Sunday-night 1hr 45min wait at a Jongno 3-ga Korean BBQ: Tapgol

If you're looking for a Korean BBQ spot in Jongno 3-ga, you can't skip the fun of grilling meat outdoors on a day when the weather's turning cool like it does in autumn.

This time I visited Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga, a spot known for its frozen pork belly 👍 Eating outdoors made it feel even more atmospheric — it's a Jongno 3-ga Korean BBQ restaurant fully packed with that Jongno vibe.

It really felt different from eating indoors!! Sitting at an outside table while the meat sizzled away, I could feel that genuine Jongno mood,

How long is the Sunday-evening wait at Tapgol Gongwon?

On a Sunday evening, the wait at Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga was a whopping 1 hour 45 minutes... I put my name down around 6pm and my entry time was 7:45pm ㅠㅠ Definitely keep this in mind before you visit!!

We didn't want to waste the wait so we stuck it out and ate, but it really did take forever..... (I ended up catching a proper cold the next day ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ)

Finding this Jongno 3-ga Korean BBQ restaurant near Tapgol Park

This place was already completely full by the time we arrived.. packed with people.

The outdoor tables stretch long around the stone wall, and honestly this might be the busiest Jongno 3-ga BBQ restaurant I've seen.. it felt like everyone in the neighborhood who wanted outdoor grilling had gathered here haha. There are lots of restaurants around, but frozen pork belly seems to be the most popular thing here.

The evening vibe kept building, but why does the crowd keep growing even as the wait gets longer...!!! Every table was full, and it seems like there's a 90-minute seating limit on weekends!

Grilling frozen pork belly at an outdoor table in Jongno

They have pork neck and roasted duck too, but I came for frozen pork belly so that's what we ordered!! There are quite a few side dishes too, like steamed egg, kimchi stew, fried rice. They have beef too, just so you know — but the thing I was most excited about today was the frozen pork belly haha. Pork belly for two plus a bowl of rice, let's go~~

There's a good variety of banchan (side dishes) too, all good for grilling alongside the pork belly.

Bracken fern namul, green onion kimchi, napa cabbage kimchi, bean sprouts, salted squid too~ Eating it outdoors made the whole atmosphere feel even more alive haha.

The sound of the meat cooking on the grill, the savory smell, and the bustling crowd all around — it felt like my first real taste of outdoor grilling (yajang) culture haha.

The meat is sliced thin so it cooked really fast. No need to wait long haha. Thanks to that we could just grill small batches at a time, so we weren't waiting around and could satisfy our hunger quickly.

My partner grilled everything so nicely and carefully... thank you! White rice with meat + ssamjang + wasabi + grilled kimchi all together tasted amazing~

With the breeze blowing softly, everything just tasted even better... pure magic.

Is Tapgol Gongwon worth it for outdoor Korean BBQ in Jongno 3-ga?

The thinly sliced frozen pork belly cooks really fast, and it's easy to keep chatting while several people grill together, so it's a menu that suits gatherings with friends or a casual drinking night.

If you're specifically looking for a place to eat near Tapgol Park, considering the location and atmosphere, this place is pretty good haha. Though the wait being this long is really something ㅠㅠㅠ

But once you're seated, the meat is delicious and you can grab as much extra banchan as you want from the self-serve bar, and you really get that outdoor-table vibe you just can't feel indoors~~

Being able to sit comfortably, grill meat, and soak up the Jongno atmosphere as it is — that was this place's real advantage! Either go right when it opens at 5pm, or put your name down in advance and find something to do nearby before coming back for dinner — that seems like a smart plan too.