Cheonho charcoal chicken galbi with garlic salt and spicy sauce

Let me introduce a Cheonho spot for chicken galbi that's honestly better than what I had in Chuncheon, the city famous for it~

Location and hours of Ondogye near Cheonho Station

This time the Gangdong-gu spot I visited is Ondogye, located in Cheonho

15 Cheonho-daero 158-gil, 1F, Gangdong-gu, Seoul, 247m from Exit 6 of Cheonho Station

Open daily 16:00–23:00, last order 22:00

Parking for Ondogye Cheonho is available at nearby paid lots

Where to park for Ondogye Cheonho?

Among the paid lots near Ondogye Cheonho, we parked at the Cheonho Station public parking lot

Going from the underpass toward the jjukkumi (baby octopus) alley

It's only about a 3-minute walk, so it's close and I'd recommend it as the parking spot for Ondogye Cheonho

Getting shown to our reserved table and ordering

We visited after booking ahead, so we were shown to Ondogye's reserved table

After looking over the menu at Ondogye, a charcoal chicken galbi spot, we started by ordering two servings of the garlic salt chicken galbi

A basic spread that even comes with chicken gizzards and doenjang stew

Once we ordered, Ondogye Cheonho's own basic side dishes got set up

Chicken gizzards and doenjang stew (soybean paste stew) are provided free of charge, so you can snack on them while the charcoal chicken galbi cooks

Garlic salt chicken galbi, 270g ₩17,000

As soon as the charcoal was set up

Ondogye's garlic salt chicken galbi (270g ₩17,000) — our two orders of charcoal chicken galbi arrived

The Ondogye Cheonho owner gave it a first sear for us

then put it straight onto the heated grill plate

At Ondogye, this Cheonho favorite, the staff grill everything for you themselves

Cheese steamed egg, ₩5,000

Ondogye's steamed egg (₩5,000) — while the charcoal chicken galbi cooks to a nice golden brown, we'll be eating this savory cheese steamed egg 😋

The Ondogye staff pulled the fully cooked charcoal chicken galbi to the edge, and when we tried a bite

it wasn't dry at all, just nicely salty — Ondogye Cheonho is number one for charcoal chicken galbi

Rice ball, ₩3,000

Ondogye's rice ball (₩3,000) — I enjoyed it so much on my last visit that I ordered it again this time, and

the staff rolled it up into this nice round shape for us

The spicy sauce chicken galbi is the real kicker

Ondogye's spicy sauce chicken galbi (270g ₩17,000) — the garlic salt version at Ondogye Cheonho is delicious, but personally, the sauced version is the kicker because

at Ondogye, this Cheonho favorite, the owner's own homemade sauce is generously brushed on and grilled over charcoal — if you haven't had the sauced chicken galbi, you haven't really been to Ondogye ❗️

Ondogye's soda (₩2,000) — at Ondogye Cheonho, almost every table is drinking alcohol with their chicken galbi, so it has a bit of a pub vibe, but we stuck it out and cracked open a big can of soda instead

Ice cream to finish

Once the meal is over, the staff at Ondogye Cheonho, a Gangdong-gu favorite, bring out ice cream to finish the meal — I expected it to taste like that childhood liquid medicine flavor, but it was so good I wanted to ask for more. I held back though, since I can always have it again next time

Walking out stuffed that day, I noticed chef Lee Won-il on the TV screen, and it turned out Ondogye had actually been featured as a Gangdong-gu favorite on the YouTube channel Hong Seok-cheon Lee Won-il, which I watch

They'd set up a table right here to film, apparently lol lol lol lol lol

There's a wait, so booking ahead is a must

The place is pretty small, so it's a Cheonho favorite with a wait

If you book through Naver reservations before visiting, you'll be shown to a reserved table, so make sure to reserve ahead