Suseong, Daegu pork BBQ restaurant with yeolmu noodles: Matdongsam

Matdongsam, a pork BBQ restaurant in a converted Beomeo-dong house

Hours are 17:00–23:00, with last orders at 22:00. Check Naver and Instagram for closure notices! 🚘 There are two spaces in front of the restaurant, and you can also use the inner parking lot beside the Girl Scouts Federation.

Matdongsam is short for “delicious neighborhood samgyeopsal (pork belly),” and it’s a Beomeo-dong meat restaurant made from an old renovated house. You can feel the cozy atmosphere right from the exterior, can’t you? haha It’s not far from Dongdaegu Station either, so it’s in a great spot for anyone looking for a meat restaurant near the station!

What we ordered after Matdongsam’s platter sold out

I originally wanted to order the Matdongsam platter, which lets you try several cuts, but it was already sold out ㅠㅠ So we ordered two portions each of special five-layer pork belly and pork jowl, plus Grandma’s doenjang stew and yeolmu bibim guksu!!!

As soon as we sat down, the table was filled with sauces and side dishes to enjoy with the meat, haha. There was barley doenjang (fermented soybean paste), changran-jeot (seasoned pollock roe), lettuce geotjeori, potatoes, mushrooms—only things that pair so well with pork. The pre-grilled kimchi was seriously the star..♥ With so many accompaniments, this Beomeo-dong favorite made the meat even more enjoyable.

Thick special five-layer pork belly and house-made garlic sauce

Doesn’t it look fresh at a glance? haha Before visiting, I saw photos of this raw meat and thought it looked so delicious that I wanted to try Matdongsam. In person, the color was vivid and the cuts were thick, making it look even more appetizing than in the photos!

Even the grill gave me that cozy feeling of everyone gathered around at Grandma’s house to grill meat, so it suited Matdongsam’s atmosphere perfectly, haha. They also put out their house-made garlic sauce.

It cooked up beautifully golden, right..♥ The outside was nicely browned while the inside stayed juicy, and the more I chewed, the more savory it became. The special five-layer pork belly in particular had a lovely balance of lean meat and fat, so it was both pleasantly chewy and tender, haha. Eating it with potatoes and mushrooms kept every bite varied and never tiring.

Five-layer pork belly + kimchi is a combination that can never fail *.* We put the pre-grilled kimchi on the grill and browned it once more, haha. The pork fat made the kimchi even more savory and delicious. It also cut through the richness, so we could enjoy every last bite at this Beomeo-dong meat restaurant.

I really loved how generously they provided all the side dishes, sauces, and other accompaniments for the meat. Each pairing—barley doenjang, changran-jeot, or garlic sauce—gave it a different flavor, haha. The pork was delicious on its own, but trying all the combinations meant it stayed delicious right to the end.

Yeolmu bibim guksu and Grandma’s doenjang stew

We also ordered yeolmu bibim guksu (spicy mixed noodles with young radish greens), which goes so well with grilled meat. It had lots of crisp yeolmu in a tangy, spicy seasoning, making it perfect to enjoy between bites of pork, haha. Rolling a thick slice of five-layer pork belly around the noodles and eating them together!!

The yeolmu bibim guksu was much more generous than I expected, with plenty of crunchy yeolmu and vegetables, so I totally recommend it, haha.

We ordered the doenjang stew while grilling another plate of meat, haha.

Grandma’s doenjang stew was a menu item I really enjoyed. It definitely tasted different from the usual doenjang stew at a meat restaurant, and it stayed with me from the very first spoonful!! True to its name, it had the homey flavor of doenjang stew slowly simmered at home, so I really recommend ordering it too, haha.

The doenjang stew was packed with big chunks of tofu and so many vegetables!! Its deep, savory flavor and the umami from the ingredients were so good that, even though I was full, I polished off a whole bowl of rice, haha.

The mushrooms were so good that I asked for more, and they brought out this whole generous pile, haha. I thought they would give us just a little, but they gave us much more than expected, which somehow put me in an even better mood!

A cozy atmosphere and the chewy cut I want next time

From the homey interior that felt like visiting Grandma’s house to the relaxed atmosphere, there was nothing disappointing: the meat was delicious, and so were sides like yeolmu bibim guksu and doenjang stew, haha. The staff were kind too, which may be why this newly opened Beomeo-dong meat restaurant kept welcoming customers and even had a wait late into the evening!

Now I understand why Matdongsam had a wait! I keep thinking about the chewy pork cut I missed because it was sold out this time, so I’ll definitely come back to try the chewy pork next time too, haha. I completely recommend Matdongsam to anyone looking for a meat restaurant near Dongdaegu Station ♥