Friday-night Seoul Korean BBQ with a 10-minute wait: Yukjjip, Eungam

I visited after receiving a small amount of sponsorship support, but honestly it's been a while since meat itself tasted this genuinely good. This is Yukjjip Eungam Main Branch, located right on Bulgwangcheon stream in front of Eungam Station!

Where Yukjjip is near Eungam Station, and the Bulgwangcheon stream view

Yukjjip Eungam Main Branch is easy to reach from Eungam Station, and the view of Bulgwangcheon stream right in front of the restaurant gives it a really nice atmosphere. You'd expect a BBQ place to feel a bit stuffy, but with the stream view it felt so much more open.

It's also the kind of spot you could stop into after an evening walk along the stream, so I'd definitely recommend it if you're looking for a good restaurant near Eungam Station.

There's one more reason to go to Yukjjip right now — as an opening event, they're selling soju for ₩1,000 and beer for ₩2,000. Given what a bottle of soju usually costs at restaurants these days, isn't that just incredible...?

How long is the wait at Yukjjip on a Friday at 7pm?

We arrived around 7pm on a Friday, and the place filled up right in front of us so a wait started. Turnover still seemed pretty quick though — we only waited about 10 minutes before getting seated. Not bad at all for a Friday evening.

Yukjjip's pork is certified Jirisan Baro Handon

The meat at Yukjjip felt a bit special from the start. There's a 'Jirisan Baro Hanwoo' certification mark posted in the restaurant. Instead of just claiming to be a great meat spot, being able to actually see what pork they use gave me a lot more confidence.

Interior

Interior

The second-floor window seats at Yukjjip

We got seated at the 2nd-floor window with the stream view!

Ordering is done via the tablet on the table! And yep, the ₩1,000 soju and ₩2,000 beer prices were really there, haha, crazy.

What side dishes come with the pork

There was Himalayan pink salt, seasoned salted shrimp, myeolchi jeot (anchovy sauce), baek-kimchi, myeongi-namul (wild garlic leaves), pa-kimchi (scallion kimchi), and bean sprout-scallion salad, so we could enjoy the meat in a bunch of different ways. The salted shrimp and anchovy sauce especially were right up my alley 💕

What's in the 54,000 won Yukjjip Moduem platter

Yukjjip Moduem

For ₩54,000 you get whole pork belly, pork neck, gabrisal, and mixed vegetables.

The thick-cut pork neck

Pork neck

We started with the pork neck, and the thickness was no joke from the moment it hit the grill. The pork neck came out really thick, but it wasn't dry at all — the juices were still fully alive inside. The outside was grilled golden while the inside stayed moist, and the moment I took a bite I thought, 'this place really knows what it's doing with meat.'

Staff grill the meat from start to finish

What I appreciated most was that the staff grilled the meat for us from start to finish. With thick pork neck like this, if you grill it yourself at home it's easy to overcook the outside while trying to cook the inside through — but with the staff grilling it, we got to eat it at exactly the best doneness every time. Not having to keep an eye on the grill also made it much easier to just relax and chat over the meal.

Gabrisal (pork shoulder blade meat)

Gabrisal

The gabrisal was chewy yet tender, with a savory juiciness that came through more the more you chewed — a different kind of appeal from the pork neck or belly.

Doenjang jjigae and a bowl of rice

Doenjang jjigae

I'm someone who needs doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) with grilled meat, so we ordered that along with steamed rice. It was rich and savory, really good.

The sweetness of the pork belly fat

Pork belly

The pork belly was really delicious too. Personally, I think the fat is where you can really tell the quality difference in pork belly more than the lean meat, and here the fat had a savory, subtle sweetness to it. Not a greasy oily taste — more like a savory sweetness that builds the more you chew!

It had been a while since I found myself thinking 'this pork belly is really good' while eating. The pork neck had that thick, juicy appeal, and the pork belly had that proper savory sweetness in the fat — it was hard to pick just one. If it's your first visit, I'd personally recommend ordering both the pork neck and the pork belly to try together, haha.

Is Yukjjip near Eungam Station worth a Friday night?

The Bulgwangcheon view was a nice bonus, but the thick pork neck and savory pork belly are what stuck with me most. Having staff grill the meat directly made things easy, and being close to Eungam Station makes it a great spot for a weeknight dinner after work or on the weekend. It'd also make a nice date course, since you could take a light walk along Bulgwangcheon stream afterward.

More than anything, this was memorable enough to rank among the best pork I've had recently, so if you're looking for a good restaurant or Korean BBQ spot near Eungam Station, I'd recommend it :)