Water-aged beef rib BBQ near Sinsa Station for groups: Sinsa Hwaro

I visited Sinsa Hwaro (신사화로), a Korean BBQ place near Sinsa Station on Garosu-gil in Sinsa-dong. I heard it's great for group dinners, so I went and had some delicious beef ribs!! The marbling is amazing and it looks so good I want to eat it again... sob.

Where is Sinsa Hwaro, and what are the hours and parking?

Sinsa Hwaro is a 5-minute walk from Sinsa Station, near Garosu-gil, and it's open daily 13:00–23:00. I only come around Garosu-gil once in a while, but it was easy to find.

• Address: 44 Gangnam-daero 152-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 1st floor (Sinsa Hwaro)
• Hours: daily 13:00–23:00
• Parking: paid parking at the restaurant (valet available)

Sinsa Hwaro seating and atmosphere: good for a group dinner?

As soon as you walk into Sinsa Hwaro, you can see the meat water-aging right there!! I liked being able to watch the aging process, and since it's a well-known spot with blue and red ribbons, we couldn't wait to try it.

There are neat tables for four,

and overall there are lots of roomy seats that are slightly separated from each other, so it seemed really good for a company dinner or a get-together.

Sinsa Hwaro sauces, condiments and side dishes

For condiments, Sinsa Hwaro sets out salt, ssamjang (seasoned dipping paste) and wasabi, and the side dishes are geotjeori (fresh-tossed kimchi), pickled radish strips, salad and seasoned lettuce. They also served a special seaweed pickle, haha.

Sinsa Hwaro menu: what else besides beef short ribs?

Besides beef ribs, Sinsa Hwaro has pork, plus side dishes like soft tofu stew, doenjang stew and cold noodles, which go nicely with the meat, haha. They also have lots of events going on, so it's worth joining in. We ordered the prime snowflake galbi (beef short rib)!

Then they filled the table with charcoal, and wow, you could really feel the heat~

How was the water-aged prime snowflake galbi?

The prime snowflake galbi at Sinsa Hwaro had really great marbling! The dense, snowflake-like flecks of fat looked so rich and delicious~

They grilled half a plate for us first~~ Maybe because the heat is so strong, it cooked up nicely in no time!

Can you see that proper Maillard reaction on the grill?? Haha. The golden-brown meat looks so good! They cut it into bite-size pieces and~ I dug in right away, haha.

Snowflake galbi is the same cut, but some parts are tender meat and some are like rib meat mixed with slightly chewy fat, so you get a variety of tastes~

Salt or house sauce: how to eat the galbi

First I tried a bite with just salt, and it melted in my mouth with the rich flavor of savory fat, a delicious snowflake galbi, haha. Dipped in Sinsa Hwaro's special sauce, the sweetness of garlic and scallion came up and the umami was so strong that it tasted even better.

Eating it with nicely grilled shishito peppers cut the richness and added a crunchy texture, really good,

and the gimjang jangajji (seaweed pickled in soy sauce) tasted so fresh, haha. Seaweed is delicious on its own, but served in a tasty sauce the umami really comes through~

How was the bibim naengmyeon at Sinsa Hwaro?

Sinsa Hwaro's bibim naengmyeon (spicy cold noodles) was the best cold noodles I've had at a BBQ place lately. The garnish was egg strips..! A little disappointing, but I mixed it well and took a bite, haha. There's a lot of sauce, so it's punchy but the sauce is tasty, which I liked~

Looking at the photos while writing this, I want to eat these delicious noodles again with meat on top, sob.

Why Sinsa Hwaro works for a group dinner near Sinsa Station

Sinsa Hwaro has a clean, spacious interior that looked perfect for group dinners, and the water-aged meat, tender yet deeply flavorful, is a real draw, haha. If you're looking for a place for a gathering or company dinner around Sinsa Station, give Sinsa Hwaro a visit!