Family-friendly Cheonan BBQ with a high chair: Cham Dwaejitgan

Why Cham Dwaejitgan in Dujeong-dong, Cheonan works with a child

When you have kids, taste matters when picking a BBQ place, but whether the staff actually grill the meat for you matters just as much — and this place has full grilling service, so I went without hesitation. Plus there's parking right in front, which makes driving there easy too.

• Name: Cham Dwaejitgan Cheonan Dujeong Branch
• Address: 101, 10 Wondujeong 5-gil, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 16:00–04:00 (next day)
• Parking: Available in front of the restaurant
• Notes: ① Grilling service ② Good for groups ③ Kids' chair available

Inside Cham Dwaejitgan: seating and atmosphere

As soon as I walked in, I was surprised at how much nicer the atmosphere was than I expected, haha. When you think of a BBQ place, you picture tables packed tightly together and a somewhat rough feel, but

Cham Dwaejitgan had a pretty clean, tidy vibe. The tables were fairly wide, and the spacing between seats was generous, so I never felt cramped during the meal. I also liked that every table has its own hood installed to catch the smoke while grilling. It would work well for a family meal out, but also for a get-together with friends, a work dinner, or a date.

And there were nice little conveniences for guests scattered around too —

I liked how well they were prepared. Phone chargers were there, of course, plus aprons, plastic bags to store your clothes in, and hair ties. The smell that clings to your clothes after eating meat is always a bit of a worry, but they even had Febreze and yogurt drinks — a nice thoughtful touch, haha. Even though I visited around 5:30pm on a Sunday, there were already several guests, and reserved tables too.

At many restaurants along the Dujeong-dong dining alley the restroom is outside the building, but here the women's restroom is indoors, which was such a relief.

What side dishes come free? Minari, bean sprouts and kimchi

Cham Dwaejitgan Cheonan Dujeong Branch also served a wide variety of banchan (side dishes) to go with the meat. From kimchi, bean sprouts, and minari (water dropwort) to lettuce, peppers, scallion salad, and various sauces —

there were several options prepared to pair with the meat. I especially love minari and bean sprouts, so I was thrilled, haha.

Thick-cut pork belly grilled start to finish by the staff

The moment the meat arrived, I was already satisfied just by the look of it — thicker than I expected.

At Cham Dwaejitgan, a staff member grills the meat for you from start to finish, so you can just relax and enjoy the meal without worrying about grilling it yourself.

They lay the thickly sliced pork belly on the grill, and it cooks up golden brown on the outside while staying juicy on the inside.

Pork belly really needs some thickness to it to get that proper chew — slicing it too thin just doesn't do it for me — and this was exactly the style I like.

Since the staff member cut the meat into bite-sized pieces and checked how well it was cooked, conversation never got interrupted by grilling. Well-cooked pork belly is delicious just dipped in salt, and just as good wrapped in lettuce. Eaten together with the bean sprouts, kimchi, minari, and other banchan, the same pork belly tastes a little different depending on the combination.

Among everything, what stuck with me most was Cham Dwaejitgan's potato wrap. You put a piece of well-grilled pork belly on a thin slice of potato and eat it with sauce — the combination works so much better than you'd expect. I usually go for lettuce wraps when eating meat, but that day I kept reaching for the potato wraps instead, haha.

We ordered four servings of pork belly, but just meat felt like it wasn't quite enough, so we also ordered side menu items.

Overall we got to enjoy a generous four servings of pork belly, and the meat quality was satisfying. Most of all, having the grilling service handled for us made it a comfortable place for anyone who isn't confident grilling meat, or for a group dining together.

Potato wraps: the combination to order at Cham Dwaejitgan

While the meat was cooking, we also grilled the kimchi, bean sprouts, and minari right on the grill together with the meat, and it paired really well. Eating them raw versus lightly grilled gives a totally different flavor, so I kept picking at them between bites of meat.

And the one thing I really want to recommend if you come here is the potato wrap. At first I thought, 'wrap meat in potato?' haha, but once I tried it, it worked far better than I expected. You grill a thinly sliced piece of potato, top it with a piece of meat, and eat it with various sauces. The mild, nutty flavor of the potato combined with the juices of the meat gives a completely different feel from a regular lettuce wrap. The grilled potato was especially nice — a little crispy and light, pairing well with the thick meat. I think I ate more potato wraps than lettuce wraps that day, haha.

If you visit Cham Dwaejitgan, don't just eat the meat plain — I really recommend trying the potato wrap combination at least once.

Is Cham Dwaejitgan Cheonan Dujeong Branch worth a family visit?

From the staff-run grilling service to the thick, quality meat, the smoking with rice husk and charcoal, and the potato wrap plus the variety of side dishes, overall this was a place with a high satisfaction level. Most of all, being able to eat comfortably without grilling the meat myself was the biggest advantage for me.

If you're looking for a good pork belly or ogyeopsal (five-layer pork belly) restaurant in Dujeong-dong, Cheonan, Cham Dwaejitgan Cheonan Dujeong Branch is worth a visit. Next time I come back, I'd love to try the ogyeopsal I had this time again, along with other pork menu items, haha. And the potato wrap — I'm definitely having that again! If you're having a work dinner or a date in Dujeong-dong, Cheonan, and want to enjoy good meat comfortably without worrying about grilling it yourself, I'd recommend this place.