Yeonnam-dong Korean BBQ with beef rib finger: Gogi Salon, Hongdae

When I eat meat in Hongdae, taste matters, but who's doing the grilling matters just as much, haha. When we grill it ourselves, we end up burning things while chatting, and I've had plenty of times where one person just held the tongs the whole meal.

Where is Gogi Salon, and what are its hours?

Gogi Salon is a Korean BBQ restaurant on the 1st floor left of 60 Wolgeuktbuk-ro62-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul. It's 424m from exit 2 of Hongik University Station (Gyeongui-Jungang Line/AREX), so it was within walking distance.

• Hours: Mon–Fri 11:30–23:00 / Sat 17:00–23:00
• Weekday break time 15:00–17:00
• Last order 22:00
• Closed every Sunday

Since it's walkable from Hongik University Station, it was easy to set up a dinner plan and head over for meat.

Finding the Gogi Salon storefront in Yeonnam-dong

This time I visited Gogi Salon near Hongik University Station. It was convenient that they grill the meat for you at this Hongdae BBQ spot, and it wasn't just pork belly by itself — the combo of grilling potatoes and mushrooms alongside it was better than I expected.

The exterior has a wood-tone sign, so it was obvious it was a BBQ restaurant even just walking by.

Inside Gogi Salon: seating and atmosphere

The inside of Gogi Salon felt more like a proper meal spot than the noisy vibe of the main Hongdae street. Walking in, every table had its own grill plate and ventilation, and when I was actually eating there, I could see several groups enjoying meat together.

I've had plenty of experiences where conversation dies because I'm busy grilling at a BBQ place, but here the staff grill it for you, which was definitely a relief. Being able to just chat with everyone while eating was honestly a pretty big plus for me.

Gogi Salon menu and prices

Gogi Salon's menu has both beef and pork.

• Pork belly (samgyeopsal) 160g ₩16,000
• Flower pork neck (kkotmokssal) 320g ₩32,000 / 480g ₩48,000
• Gabrisal 150g ₩17,000
• Kkotssal 150g ₩35,000
• Beef rib finger (neukganssal) 150g ₩19,000

There was also a set: 2 servings of flower pork neck plus 1 serving of fresh pork belly, with either janchi guksu (banquet noodles) or bibim guksu (spicy mixed noodles) included, for ₩51,000.

Being able to get beef and pork in one place was great for putting together combos like ours, when we wanted pork belly and beef rib finger together.

Pork belly 160g, grilled with potatoes and king oyster mushrooms

What we ate that day was pork belly and beef rib finger. The pork belly came out pretty thick, and the staff grilled it into bite-sized pieces for us.

They put king oyster mushrooms and potatoes on the grill plate too, and the potatoes cooked golden in the pork belly fat were surprisingly delicious.

If I had been grilling it myself, I'd have been busy constantly checking and flipping, but since they grilled it at just the right timing, I could just eat right away — very convenient.

Beef rib finger 150g for 19,000 won

And the beef rib finger we ordered alongside was 150g for ₩19,000. Eating beef in between rather than just pork belly the whole time kept the meal from feeling repetitive.

Pork belly and beef rib finger are completely different in cut and texture, so it's less about picking one over the other — for a group like us, ordering both and alternating worked out well.

There were sauces set out on the table to pair with the meat, so we could mix and match however we wanted.

That day we also had a hot soup dish loaded with big chunks of crab alongside the meat, which was nice to sip a spoonful of in between bites of pork belly.

Is Gogi Salon worth it? Honest verdict

In the past, going to a Hongdae BBQ place usually meant one person ended up in charge of the grill the whole time. What stuck with me most about Gogi Salon was being able to eat without worrying about grilling the pork belly or beef rib finger, since the staff handled it.

If you're looking for a spot near Hongik University Station with staff-grilled pork belly, or if you want to order beef like rib finger alongside pork instead of just pork alone, it's worth comparing. I'd go again with a group and order both together :)