Yeongdeungpo briquette BBQ: salt pork belly & ₩3,900 beer at Gamgol

Whenever I'm craving meat near Seonyudo Station, I head to Gamgol Yeontan-jip Seonyudo Station Branch (감골연탄집). I love the homey atmosphere and that smoky charcoal flavor, so I keep coming back. It's my regular spot.

This time I ordered one portion of briquette salt pork belly, two portions of chewy pork neck, the newly launched cuttlefish mulhoe, and a draft beer. They also brought out a doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) packed with tofu as a freebie, so I left really full.

Gamgol Yeontan-jip Seonyudo Station Branch: location and how to get there

The restaurant is about a 5-minute walk (roughly 259 m) from Exit 5 of Seonyudo Station. It has a big green sign that reads Gamgol Yeontan-jip, so it's easy to spot once you turn into the alley.

Red, blue and orange chairs sit in a row out front, so you can sit and wait if there's a line.

At the entrance there's a photo from the restaurant's appearance on SBS's Live Today, plus notices for various menu items. A banner advertising soju and beer for ₩3,900 caught my eye too. Drink prices have gone up a lot lately, so that's a nice price for having a drink with your meat.

For parking, use the Yangpyeong 2-dong office public lot next to the restaurant or the IS Biz Tower 2nd public lot.

What's the atmosphere like inside?

The interior is an old neighborhood BBQ joint: teal walls, wood paneling, flower-print chair covers and stainless steel tables. There are plenty of quirky decorations starting right at the entrance.

It doesn't feel like a retro look put on on purpose. It feels like a place that has been running in the same spot for a long time, which made it more comfortable for me.

Each table has a charcoal burner in the middle, with a long exhaust hood hanging above to pull the smoke away. There are tables for two and seating for bigger parties, so groups and families are no problem. Whenever I pass by, it's packed with customers.

Event heaven: the notices on Gamgol's walls

Handwritten notices and menu posters are stuck up all over the inside, so it's fun just to look around.

When I visited, there was an event where if four people drink 15 bottles of soju, they get another 15 bottles free. The notice said adult ID is required, it's limited to four people per table, and tables can't be combined or share. There was also a persimmon-related discount event on the 25th of every month, and an offer of a briquette or persimmon keyring for joining the Gamgol fan club.

There's a tiger picture on the wall, too. A notice written by the owner himself said solo diners should feel free to talk to him, and it gave off the warm vibe of a neighborhood restaurant with lots of regulars.

Gamgol menu and prices

Meats

• Gochujang briquette bulgogi, 150g: ₩14,900
• Briquette salt pork belly, 150g: ₩15,900
• Chewy pork neck, 150g: ₩15,900
• Seolhwa kkodeulsal (chewy pork skirt cut), 150g: ₩17,900

Side dishes and drinking snacks

• Seasoned eel (kkomjangeo): ₩13,900
• Honeycomb pork skin: ₩12,900
• Flame-grilled tulip chicken feet: ₩13,900
• Grilled smelt with roe: ₩9,900
• Briquette-grilled dried filefish: ₩5,900

Meals

• Briquette fried rice: ₩6,900
• Flat bibim noodles: ₩6,900
• Hangover sundubu (soft tofu) stew: ₩6,900
• Doenjang jjigae: ₩6,900
• Changdong-ne shrimp steamed egg: ₩5,900

What we ordered that day and the total

• Briquette salt pork belly, 1 portion: ₩15,900
• Chewy pork neck, 2 portions: ₩15,900 × 2 = ₩31,800
• Cuttlefish mulhoe: ₩11,000
• Draft beer, 1 glass: ₩3,900
• Total: ₩62,600

The meat and a cold beer came out first.

Side dishes and sauces

When I ordered meat, it came with lettuce wraps, kimchi, potato salad and more. The dipping sauces are ssamjang (seasoned soybean paste), basil sauce and salt, so you can mix it up to your taste.

Personally, I think the first piece or two of charcoal-grilled meat is best with just a light dip in salt. After that, wrapping it with lettuce or kimchi keeps it from getting boring, and I just kept eating. Dipping it in the basil sauce is special too.

What does the briquette salt pork belly taste like?

Gamgol's briquette salt pork belly (150g, ₩15,900) was a good thickness with a nice ratio of lean meat to fat, lightly sprinkled with coarse salt. Over the charcoal, the outside turned golden and the fat crisped up while the inside stayed juicy.

As soon as I put it on the charcoal it started sizzling and a savory smell spread. Unlike meat cooked on a regular grill, it picks up that subtle charcoal smokiness, so it was delicious even without any seasoning. Wrapped with lettuce and kimchi was good, but dipped in just a little salt was when I could taste the meat's richness and the smoky flavor best.

₩3,900 draft beer with charcoal pork belly

Cold beer goes so well with charcoal-grilled pork belly, right? I ordered a draft beer too, and the soft foam and cold beer cleanly cut through the rich, smoky meat. With beer at ₩3,900, Gamgol is a good place to have a drink with your meat without worrying about the bill.

Look at how gorgeous that well-grilled pork belly is, haha!

Gamgol's new cuttlefish mulhoe: does it go with meat?

The dish I especially loved this visit was the cuttlefish mulhoe (₩11,000), which just launched recently. It came in a big bowl, generously filled with thick-cut cuttlefish, vegetables and noodles.

You mix the sauce and ingredients together, and it looked cool and appetizing just sitting there. The cuttlefish wasn't thin and mushy but thick and springy. It wasn't tough, and it stayed chewy the more I bit into it. So good.

What I liked most was that the mulhoe sauce wasn't salty or overly punchy. Mulhoe can sometimes have a strong or salty sauce, but Gamgol's cuttlefish mulhoe was sweet and tangy without being heavily seasoned, so it didn't overpower the cuttlefish and vegetables. Once I mixed the noodles through the sauce, the chewy cuttlefish, crunchy vegetables and noodles worked really well together.

After eating pork belly and neck, a bite of the cuttlefish mulhoe refreshed my mouth and cut the greasiness of the meat.

Ordering mulhoe at a BBQ place might seem a bit unexpected, but eaten with the meat, it was a far better match than I thought. It stood out most among everything I ate that day, and I want to order it again next time. Please order the cuttlefish mulhoe! I'd honestly go back just for this, haha.

Chewy pork neck, 2 portions: how is it different from pork belly?

Gamgol's chewy pork neck (150g, ₩15,900) is, as the name says, pork neck that gets chewier the more you bite, and it's my all-time favorite pork neck. This time it was chewy pork neck time!! Even though it's neck meat, it isn't dry, and with the right amount of fat and juice it eats tender.

If pork belly has a rich, fatty charm, the pork neck is a bit leaner and has more bite to it.

Grilling the surface golden over the charcoal added a nutty smokiness that made the meat taste even deeper. Ordering pork belly and neck together let me alternate between different flavors and textures, which made a great combination.

This consistent charcoal-grilled flavor is exactly why I keep coming back to Gamgol as my regular spot.

Everything delicious, all piled in!! Wrap time, yaaa~~

The free doenjang jjigae packed with tofu

While I was eating, they brought out doenjang jjigae as a freebie. I thought a free stew would be a small one, but the earthenware pot was full of tofu, so it was more generous than I expected.

The broth was rich and savory without being too salty, and with all that soft tofu my spoon kept going back. Taking a spoonful of warm doenjang jjigae between bites of charcoal-grilled meat was a really good match.

One-line review

Charcoal pork belly and chewy pork neck are a given, and even the not-salty, tangy cuttlefish mulhoe was delicious: my regular spot near Seonyudo Station!