Fruit-marinated pork galbi by the window in Yangju: Manpo Garden

Manpo Garden: a pork galbi restaurant in Goeup-dong, Yangju

Manpo Garden is a galbi restaurant on the 1st floor at 28-37 Godeok-ro 355beon-gil in Goeup-dong, Yangju. Pork-galbi-ripping day for my husband, who loves galbi! This time we headed to Manpo Garden in Goeup-dong, Yangju.

We originally just went for a light lunch, but on the way out both of us kept saying "the pork galbi here is really good...." I lost count of how many times we said it hahahahahaha

The meat was delicious, but the basic side dishes served with it were all solid too, and most importantly the pork galbi marinade wasn't overly sweet or salty — you could really taste the meat itself, which I personally loved about this place!

If you're looking for galbi in Yangju and prefer pork galbi where the meat's flavor really comes through, rather than super-sweet seasoned galbi, this place is worth a visit. Totally recommend.

Where is Manpo Garden, and is there parking?

Manpo Garden is located at 28-37 Godeok-ro 355beon-gil, Goeup-dong, Yangju. Just search "Manpo Garden" in your navigation! The exterior is huge and clean-looking, which I liked right away!

Parking can be a low-key stressor when going to a BBQ place in Yangju, but here it was great to bring a car since there are large parking lots in front of and behind the restaurant, so no worries about parking at all.

Inside Manpo Garden: window seats and private rooms

Walking into this Yangju galbi spot, the interior was indeed spacious and very clean. The tables were well spaced too, making it comfortable for a meal — great for family outings or bringing your parents along.

I expected it to be chaotic and loud since it's a grill-your-own-meat place, but overall it felt tidy, making it comfortable for a lunch visit or even coming with a baby. If your family loves BBQ restaurants and you're looking for a place to eat out or gather in Yangju, this should definitely be on your list haha.

The seats further inside had great natural light through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and you could see lush green plants outside too, so it really felt seasonal. Personally, this seat and this view are just so pretty, right...? haha

Attention to anyone in Yangju looking for a BBQ restaurant with private rooms! There were quite a lot of rooms, and they were prepared in such a sleek way. Perfect for a family gathering~

Manpo Garden menu and what comes with the lunch special

Looking at the menu board, there was a wide variety of meat prepared, from pork galbi to hanwoo, samgyeopsal, and pork neck.

• Handmade Korean pork galbi 250g ₩19,000
• Hanwoo charcoal bulgogi 200g ₩28,000
• Hanwoo sirloin++ 150g ₩42,000
• Samgyeopsal / pork neck 200g ₩18,000
• Pork jowl (gabri/hangjeong) 200g ₩21,000

For meal items there was also galbitang, ppyeogaejang (bone soup), and yukhoe bibimbap, and as sides there was charred beef doenjang sulbap, doenjang jjigae, and pudding-style steamed egg, among others.

Since this is a pork galbi restaurant, we ordered pork galbi. It happened to be a weekday lunch, so we got the lunch special handmade galbi set menu at ₩19,000. It comes with 250g of pork galbi, naengmyeon, and doenjang sulbap — pretty generous for a lunch set, I thought. FYI, Manpo Garden's house-made Hamhung naengmyeon is free!! Living up to the name "Manpo," meaning "generously giving," the service was excellent too.

There was also a clean self-serve bar set up, so we could grab plenty more of any side dishes we ran low on.

The side dishes that won us over first

Before the meat arrived, a row of basic side dishes was laid out, and honestly, every single one of them was solid...? At a lot of BBQ places only the main meat is good and the side dishes barely get touched, but at Manpo Garden I kept trying one thing after another going "oh, this is good too, that's decent too," and my chopsticks just kept going!!!!!

A pork galbi restaurant that serves yukjeon (pan-fried beef) and yukhoe (beef tartare) as side dishes. The kind of place where your appetite gets going from the side dishes alone before the meat even arrives. Especially since they went so well paired with the pork galbi, I ate a bite of meat, then a side dish, then wrapped it in a lettuce wrap — quite the satisfying rotation.

Personally, I find that places that put this much care into the basic side dishes, rather than just nailing the main dish, give a much higher overall meal satisfaction.

250g handmade Korean pork galbi: a marinade that never overpowers

And now, the main event of the day: handmade Korean pork galbi. At 250g per person, the portion was more generous than expected, and apparently it's handmade marinated pork galbi using 100% real galbi cut.

With a handmade marinade made with fruit that brings out the pork galbi's natural flavor, once it hit the charcoal, that subtle sweetness unique to seasoned galbi started rising up, and that's when I got even hungrier..... hahahahahaha

They grilled it golden brown on both sides, and I ate a piece right away — wow........ the pork galbi here is genuinely delicious. That's exactly what I thought from the first bite.

The meat chewed tender, and especially the pork galbi marinade wasn't overly sweet or overpowering — that subtle seasoning that really brings out the pork's natural flavor was the key hit. The more you chew, the meat's own flavor comes through first, with the marinade's savory depth following right behind.

My husband really loves pork galbi and has been to plenty of places, and he gave this one a thumbs up saying it's genuinely one of the best he's had.

The two of us ate 3 servings, and while eating there was zero sense of getting sick of it from too much sweetness or saltiness. This part I really loved! I've always preferred pork galbi where the meat's flavor comes through like this, rather than one where the sauce covers up all the meat flavor, so I think that's why I enjoyed it even more.

It's delicious wrapped in ssam too, and it goes well paired with any of the side dishes haha. We grilled the rib bones nice and crisp and picked them clean too!

House-made Hamhung naengmyeon, included free

And one more standout point at Manpo Garden! The house-made Hamhung naengmyeon is free. We're the type who almost always pair pork galbi with naengmyeon as a set, so we absolutely cannot resist the combo of putting a piece of meat on top of the naengmyeon hahahahahaha

After eating charcoal-smoked pork galbi, having one bibim naengmyeon and one mul naengmyeon each resets your palate and also makes room for more meat ,,, haha. An endless loop...... the bibim naengmyeon sauce was also amazing.. putting pork galbi on top of it doubles the deliciousness, I'm telling you.

Finishing with beef brisket doenjang sulbap

The lunch special also comes with doenjang sulbap, which is a great deal. I already like eating rice with doenjang jjigae after meat, but having it come as an actual doenjang sulbap meant we didn't need to order rice separately, which was convenient haha.

Eating a piece of pork galbi with the charred beef doenjang sulbap — this combo is genuinely such a great match too. Cooling off with naengmyeon and then finishing warm with doenjang sulbap felt like a properly complete meal on top of the meat.

So the lunch special isn't just a lunch menu with a small amount of meat — it's a set that lets you properly finish an entire meal in one go, which I liked.

Manpo Garden, right down to the dessert

They even have ice cream.. and puffed-rice ice cream at that! Manpo Garden is a place I'd return to just for the delicious pork galbi, but with everything from the side dishes to dessert being on point, it's the kind of place you can't help but come back to.

Loading up puffed rice with ice cream and finishing off with a cool iced americano made this a Yangju galbi restaurant with a really, really high satisfaction level.

Is Manpo Garden worth a visit? Final verdict

Manpo Garden in Yangju — we went for the lunch special and ended up thoroughly enjoying everything from the side dishes to the pork galbi, naengmyeon, doenjang jjigae, and dessert, way more than expected! Especially the pork galbi, where I loved that the marinade wasn't too sweet or salty and the pork's own flavor really came through. Tender enough that piece after piece kept disappearing, insane deliciousness..

And the side dishes weren't just there for show either — they were good enough that my chopsticks kept reaching for them, which raised the overall meal satisfaction.

The weekday lunch special is 250g of galbi with naengmyeon and doenjang sulbap for ₩19,000 per person, which seems like a solid option for lunch in Yangju or a family meal out when you're craving pork galbi. Especially if you prefer pork galbi where the meat's flavor really comes through rather than overly sweet, punchy seasoned galbi, and you're looking for a galbi restaurant in Yangju, Manpo Garden is a must-visit... this one's a must 🩷