Seokchon Lake Korean BBQ with a baby on Chuseok eve: Sutbul Seonghwa

These days my baby's favorite food is beef (such a sophisticated palate... haha). I heard there was a great hanwoo (Korean beef) spot near Seokchon Lake, so we took the baby to Sutbul Seonghwa, a beef restaurant near Seokchon Station in Jamsil, planning to see the night view too 🐂

Sutbul Seonghwa hours, parking, and baby-friendly info

Sutbul Seonghwa is open every day from 11:00 to 1:00 am, with last order at midnight. Monday through Friday there's a break time from 15:00 to 17:00.

• ⏰️ Hours: Daily 11:00–01:00 / last order 00:00
• Mon–Fri break time 15:00–17:00
• 🅿️ Free parking available (limited spaces)
• Valet parking 17:00–22:00 (₩3,000)
• 👶🏻 Baby chair and baby tableware available

Where is Sutbul Seonghwa near Seokchon Station, and is there parking?

Sutbul Seonghwa is a beef restaurant near Seokchon Station Exit 1, on the Songnidan-gil side of Jamsil, where staff grill the meat for you. Parking around Songnidan-gil is genuinely a nightmare, but Sutbul Seonghwa offers free parking as well as valet service in the evening (₩3,000).

Sutbul Seonghwa's atmosphere — okay to bring a baby?

Sutbul Seonghwa is a stylish aged-beef and whiskey specialty restaurant, but since baby chairs are available, it seemed fine for family visits too. Maybe because we came the evening before Chuseok, there were quite a few families having gatherings.

Sutbul Seonghwa's room setup and minimum order amounts

Sutbul Seonghwa also has private rooms for groups of 4 to 18. There are three 6-person rooms and one 10-person room that can be combined for up to 18 people, and each room has a minimum order amount! The 6-person room is ₩300,000, the 10-person room is ₩600,000, and the 18-person combined room is ₩900,000.

Off to one side, Sutbul Seonghwa's beef was aging away 🥩 Aged beef is apparently much more tender than fresh meat, with richer umami and deeper flavor. They say famous models and even a White House chef from the US have visited, and maybe that's why there were quite a few foreign guests too.

Sutbul Seonghwa's menu and drinks — what we ordered

All the beef sold at Sutbul Seonghwa is hanwoo (Korean beef) grade 1++, sourced directly from the hanwoo auction house, apparently the highest quality available. There's also a set menu so you can try different cuts, so we ordered the Seonghwa modum platter, a combination of Seonghwa sirloin and wine-marinated rib meat.

True to a whiskey specialty restaurant, the whiskey lineup is seriously impressive 🥃 My husband said the prices were also much cheaper than at a whiskey bar.

The baby tableware and seaweed Sutbul Seonghwa provided

When I ordered rice for the baby, Sutbul Seonghwa thoughtfully brought out a baby tray, baby tableware, and even seaweed 🖤 It takes a bit of time for the charcoal and meat to be ready, so I was going to feed the baby plain rice first, but having the seaweed on hand was such a nice touch.

Sutbul Seonghwa's basic side dishes

The basic side dishes at Sutbul Seonghwa include pickled onion, white kimchi, green onion salad, wild garlic leaves, water dropwort pickle, radish salad, chamnamul (aster) salad, marinated shiitake, and four kinds of sauce. The chamnamul salad, which went well with the beef, and the addictive radish salad were both great.

Seonghwa modum 400g for ₩99,000 — what's in it?

Sutbul Seonghwa's Seonghwa modum is 400g of Seonghwa sirloin plus wine-marinated rib meat for ₩99,000. It's made up of sirloin sliced to soak up the charcoal aroma, and chewy rib meat tossed in a special wine marinade.

Sutbul Seonghwa grills the beef on a grate over charcoal traditionally made from high-quality oak from Chungju. Grade 1++ hanwoo grilled over good charcoal can't possibly be bad... and on top of that, at Sutbul Seonghwa the staff grill the meat for you.

1++ hanwoo sirloin — how did the baby and my husband react?

The staff oiled the grate and grilled the insanely marbled 1++ hanwoo sirloin. And of course, no beef meal is complete without button mushrooms with a pat of butter 🍄

Maybe because it was aged hanwoo, it was so tender it just melted in the mouth. My husband, who loves fatty cuts like salchisal, took one bite of the Sutbul Seonghwa sirloin and gave it a big thumbs up 👍🏻 Our beef-loving baby went wild asking for more after being fed a bite.

After feeding the baby, I grilled a piece of sirloin for myself and dipped it in Maldon salt with wasabi — yum...🤤 It had that deep, rich hanwoo flavor that just can't be compared to imported beef.

Wine-marinated rib meat, best with chamnamul salad

We grilled the rib meat marinated in the special wine sauce and took a bite topped with chamnamul salad and pickled onion. Sutbul Seonghwa's wine-marinated rib meat was delicious, with a marinade that wasn't too strong. The fragrant aroma of chamnamul really is a perfect match for beef! From tender sirloin to chewy rib meat, it was a day my mouth thoroughly enjoyed.

Dessert at Sutbul Seonghwa and a night walk around Seokchon Lake

Sutbul Seonghwa brings out Excellent ice cream bars for dessert, and that was my favorite part 🍦 After the beef, one Excellent bar as a palate cleanser left my mouth feeling totally refreshed and clean!

Sutbul Seonghwa is right in front of Seokchon Lake, so after eating, my husband and I took the baby for a lap around the lake and enjoyed the night view too — two birds with one stone. If you're looking for a beef restaurant for a Jamsil Seokchon Lake date, I recommend Sutbul Seonghwa near Seokchon Station 🥩

Who should try Sutbul Seonghwa

• Anyone looking for a stylish anniversary date restaurant near Seokchon Lake
• Anyone looking for a great beef restaurant near Seokchon Station on Songnidan-gil