Gwangjin Korean BBQ with free corkage and staff grilling: Ssamchae

A Korean BBQ restaurant near Guui Station for both pork and beef

I could check out a quick menu display out front, and wait—they serve both pork and beef?

The restaurant was already buzzing with groups, and around the back there was another equally large, open space like this. That makes it an easy recommendation for group Korean BBQ in Guui-dong.

There was even a purple-lit refrigerator just for meat, which somehow made me look forward to it even more.

If you bring a little one, you can use one of the high chairs provided.

Tablet ordering and free corkage

You order from the tablet at your table, and I also snapped the wall menu because it was easy to see at a glance. The set menus are generously put together too, so they seem like a good choice if you want to try a range of things.

I thought pork was for the pot-lid grill and beef was for the charcoal brazier, but you can choose either cooking method for the same menu. Still, the pot-lid grill looked easier to cook on, so I ordered the pot-lid pork belly.

Corkage is allowed and free for alcohol not sold by the restaurant, with no limits on the type or number of bottles—just so you know. The group at the next table had brought baijiu and other drinks. But with beer at ₩1,900 and soju at ₩3,900, ordering here is great value too.

An unlimited self bar for side dishes and wrap vegetables

After ordering, they set out ssamjang (seasoned soybean dipping paste), garlic, gat kimchi, pickled shredded chili, white kimchi, pickled gungchae, pickled onion, myeonginamul leaves, plus kimchi, bracken fern, and seasoned bean sprouts that are great grilled in the meat fat. Nothing was missing!

One of the standout things about Ssamchae Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal (쌈채솥뚜껑삼겹살) is that you can refill the wrap vegetables and side dishes as much as you want.

This is not a token “unlimited refill” with just one or two items: there are 10 kinds of wrap vegetables and 12 kinds of side dishes. Beyond the basics, there are other sides such as green onion kimchi and koddeulppaegi, so checking out the self bar is a must.

They do not bring the wrap vegetables separately—you simply take as much as you want here. Along with greens, there are garnishes that taste great grilled, including mushrooms, eggplant, and kabocha squash. I absolutely love mushrooms cooked in meat fat, and they are included as standard—how do they make anything on this?

200g pot-lid pork belly, grilled by the staff

A lot of places serve 150g as one portion of pork belly, so 200g at this price is good value, right? Since each serving is so substantial, even just two portions feel like quite a lot.

Once the meat arrives, the staff oil the pot-lid grill and cook it. They come over to grill and cut everything, so all you have to do is eat comfortably.

Watching the meat turn beautifully golden had my mouth watering immediately.

Once the pork starts releasing fat, they place the sides around the edge to grill along with it. Looking at these photos makes me want it again,,

The meat was done, so we ordered drinks too. Draft beer comes in large and small sizes, and we went with the small.

With so many sides, packing a wrap full for one big bite is happiness. Apparently that is Hansung-ddung’s signature move? Hahahahahaha. I wrapped it with myeonginamul leaves, which pair so well with pork, too—yum. I have seen lots of unlimited side bars, but I loved that even the myeonginamul leaves were available for unlimited refills.

The kabocha squash gets sweet like dessert when grilled, which makes it such a special extra.

Minari spicy mushroom kalguksu simmered in the center of the grill

I was deciding on a side when I spotted minari spicy mushroom kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup), something I had never seen at a Korean BBQ restaurant, so I ordered it right away. Open the lid in the middle of the grill and there is a space like this where you can simmer it. You can keep leftover meat warm around the grill while eating your side—such a thoughtful setup.

Even one serving filled the pot like this, so it was quite generous. I ordered it expecting something like Deungchon kalguksu, and the abundant minari aroma made it really similar. The noodles were soft yet wonderfully chewy, too; I enjoyed it so much that this is a menu item I want to recommend.

We had a little alcohol left, so we ordered the cheese bomb steamed egg as a drinking snack. The steamed egg was on the mild side, which went nicely with the cheese.

Restroom tip

The restroom was outside the restaurant and very clean, but there was no toilet paper, so make sure to take some from the restaurant with you.