Lamb over rice restaurant in Sangam-dong, Seoul: Zilhal Bros Sangam

I spotted a new place in Sangam and went for dinner. It's a street I usually pass through, and a kebab restaurant, Zilhal Bros, had just opened there. It's right around the corner from the Starbucks, so anyone who moves around the area often should find it easily. Since it had only just opened, they were handing out free fans in front of the store to celebrate.

I went in just meaning to try it once, but it turned out to be more my style than I expected, and I found myself thinking about it again the next day. On the first day I ate lamb over rice large and steak and fries together in the dining room, and the next day I ended up going back for takeout. If you like kebabs or over rice, it's a solid meal option to keep in mind in Sangam.

What is the newly opened Zilhal Bros Sangam like inside?

The newly opened Zilhal Bros in Sangam is a store where the red and yellow colors really catch your eye. Inside, there's a black-and-white checkered floor with a long red bench seat, and the brand colors show up on the walls too, giving it more of a casual fast-food feel than a typical kebab shop. There were several tables, so it's not just a takeout-only spot — it was fine for eating in as well.

When I visited, they were still handing out the opening-celebration fans for free, and you could really feel that new-store atmosphere. You could order and grab a seat right away, so I ate in the dining room on the first day. The layout wasn't awkward at all for a solo meal, and the tables were a good size for two people ordering two or three menu items to share.

Kiosk menu and lamb over rice prices at Zilhal Bros Sangam

You order through the kiosk in the store. The main menu had chicken over rice, lamb over rice, combo rice, chicken and lamb kebab burritos, and kebabs, with sides and drinks selectable separately. At the time of my visit, lamb over rice was ₩12,900 for regular and ₩15,900 for large.

After some back and forth, we went with the large lamb over rice. We wanted a generous portion, so we ordered large, and added a steak and fries on top. On the kiosk you just pick the rice size and then the add-ons in order, so the ordering itself wasn't difficult. There were drinks too, like Coke, Dr Pepper, and Sprite, but that day we decided to start with the two food items.

What comes with the large lamb over rice, and how to eat it

The lamb over rice comes in a big bowl with rice and lamb, with lettuce, tomato, jalapeños, and pita on the side. A generous white sauce is drizzled on top along with some red sauce, so it looked pretty hearty from the moment it arrived. Maybe because we ordered the large size, even a single bowl had quite a bit of volume.

Rather than mixing everything together from the start, I tried the lamb and rice first, then added jalapeños and vegetables along the way. Since pita was included too, there were plenty of combinations to try within a single bowl, and with so much sauce on top, eating the rice and meat together worked best for me. Adding a piece or two of jalapeño here and there kept things interesting so I didn't get tired of it by the end.

Back the next day: lamb over rice as takeout

Honestly, I thought it would be a one-time thing after the first day, but by the next day I was craving the lamb over rice again. It's not just a meat-heavy dish — with rice, vegetables, and sauce all in one bowl, it was easy to eat as a full meal. If you prefer rice dishes over eating a kebab by hand, the over rice is probably a better fit for you.

In particular, with plenty of sauce coating the lamb and the rice mixed right in, my spoon kept going back for more. For my taste, it was best eating the meat and sauce together, and adding jalapeños gave it a different feel again. So after eating in the dining room the first day, I ended up going back the next day for takeout. I think that says everything about which menu item I got hooked on.

Steak and fries, 14,700 won: the dish that calls for a beer

The steak and fries we ordered alongside was ₩14,700. It's a plate piled with fries with a chunky serving of meat and sauce on top, so it had a completely different style from the over rice. Rather than eating the fries on their own, piling a piece of meat on top and eating them together made it much more filling.

As we ate, we both said the exact same thing: this dish really makes you want a beer. With fries, meat, and sauce all going in at once, I found myself wishing I could have a light beer alongside it in the evening. If the over rice is more of a meal, the steak and fries works well as a side dish or drinking snack to order and share between two people.

Dine-in or takeout at Zilhal Bros Sangam: which is better?

On the first day I ate the food fresh out of the kitchen in the dining room, and the next day I tried Zilhal Bros takeout as well. It's not common to enjoy something on the first visit and then crave it again the very next day, but the lamb over rice oddly made me want it one more time. Thanks to that, I ended up visiting the newly opened store two days in a row.

If you're in Sangam and want something different from the usual lunch or dinner rotation, this kebab restaurant is worth a stop. Next time, I'll probably go straight for the lamb over rice again, and if I'm with a group, I'd like to order the steak and fries too and share it around. You can eat right there in the dining room or get it to go, so I think I'll be thinking about this place in Sangam again before long.