Cheese fondue dakgalbi near Yaksu Station: Yaksu Chamsutbul Dakgalbi

I visited a dakgalbi (grilled chicken) restaurant near Yaksu Station.

From the photos I expected an old-school place run by an older generation, but it turned out to be run by young owners.

I dunked charcoal dakgalbi into cheese fondue and paired it with grilled deodeok (bellflower root), and it was on a totally different level from any dakgalbi I'd had before.

Where is Yaksu Chamsutbul Dakgalbi, and what is it like at 3pm?

Yaksu Chamsutbul Dakgalbi is near Yaksu Station.

Come out of Exit 10 of Yaksu Station and turn into the alley — it's right there, so it's really easy to get to.

I'd heard it's already a famous neighborhood spot that's crowded no matter when you go, and that was true.

I visited at 3pm, and even though it was almost an opening-run kind of time, there were still tables eating. There were foreign customers too — I'm curious how everyone finds this place.

Pre-grilled over charcoal: how do you order at Yaksu Chamsutbul Dakgalbi?

Yaksu Chamsutbul Dakgalbi specializes in charcoal dakgalbi and charcoal chicken thigh.

They use domestic chicken, and the process involves a pre-grill (par-cook) step right after you order, followed by finishing on the charcoal at your table. Orders start at 2 servings minimum, but you can mix flavors.

So I ordered one serving of soy-sauce charcoal dakgalbi and one of spicy.

As soon as I ordered, they par-grilled it in the par-grill zone, then moved it to a different grill for a second round of cooking.

Once the outside was slightly cooked, they refilled the charcoal at our table and brought over the par-grilled dakgalbi.

You grill it a bit more on the charcoal, and once it's cooked through, you eat it with all the side dishes.

Side dishes and the complimentary doenjang stew

The standard side dishes included lettuce wraps, pickled radish, kimchi, chive salad, and various sauces.

On top of that, they gave us a complimentary doenjang (soybean paste) stew, so the table felt really full.

The lettuce for wraps was genuinely fresh, and it was pre-wrapped for hygiene, which was clean and nice.

The meat was marinated well and grilled over charcoal, so it was delicious on its own, but adding the lettuce wraps and side dishes made it even more delicious.

Charcoal dakgalbi dipped in mozzarella cheese fondue

But the best part was the cheese fondue.

Cheese fondue served in a stone pot — what a concept!

Dip the dakgalbi into the cheese fondue and wrap it in that stretchy cheese — it's seriously nutty and delicious.

Since the cheese fondue comes in a stone pot, if you set it on the grill it stays melted the whole time instead of hardening, so you can enjoy it deliciously until the meal is over.

There's been a lot of controversy about cheap fake cheese, but this place only uses 100% mozzarella cheese. That's why it stretched so nicely and tasted rich and nutty.

Grilled deodeok: keep it on the fire only briefly

Add a bite of crunchy deodeok (bellflower root) on top and it's perfect.

Personally I liked grilling the deodeok just very lightly so the crunchy texture stays alive.

There was so much more I wanted to try — house-made fruit sauce makguksu (buckwheat noodles), washbasin-size mukbap (acorn jelly), squid-roe kimchi fried rice on the hot plate — but the dakgalbi portion was quite large, so I saved those for next time.

How much do you get? Three skewers per serving

One serving of dakgalbi comes with 3 large pieces, so it was really generous.

There wasn't any dry meat at all — everything was really tender and easy to eat.

The sauce wasn't overpowering and had a nicely balanced savory depth, though honestly since I was dipping everything in cheese, I couldn't quite pick out the detailed flavor of the sauce.

The spicy dakgalbi seemed a little hot, but paired with the lettuce wraps or cheese it wasn't too spicy, so I enjoyed it a lot.

I've usually eaten pan-grilled dakgalbi more often than charcoal, but this charcoal version tasted and smelled like a completely different dish.

A lot of the fat dripped down through the net grill below, so it felt less greasy, and the charcoal aroma soaked into the meat really well — so delicious.

They also have outdoor tent seating (yajang), and I imagine charcoal dakgalbi out there would feel a bit like camping — sounds great.

They give you the bone parts of the dakgalbi too, so if you pick off the last bits of meat clinging to the bone at the end, you finish your meal thoroughly — done!

After finishing, having a cold drink felt refreshing. Not many restaurants carry Dr Pepper — it was a drink I used to enjoy back in the day, so I was happy to see it, and it was just as good as I remembered.

Group tables, outdoor tent seating and parking near Yaksu Station

If you love dakgalbi, you have to visit Yaksu Chamsutbul Dakgalbi at least once.

There's group seating too, plus reservations, takeout, baby chairs, and Wi-Fi, so it's comfortable to eat here.

For parking, there's a paid lot right in front of the restaurant, so you can park easily. There's also the Dasan-dong public parking lot nearby, so if you're driving, I'd recommend checking parking spots ahead of time before you visit.