Seokgye Korean BBQ with aged pork belly dipped in myeoljeot: Hanam

Time flies so fast these days, honestly — I was busy with this and that and suddenly it was dinner time already, ugh. With no proper dinner prepped, I stood there wondering what to make quickly, and then it hit me: 'let's just eat out!' and I dashed out the door haha. Since we were going out anyway, I wanted to feed everyone something hearty.

So I decided on Hanam Doeji Jip Seokgye branch, a place I'd heard about for a while, and off we went. It's a Korean BBQ restaurant where you don't have to grill the meat yourself, so it seemed much easier for us — and for bringing our kid along too. Let me walk through it now!

What is the restaurant like inside?

Clean tables and no smoky smell at Hanam Doeji Jip Seokgye branch

The moment I walked into Hanam Doeji Jip Seokgye branch, I thought, "oh, this is cleaner than I expected." Even though it's a BBQ place, the smell wasn't heavily soaked into the air. Each table had plastic sheeting laid down, which definitely added to that hygienic feel.

The basic side dishes included bean sprouts, wild garlic leaves, and radish salad — the wild garlic leaves especially were perfect for wrapping with the meat.

What time should you arrive for a table? The earlier the better

We arrived around 6:50pm, and at that point only one table was occupied.

But get this — by around 7:10pm, the place was already full, whoa.

Since you don't have to grill anything yourself, there's no hassle, which I think is why people seem to prefer coming here. Plus, they had baby chairs and baby dishware set up separately, and there were really quite a few families with kids besides us.

They even threw in baby-friendly seaweed as a free extra, which I really appreciated haha. That kind of thoughtful attention to detail was genuinely nice.

What we ordered: mixed platter plus extra aged pork belly

At Hanam Doeji Jip Seokgye branch, we ordered the mixed platter (600g) and one beef brisket doenjang jjigae. But as we ate, the portion started feeling a bit short, ugh. So we added one more order of aged pork belly (500g) to fill up properly.

For first-time visitors or people who don't usually eat huge portions, the mixed platter alone would probably be plenty! It's nice that you get to try three kinds at once — pork belly, premium pork shoulder, and raw short rib.

The portion itself isn't small either — we just added extra because we were really hungry. I'd say order based on your own appetite!

The beef brisket doenjang jjigae we ordered alongside was also unforgettable. With tofu, vegetables, and beef brisket in it, it had a savory, clean flavor without being greasy, so my spoon kept going back for more while eating it with the meat, haha.

Is the aged five-layer pork belly really that juicy?

The mixed platter was delicious, but the aged pork belly we added on was definitely thick, true to its name!

You could really feel the chew with each bite, and maybe because it was aged, the meat was tender while the juices spread out — so savory and nutty.

Personally, dipping it in the myeoljeot (fermented anchovy sauce) served alongside was the best part. The umami kicked in with zero greasiness, and I just kept reaching for more.

The staff pre-seared it and grilled it on the pan for us, so all we had to do was eat — genuinely convenient, haha.

Check parking at Hanam Doeji Jip Seokgye branch before you go

Only 2 cars fit right beside the restaurant

There's a parking lot right next to Hanam Doeji Jip Seokgye branch, but it's only big enough for about 2 cars.

So during busy hours, you might need to find outside parking separately. We actually had to step out mid-meal to move our car, which was a slightly disappointing part of the experience. Knowing this in advance would make things much less of a hassle.

Hanam Doeji Jip Seokgye branch: hours, address and visit info

• 📍 17 Seokgye-ro 9-gil, 1st floor, Nowon-gu, Seoul (walking distance from Seokgye Station)
• ⏰ Weekdays 16:00–23:00 / Weekends 12:00–23:00, last order 22:00
• 🕑 Weekend break time 15:00–16:30
• 🚗 2 parking spots available in the lot next to the restaurant (outside parking may be needed when busy)

Final verdict

I'd definitely come back! First off, having a baby chair, baby dishware, and even baby seaweed so thoughtfully provided was great, and having someone grill the meat for us meant we could eat comfortably too! Above all, you really have to try the aged pork belly with myeoljeot combo, haha. If you're looking for a BBQ restaurant to visit with kids around Nowon-gu, I highly recommend this place.