All four chicken galbi menus compared at Cheonho BBQ spot: Ondogye

It feels less like a griddled chicken galbi place and more like a charcoal grill house, so honestly this suits drinking snacks better than a rice meal.

What kind of restaurant is Ondogye in Cheonho?

I visited Ondogye's Cheonho branch for charcoal-grilled chicken galbi. It's a charcoal chicken galbi restaurant tucked inside Seongnae-dong's Jjukkumi Alley, close to Cheonho Station Exit 6, serving garlic salt, soy sauce, and spicy sauce chicken galbi along with salt-grilled chicken thigh.

Here you don't grill the meat yourself — staff bring out pre-grilled meat and finish it almost completely on the charcoal grill, which makes things quite easy from the diner's side.

The interior has exactly that pojangmacha (street tent bar) vibe.

Ordering all four chicken galbi menus at once

This time I decided to try every type. I ordered garlic salt chicken galbi 270g, soy sauce chicken galbi 270g, spicy chicken galbi 270g, and salt-grilled chicken thigh 230g. Since the prices weren't that steep to begin with, laying out all four together made it fun to compare how the flavor changes by cut and seasoning.

Starting with the basic side dishes: green onion kimchi, wasabi, and pickled radish come out, along with sauces like garlic mayo and gochujang sauce. You can wrap the chicken galbi in pickled radish, add a touch of wasabi on top, or dip it in the sauces to switch up the flavor.

When you order soda, a slice of lemon comes with it, which is a nice touch haha — I drank mine as lemon water.

The pre-grilling station runs nonstop.

Charcoal chicken galbi grilled for you by the staff

Charcoal chicken galbi. Ondogye's chicken galbi comes out pre-grilled, and staff finish it again over the charcoal. That means you don't have to worry about flipping or grilling the meat at all. Staff grill it to just the right point, so you can simply sit, drink, and pick at side dishes while you wait. Charcoal chicken galbi can easily end up burnt on the outside or undercooked inside if the heat or timing is off, so it's genuinely convenient to be able to leave that part to someone else.

Salt-grilled chicken neck, 230g

Salt-grilled chicken thigh. Unlike the chicken galbi, this thigh cut is boneless. The clean, chewy texture unique to thigh meat really comes through. Rather than the soft, tender feel of drumstick meat, it's the chewier kind that gets better the more you chew, so even though it's the same chicken, the texture is clearly different.

The cheonggukjang tofu stew that comes free

Cheonggukjang (fermented soybean stew) with tofu comes out as a complimentary dish. As you keep eating chicken galbi, the charcoal aroma and seasoning fill your mouth, and a spoonful of this hot stew in between really refreshes your palate. I liked that a soup dish like this came standard, rather than just eating meat the whole time.

Garlic salt chicken galbi

I started with the garlic salt chicken galbi. Chicken galbi is a thigh cut, so it comes with the bone attached. One serving is two pieces of thigh meat, and thanks to the soft texture and just enough fat that's typical of thigh meat, it tastes clean yet savory when salt-grilled. The garlic salt seasoning doesn't mask the chicken's own flavor much, so it's a good way to taste the charcoal aroma and the chicken's flavor directly.

Fried chicken gizzards

A complimentary dish that quietly stuck with me: fried chicken gizzard. The gizzard is fried crispy and served as a starter, along with soybean powder salt. Just dipping it in the soybean powder salt alone is savory and delicious, and surprisingly it also pairs well when dipped lightly in the other chicken galbi. It's great to pick at as a snack while waiting for the galbi, or even grilled once more over the charcoal haha.

With wasabi on hand too, there's no risk of getting bored.

Chicken galbi is a thigh cut, so it's on the soft, juicy side, while the chicken thigh cut is boneless and centered on a chewy texture — so even though both are charcoal-grilled, the eating experience is quite different. If I had to pick Ondogye's biggest strength, it's how easy the grilling process is. Staff put the pre-grilled meat back on the charcoal and grill it to just the right point, so you never have to keep flipping it yourself. For anyone who wants charcoal chicken galbi but finds grilling a hassle, this is definitely a convenient way to eat it.

Soy sauce chicken galbi

The soy sauce chicken galbi is the same thigh cut, but grilling it with soy sauce seasoning takes it in a completely different direction. The salty-sweet flavor unique to soy sauce, combined with the charcoal aroma, makes it a taste that goes well with rice or drinks. Pairing it with pickled radish cleans up the seasoning's flavor, and dipping it lightly in garlic mayo sauce shifts it toward a savory note.

Spicy chicken galbi

Spicy chicken galbi. With seasoned chicken galbi, the charcoal grilling adds a smoky char to the surface, which is a nice touch in its own right. It's not just about the spiciness — the savory aroma rising off the charcoal comes along with it, so the feeling is different from just eating regular seasoned chicken galbi.

Is Ondogye right for a Cheonho group dinner?

I tried garlic salt, soy sauce, and spicy chicken galbi along with the chicken thigh, and the difference between cuts and seasonings was clear enough that if you're visiting with a group, ordering several types to share rather than sticking to one seems like a good idea. The complimentary fried gizzard with soybean powder salt and the cheonggukjang tofu stew were also nice for switching up the flavor between rounds of meat.

If you're looking for charcoal chicken galbi near Cheonho Station, it's Ondogye. Since staff handle everything from pre-grilling to finishing rather than you grilling it yourself, it's especially easy to eat while drinking and chatting for a long stretch.