2-person Korean beef omakase at 5pm opening: Yakiniku Doryong, Daejeon

Last year in Tokyo I had some seriously amazing yakiniku! Since coming back to Korea, I've been on the hunt for that same kind of incredible yakiniku in real life 🐣 So let me introduce a Daejeon yakiniku spot where you can taste that Japanese-style flavor (with Korean beef, which honestly makes it even better) — 'Yakiniku Doryong'!

Yakiniku Doryong hours and reservation info

• 17:00–23:00, last order 21:40
• Closed Sundays
• Bar-table style, up to 12 guests
• 2-person bookings available via Naver Reservations
• No same-day cancellations
• Charcoal-grilled right in front of you!
• Korean beef omakase, 2-person and 3-person sets
• 2-person set ₩60,000

Located in Doryong-dong, only open in the evenings

As the name suggests, Yakiniku Doryong is located in Doryong-dong! There are a lot of good restaurants around here, so I'd often notice it walking by haha. It's near the little Jeongdong Munhwasa, but you have to go there around lunchtime, while Yakiniku Doryong is only open in the evening — so doing both in one trip was tricky, and I kept putting it off until this visit.

12-seat bar table and open kitchen atmosphere

The inside feels like a nice-atmosphere bar. Since they only take up to 12 people, I'd recommend booking ahead to go with peace of mind! I wanted to take photos and couldn't hold back on the yakiniku, so I went right when it opened at 17:00 haha. As evening rolled around, one or two more groups came in and it got lively.

There are coat hooks on the wall too, so once it starts getting chilly you can hang up your jacket while you eat.

The kitchen is open-style so you can see everything at a glance. It's genuinely spotless — partly because it's all stainless steel, but also because the owner is really meticulous. If my place at home were this clean, my mom would be so happy... sigh.

The owner showed us to our seats. Cute plates and a spotlessly clean menu! Sometimes at grilled-meat places the menu has grease stains, which always looks a bit off-putting... here even the menu was kept so hygienic, it put me in a good mood.

Suntory, tsuru-ume, and a basil sauce salad

We started with a glass of Suntory and a glass of tsuru-ume (some kind of yuzu liquor?). Eating meat without a drink just feels like something's missing! Side dishes came out too — the basil sauce salad was so tangy that I kept reaching for more.

But honestly what got the most hands reaching for it was the beer haha. It was cold and delicious, so my boyfriend ended up ordering two glasses.

Korean beef omakase 2-person set, grilled right in front of us

Our meat arrived! Ooh yeah~ It's grilled for you directly over your own personal charcoal grill. Since we came right at opening with no other customers around, it felt like — maybe just my imagination — the owner focused extra attention on grilling ours perfectly.

Chimasal (skirt steak) beef tartare

First up was chimasal beef tartare. It came with a sauce, truffle oil, and grated cheese on top — the texture of the chimasal was great, but that sauce was so delicious I kept dipping into it over and over haha. Genuinely an incredible flavor... if anyone knows what's in it, please comment and tell me.

Beef tongue and chaeteok (striploin)

After that, the meat show continued piece by piece.

• Beef tongue — dipped in salt and wasabi, it's chewy with the fat rendering out, great texture..
• Chaeteok (striploin) — a bit drier after the chewy beef tongue, but still fatty with great beefy aroma

Buchaesal, chimasal, eobjinsal, and teukyang

The buchaesal (flat iron) was incredibly tender — it really melts. It was cooked through, so how is it still this juicy?! I guess I just love buchaesal 🪭 After that things blurred together a bit,

• Chimasal — the same cut as the tartare, but grilled it felt totally different from the sashimi version, which made comparing them fun. Personally I'd give the win to the tartare — that sauce was just insane
• Eobjinsal (brisket point) — a cut I'd never heard of before. It's fatty in texture, and really good with a bit of wasabi. This too had a great beefy aroma
• Teukyang (beef tripe) — the red meat in the last photo is the teukyang! Such a chewy cut..! No gamey smell at all, the texture was incredible

My favorites were the tartare, buchaesal, and teukyang! I guess I go more for juicy cuts than fatty ones normally haha.

Finishing with uramen

After finishing all the meat, something felt missing, so we ordered uramen. I guess people really do need their carbs. It's a jjamppong-like broth, and one bite in and the fullness hit me right away haha. But I still finished the whole bowl! The uramen had meat in it too, giving it a more luxurious flavor.

Was the 2-person set enough?

I found myself regretting all the years I didn't know a yakiniku place this good existed in Daejeon... and made a firm promise to come back again. The 2-person sets come at various price points depending on the composition, but maybe because I have a small stomach, the basic 2-person set we had was already plenty satisfying! Of course, pairing it with some carbs would make it even better. Great taste and a great atmosphere make this place good for a date, and just as good for a quiet family gathering — I recommend this Daejeon yakiniku spot, 'Yakiniku Doryong'!