Seoul Korean BBQ in Guui-dong: garlic beef rib & wasabi, Ssamchae

What kind of Korean BBQ restaurant is Ssamchae Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal?

Ssamchae Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal (쌈채솥뚜껑삼겹살) is a Korean BBQ place at 55 Jayang-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, where you can eat premium-grade pork and beef in generous portions at reasonable prices. As the name says, ssamchae (wrap greens) plus sotttukkeong (iron-lid) samgyeopsal (pork belly): you stuff yourself with meat and can pair it with all kinds of vegetables. Let me show you one by one.

• Address: 55 Jayang-ro, Building 102, Unit 103, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: daily 11:00 to 02:00 the next day (last order 01:00)

This is the restaurant! It's newly opened, and they're even running a draft beer event. You can enjoy a glass for just ₩1,900, no pressure at all.

Unlimited wrap greens: how fresh were they?

The fresh wrap greens are unlimited refills. Honestly, there wasn't a single wilted or bug-bitten leaf. Everything was fresh and the amount was huge.

Ssamchae Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal menu and prices

The basic iron-lid half set comes with one each of pork belly, pork neck, pork jowl and pork skin for ₩57,000, and the full set is ₩84,000. À la carte items are below.

• Basic pork belly 200g ₩17,000 (same for pork neck and whole skirt meat)
• Beef rib meat 200g ₩19,000
• Marinated beef rib meat 200g ₩19,000

And so many kinds of wrap greens!! Even rare varieties and dangui (angelica leaves) — picking and choosing was half the fun.

₩1,900 draft beer: is it any good?

I ordered draft beer the second I sat down, of course! I wondered if a ₩1,900 glass could be any good, but the moment I took a sip it was so cold and clean it cleared my chest right out! It was nutty with soft carbonation, and the beer just kept going down.

Side dishes to go with a plate of meat! They had all kinds neatly prepared. Not just the wraps, the side dishes are unlimited refills too.

How does the beef rib meat come out? Wasabi and garlic seasoning

Today's star is the beef rib meat (200g, ₩19,000)! So you can enjoy it cleanly, it came with wasabi alongside the plate of meat. For someone like me who loves wasabi, it was the perfect set.

The meat quality is crazy, right? Other places often serve it a bit thin, but the beef rib meat here was really thick and looked super fresh. With the garlic seasoning on top, the juiciness and savory depth were rich.

Nice thick rib meat! I cut it into bite-size pieces and had a simple wrap like this. The juices were so rich and savory, and it went really well with the wraps too.

How is the side doenjang stew?

The doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) I ordered as a side! It tasted like country-style doenjang stew, with lots of zucchini and vegetables in it, so it felt healthy, mild and not at all harsh. Its mild, nutty flavor was the kind you keep reaching for, and it wiped away the greasiness of the meat.

Free marinated meat and minari noodles as service

One bite! This is the marinated meat they gave us as a freebie. Thank you so much for preparing a little taste for us T_T (We'll be back!!)

They even gave us kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) as a freebie! Just as we were about to get up, they said there was free kalguksu? I thought it would be a little something to refresh the mouth, but it came out as a full spread like a main dish, and I was so surprised. There was so much minari (water dropwort) too, the more I looked the more amazing it was, and I thought this place's value for money is crazy.

With that final spread, I ended up ordering one more drink and enjoying it all like anju (drinking snacks). It was so generous, like a course meal, that I was having sooo much fun the whole time.

Atmosphere and whether we'd go back

Ssamchae Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal has a good atmosphere, wide table space across its two storefronts, a generous self-serve bar and a very kind owner. Chance of a return visit: 200%.