Raw beef in Buk-gu, Daegu: Bonghwa Saenggogi Bonjeom

Today, I went to Bonghwa Saenggogi Bonjeom (봉화생고기 본점) for raw beef with an incredible chewy texture. I already love raw beef and have it now and then, but this place is known as a Daegu mungtigi (thick-cut raw beef) specialist in Chilgok District 3, so I was even more excited.

It sits on the hill opposite Hamji Park and is open Monday to Saturday from 17:00 to 23:00, with last orders at 22:30. It is regularly closed on Sundays. There is parking for four cars right in front and three beside the restaurant, and they say dogs under 4 kg that do not bark are welcome, too.

A spacious restaurant with private rooms and group seating

Let me show you the outside first. You can tell at a glance that it specializes in raw beef and yukhoe (Korean beef tartare), right?

After finishing work, I came by public transport while my husband drove, and it was easy to spot even from a distance.

The parking was nice and roomy, too. The restaurant was bigger than I expected.

The simply but prettily decorated ceiling caught my eye. There are private rooms for 4–8 people, group tables for 10–30, and regular seating. I loved that there were private individual rooms as well as group tables for gatherings and work dinners.

The buk drum, janggu hourglass drum, and kkwaenggwari (?) gong by the counter were fun, haha. I even gave one a tap on the way out. 🥁 There were quite a few guests, but luckily there was room in a private room, so that is where we sat. This was the view out the window as we ate.

It was so lush and green that it really drew my eye.

Half raw brisket sashimi, half raw beef—and the raw beef won me over

Let me show you the menu.

For the main dish, you choose whichever combination you want from raw beef, yukhoe, odreigi (beef aorta), and raw brisket. We were curious about raw brisket, so we chose the half-and-half raw brisket sashimi platter (raw beef + raw brisket) for ₩65,000. At a great raw beef restaurant, the banchan always taste good from the start, right? Here was the spread.

It comes with beef liver, cheonyeop (honeycomb tripe), egg, young-radish kimchi, pollock roe, corn, kelp, cabbage, garlic scapes, gimbap (seaweed rice rolls), dipping sauce, and miyeokguk (seaweed soup). The gimbap topped with pollock roe was so good. I am guessing the yukhoe gimbap on the side-menu list might be this gimbap topped with yukhoe.

Grilled baby flounder came out, too. My sweet husband is good at picking fish apart, haha—he pulled off such big pieces, and they were delicious with a little salt. I could see the owner trimming raw beef from the moment I walked in; they seemed like a real master at it!

The raw beef and raw brisket were sliced along the grain to bring out their chewiness. They went beautifully with the dipping sauce, which was full of pungent garlic and nutty sesame oil, and they were truly chewy, with such a satisfyingly springy bite.

Raw brisket sashimi was completely different from the brisket you grill. The white fat had a crisp, granular bite, and its savory richness spread through my mouth. Thankfully, it was not greasy or cloying, so it did not feel heavy. Still, the raw brisket was not an amazing flavor for me personally; I preferred the raw beef.

Doenjang jjigae, plus included tteokbokki and cabbage pancake

We ordered doenjang jjigae (soybean-paste stew) as our meal. It was not the usual meat-restaurant doenjang jjigae—it had lots of mideodeok sea squirt and a seafood-like flavor. Keep that in mind if you plan to order it. It cut through the saltiness of the dipping sauce and was clean and mild, which I actually liked. I dipped the leftover raw brisket into it while eating, and voilà: instant brisket doenjang jjigae. 🍲 I thought we were done, but we were not. The tteokbokki and cabbage pancake were included, too.

You could call this a tteokbokki restaurant, honestly. We were so full, but the tteokbokki was wonderfully sweet. We also filled up on the crispy cabbage pancake, freshly cooked and served hot.

Final thoughts

At Bonghwa Saenggogi Bonjeom, we enjoyed everything from fresh, springy raw beef to neat little side dishes and the included tteokbokki and cabbage pancake. The raw beef is an absolute must-recommend; if you are curious about raw brisket, I recommend the half-and-half combination! If you are looking for high-quality Daegu mungtigi or raw beef, stop by Bonghwa Saenggogi Bonjeom.