Balsan Station Korean BBQ with baby chair and weekend lunch: Ihwajeong

When you're planning a weekend meal out with a baby, the first things you check are whether parking is easy and whether the place is baby-friendly. I had errands in Magok and wanted meat for lunch, so I stopped by Ihwajeong Galbi Myeongga Magok-Balsan Branch :)

It's close to Balsan Station and, more importantly, has a spacious parking lot, so it was easy to get there by car. Since we came with our baby, they immediately gave us a baby chair and dishes, and a staff member grilled the meat for us, so we had a comfortable meal!

A Balsan Station pork rib spot that feels spacious from the start

Ihwajeong Galbi Myeongga Magok-Balsan Branch is on the 1st floor of 42 Gangseo-ro 54-gil, Gangseo-gu, Seoul. It's about a 3-minute walk from Exit 4 of Balsan Station, so it's easy to reach by public transit too.

We drove there, and there's a separate 4-story parking building right next to the restaurant, so parking was easy from the start. With plenty of parking space, moving around with the baby and our stuff wasn't a hassle at all.

Walking inside, the place was bigger than I expected, and the overall atmosphere was clean and pleasant. I also liked that the tables were spaced widely apart, so we weren't crammed right next to the next table.

There were a lot of families around when we visited, and I could see why it's a popular spot for family outings or gatherings.

Today's order: three servings of seasoned pork shoulder ribs

Seasoned pork shoulder ribs 300g ₩23,000 × 3 servings

Baby chair and baby dishes, set up right away

Going to a barbecue place with a baby usually means there's a surprising amount to worry about, from the chair to the dishes, haha. But when we mentioned we had a baby with us, they immediately brought out a baby chair and dishes, which made things so much easier.

The basic side dishes came out neatly arranged too, nice to pick at one by one.

What we ordered was three servings of seasoned pork shoulder ribs. The meat had a decent thickness, and once it went onto the grill, it looked really appetizing.

Staff grill the meat, so you can eat while watching your kid

What made this the most comfortable part of the day was that the staff grilled the meat themselves! Trying to watch a baby and grill meat at the same time is chaos, but since the staff member checked and grilled the meat perfectly, we could relax and watch our baby while eating haha.

Tasting the nicely browned pork ribs, I liked how the meat wasn't tough at all and had a soft, tender bite.

The seasoning wasn't overly sweet either — it was subtly worked into the meat, which made it great to eat with rice. That mattered more than I expected. Being able to enjoy delicious meat while still keeping an eye on the baby made this genuinely convenient for a family meal out lol.

You can't have galbi without naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles), right haha. We ordered a mul naengmyeon to share, and after all the seasoned meat, the cool noodles paired really well.

After we finished eating, pear sherbet was ready as dessert. Cold and refreshing, it was a great way to cleanse the palate after eating our fill of meat.

Plenty of meat options to choose from

Ihwajeong Galbi Myeongga offers more than just pork ribs — they also have seasoned beef king ribs and Korean beef raw ribs. Since you can pick by type of meat, it seemed like a good spot for families where everyone can order what they want.

How was it as a family meal with a baby?

We came for a weekend lunch with our baby, and between the spacious parking, the clean interior, and having baby dishes and a chair ready, the whole meal was comfortable overall. Most of all, having the meat grilled for us was really convenient, and the seasoned pork shoulder ribs were tender and delicious, great for a family meal.

If you're looking for a good pork rib restaurant near Balsan Station, or a family-friendly spot with easy parking around Magok/Balsan, Ihwajeong Galbi Myeongga Magok-Balsan Branch is worth a visit 😊 Especially if you're visiting with kids like I did, having the meat grilled for you makes a real difference!