Late-night Daejeon BBQ: Iberico neck with galchi sokjeot at Gildon

Why I went to Gildon, a grill-for-you BBQ spot in Galma-dong

Gildon is a BBQ restaurant in Galma-dong, Daejeon, where you can eat Iberico pork and the staff grill it for you. After my part-time shifts, I feel like I need to eat meat regularly to get my energy back. Grilling at home is a hassle, and grilling it myself at a restaurant feels like too much effort too, so I went looking for a place in Galma-dong that grills for you, and Gildon caught my eye. Being able to eat Iberico pork makes it a really good BBQ choice in Galma-dong, Daejeon.

Does the owner sprinkle the salt and pepper at Gildon?

At Gildon, once you order meat and the grill heats up, the owner comes to your table and sprinkles salt and pepper on it himself. It makes you feel a bit pampered, and it's almost like a little performance, so it's a treat for the eyes before you even eat.

I visited on a June weeknight evening with my husband, and the meat looked really special. It turns out there's a dedicated aging fridge on one side of the restaurant.

Parking and atmosphere at Gildon in Galma-dong

Gildon offers 2 hours of free parking in the building's car park. Galma-dong is honestly famous for how hard parking is, so driving there is always a bit stressful, but this time we parked easily and headed in.

The interior is pleasant too, so it looked good for locals popping in for a meal, and fine for group gatherings or company dinners.

Gildon menu and prices: what two of us ordered

The Gildon menu has flower pork belly, Iberico pork neck, galbisal (rib finger meat) and hangjeongsal (pork jowl), plus a solid lineup of sides like doenjang (soybean paste) stew and kimchi stew. We ordered one portion of flower pork belly (₩15,000), Iberico pork neck (₩15,000), kimchi stew (₩7,000), and finally kudzu cold noodles (₩4,000) as dessert.

• Flower pork belly, 1 portion: ₩15,000
• Iberico pork neck: ₩15,000
• Kimchi stew: ₩7,000
• Kudzu cold noodles: ₩4,000

The basic spread: chilled acorn jelly soup and side dishes

Once you order, Gildon sets out salad, shredded scallions, lettuce wraps and various sauces, and a chilled muk sabal (acorn jelly in cold broth) comes as a standard. The weather has definitely gotten hot lately, and it goes really well with that. We thought it was naengmyeon (cold noodles) at first and tried to mix it, but it wouldn't mix, and then we realized it was acorn jelly. Haha.

Iberico grilled by staff to the end: how did it taste?

At Gildon, the staff grill the meat perfectly from start to finish. Eating meat is great, but let's be honest, grilling is a bit of a chore, right? They're also really quick, cutting the meat into bite-size pieces and putting it in front of you at just the right time. I loved being able to focus on eating.

The first bite of well-cooked meat is always dipped in salt, right? I could feel the peak of tenderness, to the point of wondering whether meat can really be this soft.

Dipping the meat in fish-gut jeot

What gave Gildon a different flavor was dipping the meat in braised galchi-sokjeot (salted, fermented hairtail guts). It's also good in a big wrap of fresh lettuce topped with shredded scallions, and while overly salty jeot can overpower the meat, this had just the right umami, so it paired really well with the meat.

Do you need to order Gildon's kimchi stew in advance?

Gildon's kimchi stew takes about 15 minutes, so I recommend ordering it together with your meat! We did, and it came out right on time. It comes with one bowl of rice included, and the portion was almost enough for 3 people.

The broth was rich and it was packed with meat, overflowing, really. It was the kind of taste that makes you wonder, is this place actually a kimchi stew specialist?

Kudzu cold noodles: a one-person palate cleanser

Gildon's chik-bibim-naengmyeon (kudzu spicy cold noodles, ₩4,000) comes in a cute size that's just right for one person to refresh the palate. My husband always wants cold noodles whenever we go to a BBQ place, so we ordered them again this time. Mixed well with the sweet-sour-spicy sauce and eaten with the meat, it's a combo that makes you happy. I think I got happy at this Galma-dong BBQ spot in Daejeon.

Gildon location, hours and parking at a glance

Gildon is in the Gallery Hurium commercial building in Galma-dong, and it provides 2 hours of parking. It's open from 17:00 to 23:55, so it looks great for a late dinner.

The meat was grilled really well, and it was a good BBQ place where you can eat in a relaxed atmosphere. It also seems like somewhere Galma-dong residents can drop by easily.