Hearty beef BBQ by Yangjae Station: galbi-sal, garlic galbi, Gukgojip

It had been a while, so I headed to Gukgojip, a BBQ place near Yangjae Station, for a beefy pick-me-up! It's a Yangjae Station beef restaurant I'd also recommend for group dinners.

Where is Gukgojip near Yangjae Station?

Gukgojip (국고집) is a 5-minute walk from Yangjae Station, on the first floor of a building. You'll spot the sign right away: "Gukbap and meat done right, Gukgojip." (I caught a cat sitting by the door, haha!)

Is Gukgojip good for a group dinner in Yangjae?

I'd recommend Gukgojip for a Yangjae group dinner because the inside is clean and roomy. The tables run long, and the whole place can be booked for groups.

Gukgojip also has a basement level, and on the way down I saw lots of celebrity autographs stuck on the wall. So plenty of famous people have eaten here too!

What's on the Gukgojip menu?

Gukgojip specializes in gukbap (rice soup) and meat, and it's been run by three generations of the family. Honesty is their golden rule, and with a history like that I trusted it and was already excited before eating, haha.

• Lunch menu: gukbap, pork belly set meal and more
• Meat menu: LA galbi (cross-cut short ribs), fresh beef galbi, handmade fresh galbi, pork belly, gabrisal (pork rib finger), marinated galbi and more
• Finishing dishes: gukbap, naengmyeon (cold noodles), fried rice and more

Side dishes and the free kongbiji stew

We ordered the fresh beef galbi-sal (boneless short rib meat), and a generous spread came with it. The side dishes were lettuce, white kimchi, chive kimchi, pickled garlic and pickled onion, a lineup that goes really well with meat.

And since we ordered meat, they served kongbiji-jjigae (soybean pulp stew) on the house! Gukgojip's version was nutty and deep, the kind you keep reaching for. A healthy free stew that goes so well with meat, right? ☺️

How does the charcoal-grilled fresh beef galbi-sal taste?

Two servings of fresh beef galbi-sal at Gukgojip! The color of this beef is no joke.. It's fresh beef with decent marbling, and the quality is genuinely great.

Did you know beef grilled over charcoal is on another level?! The beef is already good, and with the charcoal aroma added, the richness is insane.

I also filmed the galbi-sal on the charcoal, and the Maillard reaction is spot on. Golden outside and juicy inside, the beef has a deep flavor.

Beef cooks fast and shouldn't be overdone, so I only grilled a bit at a time. It cooks quickly over charcoal, so the meat stayed tender and juicy, and the savory flavor was a work of art.

How was the extra marinated beef galbi-sal?

I enjoyed the fresh galbi-sal so much that I ordered 1 more serving, the marinated beef galbi-sal. Gukgojip's version is tossed in a garlic marinade, so it feels a bit more savory and umami-rich? It tastes great in a different way from the fresh one!

Because it's marinated, the galbi-sal can burn faster than the fresh cut, so you need to grill it carefully. Eat it when it's just cooked and you get sweet-salty seasoning with deep, savory beef.

Finishing with Korean beef fried rice

For the finishing dish at Gukgojip I ordered the Korean beef fried rice, and it was a classic style of fried rice. Kind of like something you'd get at a restaurant, you know? It was packed with Korean beef and assorted vegetables, so it was varied in both looks and taste.

Gukgojip near Yangjae Station: overall verdict

Gukgojip is easy to reach from Yangjae Station, and the large space makes it ideal for group dinners. It's a traditional BBQ restaurant near Yangjae Station with roughly 50 years and three generations behind it. It has a range of meats, including beef and pork, plus its famous gukbap.

Both the fresh and the marinated galbi-sal were fresh and high quality, and grilled over charcoal they stayed savory and juicy, with umami and a deep flavor that put the beef on another level. With finishers like the Korean beef fried rice too, I recommend it as a Yangjae Station beef restaurant! Next time I'd like to try the gukbap as well :)

• Location: 14 Nambusunhwan-ro 355-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (1st floor)
• How to get there: 5-minute walk from Yangjae Station Exit 4
• Hours: daily 10:00–22:00 (weekday break time 14:30–16:00)