Highly recommended if you like a pleasantly chewy bite. I personally love pork jowl, and this was chewy yet juicy and delicious.

Refreshing sides after the meat

For dessert, we had yeolmu kimchi noodle soup for ₩6,900: a perfect combination of crisp, tangy young-radish kimchi and cool kimchi broth with deep umami.

It was great for refreshing the palate after the meat, and the noodles themselves were very distinctive. They were so soft, I’d say.

Changdong-style shrimp steamed egg, with tiny dried shrimp, plump shrimp, and scallions, was ₩5,900. It was an umami bomb, and the sesame oil made it wonderfully nutty and delicious.

They even had free maesil (Korean green-plum) slushies ready, so we finished off with a really satisfying meal. The meat quality is genuinely good and so are the sides, so if you’re looking for a delicious meat restaurant in Yangjae-dong, give Gamgol Yeontan Jip a visit.