Pohang Korean BBQ with thick pork belly and pollack roe: Geumgo

Hi, it's Mangomang :) There are so many good restaurants popping up around Idong these days. Every time I go out for dinner I end up spending ages searching for where to eat, and this time I visited Geumgo, a Korean BBQ restaurant in Idong, Pohang!

With a barbecue place, you'd think the meat just needs to taste good and that's it, but honestly once you're there you end up noticing the side dishes, the vibe of the restaurant, even the grill plate. Here, everything felt clean overall and the meat came out nice and thick, so I left pretty satisfied~!

Geumgo in Idong, Pohang: how long is the wait?

Geumgo looked clean from the outside. When I think 'pork belly restaurant' I usually picture somewhere a bit noisy where your clothes end up smelling like meat, but this place felt tidy and organized overall, so it was comfortable to eat in. It'd be nice for a dinner with friends, and it also seemed like a good spot for a family meal out or a work dinner in Idong, Pohang.

Since it's apparently one of the popular BBQ places in Idong, they run a waitlist through Catch Table~! I'd reserved through Naver beforehand, so I didn't have to wait at all.

What side dishes come with Geumgo's pork belly?

The inside of the restaurant also felt clean without being cramped, so it was easy to chat and eat slowly :) Once you sit down, the side dishes get set out all at once, and there were more varieties than I expected. When I eat meat, I actually prefer mixing it up with different sides rather than just dipping it in salt.

At Geumgo there were several side dishes that paired well with the meat, so it was fun switching up the combination with each bite. First I dipped it lightly in salt, then added some wasabi, then paired it with a side dish one at a time — each combo gave a completely different feel.

Thick-cut samgyeopsal (pork belly) with a real bite

And finally, the meat arrives. Even in photos you can tell it's pretty thick, right? Thin-cut pork belly is delicious too, but at a BBQ restaurant, meat cut this thick definitely has more of a satisfying chew and tastes better to me.

The second it hits the grill, all you can do is stare at it cooking haha.

It wasn't just the meat by itself — there were also vegetables you could grill alongside it, which was even better.

Vegetables browned in the meat's fat are tasty even on their own, but they go even better together with the meat, don't they?

They give you the grilled vegetables first, and pile them onto a side plate that already has salted fish and wasabi salt on it! They cut and grill the meat into bite-sized pieces for you, which made it easy to keep chatting with a friend while eating.

Staff-recommended combo: pork belly + wasabi + pollack roe

My personal favorite combination was pork belly with a little wasabi and pollack roe (myeongnan) on top. The wasabi cuts through the richness of the meat, so it never felt too heavy even after eating it again and again. This was the staff's recommended combo, and it was genuinely delicious!

Finishing the meal with a spicy stew and rice

After eating your fill of meat, you keep telling yourself to stop, but then a hot bowl of soup shows up and your hand reaches for it anyway. At the end, they brought out a stew to go with it too!

After the meat, with your mouth feeling a little greasy, one spoonful of that spicy, warm broth was the perfect way to finish. I said I was full but still cleaned up the rice too.

Who is Geumgo best for?

Taking it all together, from the thick meat to the variety of side dishes to the clean atmosphere, this was a solidly satisfying BBQ restaurant in Idong, Pohang. It would suit people who like pairing their meat with lots of different side dishes even more than places where the meat alone is the whole story.

If you're looking for somewhere for a family meal in Idong, Pohang, or a spot to grab meat with friends or hold a work dinner, Geumgo is worth a visit :) It's a place I'd like to stop by again next time I'm craving meat in Idong. Mangomang ate well and left happy today too 🐷🤍