Weekend Korean BBQ for two at City Hall Station: 700g+, Geumseong

City Hall Station is packed with office workers on weekday evenings! There are lots of great restaurants, but the waits are no joke, so finding a good place for a team dinner is surprisingly hard 🤔 This time I visited Geumseong Hoegwan City Hall branch (금성회관), a good-value BBQ place that's a popular pick for team dinners around City Hall Station!

The meat quality is great and the tables are spaced generously, so it looked fine for group gatherings and company dinners too. Two of us ate hwangje galbi, 1% pork neck and galbi bonsamgyeop like a whole group would, so here's my honest review >.<

Where is Geumseong Hoegwan Seoul City Hall Direct Branch, and can you book?

Geumseong Hoegwan Seoul City Hall Direct Branch is at 30 Namdaemun-ro 1-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, 1st floor, and it's open 11:00–23:00 Monday through Sunday. It's about 300 meters from City Hall Station Exit 7.

The gold lettering on the navy signboard really catches your eye. It was a weekend, so we reserved ahead. You can also get a freebie through the coupon event offered in advance on Naver Place, so keep that in mind!

Is Geumseong Hoegwan at City Hall good for a team dinner?

The interior has roomy seating, clean lighting and a slightly antique feel, so it's different from the usual BBQ joint. It looked popular for group dinners, dates, and foreign tourists in Seoul who want a taste of Korean atmosphere!

I really liked that this Seoul BBQ place near City Hall Station runs with no break time.

The staff were mostly foreigners, and so were many of the customers, so it honestly felt like we'd walked into a Koreatown abroad, which was kind of unique, hahaha

Geumseong Hoegwan City Hall menu and tablet ordering

The menu is neat and made up of the standard dishes you'd expect from a classic Korean BBQ restaurant. You order easily through the T-order tablet.

What two of us ordered, with prices

• Hwangje galbi 150g ₩19,000
• 1% pork neck 180g ₩17,000
• Galbi bonsamgyeop 200g ₩19,000
• Steamed rice ₩1,000

I thought the charcoal would be set up right after we ordered, but it took a bit longer than expected! Meat with that charcoal aroma is a must for me, so the wait just turned into anticipation.

Geumseong Hoegwan side dishes and free kimchi stew

The basic sides are green lettuce, pickled mustard leaves, pickled cheongyang chili, spicy silbi-style napa cabbage kimchi, plus tonkatsu sauce, breadcrumbs, ssamjang, salt and wasabi, all neatly served! It's so well stocked that if you mix and match them, I bet this would stretch to 3 or 4 servings, haha.

The complimentary kimchi stew was loaded with tofu and pork, so tasty, and the broth was really rich. I was shocked it's free..!

There are so many BBQ places around City Hall Station, but the meat quality here is solid, and I could see why it's popular for team dinners among office workers.

How do the 1% pork neck and galbi bonsamgyeop taste?

The first things we tried were the 1% pork neck and galbi bonsamgyeop (pork belly). Pork can be tricky to grill, so I liked that a staff member did it for us from start to finish.

I'd heard the 1% pork neck is one of Geumseong Hoegwan's signature dishes, and since I like lean cuts, I was really looking forward to it. My companion picked the bonsamgyeop because they love pork belly, and the fat wasn't excessive, so it suited me fine too!

It was golden and nicely colored outside and juicy inside, so I was impressed from the very first bite, hehe.

It kept the clean, mild taste pork neck is known for without being dry at all, and the more I chewed, the more that pleasant pork flavor came through, so my chopsticks kept going back.

Salt plus wasabi, which I tried first, was already good enough, but personally my favorite way was wrapped in lettuce. I love pickled sides, so a clean wrap without ssamjang tasted great too, haha.

Tonkatsu sauce, breadcrumbs and fresh wasabi: the pairing to try

Eating the pork with one of Geumseong Hoegwan's specialties, tonkatsu sauce + breadcrumbs + fresh wasabi, honestly feels like you're at a great tonkatsu restaurant. It's a really novel combo and very appealing..! Recommended~

Taking sips of the stew in between, the kimchi's coolness and the meat's savoriness seem to work like a digestive aid (?)

Is Geumseong Hoegwan's hwangje galbi worth ordering?

Next was the hwangje galbi (beef short rib) 150g (₩19,000). The name alone builds expectations, and in person the look and color were wonderful too *.*

Being beef, it was juicy, and the more I chewed, the more nutty richness spread. It didn't have that beefy smell I dislike, just a pleasant flavor, and the chew was just right, which I liked.

Adding the review-event pork galbi: 700g+ for two

On top of that, for the review event they generously gave us a whole piece of pork galbi, which was beyond generous. Two of us ate a geun... no, over 700 grams, stuffed to bursting, in our little two-person lunch team dinner...⭐️

Whatever cut or menu item you order, there are no misses, and the place isn't rowdy, the mood is nice, so we left happy. A good City Hall restaurant.

Who Geumseong Hoegwan City Hall is best for

• Office workers looking for a City Hall Station team dinner spot
• People who prefer a clean atmosphere among City Hall Station BBQ places
• Anyone who wants to enjoy both pork neck and galbi
• People looking for a City Hall Station restaurant that can handle group gatherings

It was a hearty lunch at Geumseong Hoegwan near City Hall Station, with good meat and prices that weren't a burden..^^* If you're looking for a place for a team dinner or a gathering, it's worth a visit 😇