Haeundae meat restaurant for two: 4 raw galbi servings, Seokok Galbi

Today I went to the hottest restaurant in Jung-dong — no, the hottest restaurant in Haeundae — Seokok Galbi.

Seokok Galbi hours and where to park in Jung-dong

Seokok Galbi is on the 1st floor at 499-9 Jwa-dong-sunhwan-ro, Haeundae-gu, Busan, South Korea, near Jung-dong Station and Jung-dong E-mart. There's no parking support, so you'll need to use the public lot next to Jung-dong E-mart or the E-mart Jung-dong branch lot.

• Mon–Fri 16:00–23:00 (last order 22:00)
• Sat–Sun 11:30–23:00 (break 14:30–16:00 / last order 22:00)
• No parking support — use the public lot next to Jung-dong E-mart or the E-mart Jung-dong branch lot

Seating and the dining room at Seokok Galbi

Here's a shot of the interior of this Haeundae favorite. There are about 13 tables for 4, and it looks like group bookings need to be made in advance.

I love that Seokok Galbi only serves raw galbi and marinated galbi (pork rib), so there's less agonizing over the menu. My husband said raw galbi was tastier based on trips with his friends, so we went with 4 servings of raw galbi!!! (A very personal opinion from a soju-loving husband.)

There's a baby chair, so it seems great for families, and wheelchairs can get through the entrance, so it should be manageable for anyone with mobility issues. The tables are spaced pretty far apart too, so there's no feeling of other diners crowding in, haha.

Is 4 servings of raw galbi too much for two people?

4 servings of raw galbi at Seokok Galbi was plenty for the two of us. The portion is generous 😎 Now I'm second-guessing whether 3 servings would've been enough, haha. My husband, who's good at grilling, took charge of the tongs.

Potato, eggplant and rice cake all grilled alongside the raw galbi 🫶🏻

Banchan and the self-serve bar at Seokok Galbi

The banchan (side dishes) at Seokok Galbi include seasoned fish roe, pickled vegetables, wasabi, kelp, green onion kimchi, ssamjang (dipping sauce), pickled bang-a-jip leaves, mala sauce, garlic, and pickled scallions. You can grab more from the self-serve bar too.

I grabbed lettuce, perilla leaves, seasoned fish roe, chili and pickled bang-a-jip leaves from the self-bar. The banchan were so good that the raw galbi never got boring. The pickled scallion was different from other places — soaked deep in sauce — which made it feel unique, and it was refreshingly sweet and spicy, which I loved. My husband loved the seasoned fish roe and pickled bang-a-jip leaves so much he refilled them several times 👍🏻

How to eat raw galbi: salt, wraps and soju

Once the meat was grilled to a nice golden brown, it was time to dig in properly. You can dip it in the drained salt (the salt dispenser was neat, haha), or wrap it with seasoned fish roe topped with chili and garlic — plenty of ways to enjoy it.

And of course, you can't avoid soju at a galbi restaurant — so we had a glass. Haha. The potato was sliced thin and came out crispy, the eggplant was soft, and the rice cake was crisp outside and chewy inside.

This was my first time at Seokok Galbi and I loved it! I used to wonder why there was always a line on weekends, but the raw galbi truly lived up to the '3rd generation galbi' reputation. No lingering smell at all!

How clean is Seokok Galbi?

Above all, Seokok Galbi clearly puts effort into cleanliness. There was no greasy smell when we walked in, and the floor wasn't sticky or slippery. The tables were well wiped down and the dishware was spotless. Food taste matters, but I'm also someone who just can't compromise on cleanliness 😁

I once did a sponsored visit where the food was so bad I agonized over what to even write, so these days I'm very careful about which campaigns I accept. Today's visit to Seokok Galbi was a genuine win 👍🏻

The 3,000 won kimchi stew and baekjinju rice

Seokok Galbi's minjin (people's) kimchi stew is only ₩3,000 but it's incredibly generous — it even comes with ramen noodles. And then there's the baekjinju rice.

I've bought baekjinju rice to cook at home before, and the aroma coming out of the rice cooker was incredible. Eating rice made from baekjinju rice with the kimchi stew is a recipe for overeating, full stomach or not. Highly recommend 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻😎

Restrooms at Seokok Galbi

Lastly, the restroom 👫 Men's and women's are separate, and there's hand soap, mouthwash, and a hand dryer. I'd never seen a Dyson hand dryer outside of a large café or department store, which made me think 'the owner really pays attention to detail.' The restroom was clean, odor-free, well ventilated — 100 points from me. (Getting carried away here.)

If you're visiting Haeundae and want meat after a swim, don't just head to the restaurants on Gu-nam-ro — come check out Seokok Galbi near Jung-dong Station and Jung-dong E-mart too. Both the raw galbi and marinated galbi are delicious. Especially the raw galbi, haha.