Jonggak Korean BBQ date with my fiancé, then Cheonggyecheon: Yukrab

I wanted good meat near Jonggak Station, and went looking, and ended up at Yukrab Jongno (육랩 종로점), where you can have beef and lamb chops in one meal. Whenever we go for BBQ we agonize over beef or lamb, so being able to get both was the deciding factor!

There are quite a few private rooms inside, plus seats where you can eat while looking out the window, so it looked good for dates, company dinners and group gatherings too!

The weather was gorgeous that day, so we sat where we could see outside through the window and had a relaxed dinner. ☀️

Where is Yukrab Jongno, and what is the vibe?

Yukrab Jongno is a 2–3 minute walk from Exit 4 of Jonggak Station, on the 3rd floor of a building. It's handy when you're meeting around Jonggak Station, and the big plus is the open view from the 3rd floor.

Walking up to the 3rd floor and inside, I liked that the atmosphere was calmer and tidier than I expected. The lighting is soft, so it feels like a place for chatting over a relaxed meal or a moodier get-together. There are window seats with a clear view outside (thanks to the 3rd floor), and with the window open it felt airy.

Private rooms at Yukrab Jongno

Further inside there are separate private rooms. There are more than I expected and they're fairly spacious, so they'd suit group gatherings or company dinners. Since you eat apart from other tables, they also look good for a day when you want a quiet conversation.

The 3rd-floor window seat with the window open

The weather was so nice that we opened the window and picked a window seat with an outdoor view. We looked down on the street from the 3rd floor, and maybe thanks to the height, the street noise wasn't loud, so it was comfortable to talk.

Yukrab Jongno menu and drinks

Yukrab Jongno serves a variety of meats, not just beef but lamb chops too. There are lots of à la carte items so you can pick the cuts you want, there are also set menus with several kinds at once, and with traditional liquor, highballs and wine, picking a drink to go with the meat was fun too!

There's a good range of sauces and plenty of sides, pickles included. Besides plain salt there's turmeric salt and shichimi (Japanese chili blend), so dipping each meat in something different was fun.

What comes in the Yukrab set?

The Yukrab set comes with jingalbisal (marbled beef short rib meat), toshisal (beef chuck flap), lamb chops, doenjang stew (soybean paste stew) and 10-second grilling cheese. That's exactly what we ordered! We wanted both beef and lamb chops and debated going à la carte, then went with the set. Yay!

Doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew)

The doenjang stew that comes with the set arrived too. Rich and nutty, the textbook BBQ-restaurant doenjang stew! It's generous with mushrooms and vegetables, so it's good on its own, and after the meat you can have it with rice for a filling, dessert-like finish.

Jingalbisal with salt and wasabi

I grilled the beef jingalbisal first. It's my favorite kind of cut, with lots of marbling, and great for nutty flavor. Grilled golden on the outside, it was tender, and the beefy flavor deepened the more I chewed. When it's browned and crisp outside and still moist inside, one bite fills your mouth with nutty juices!

Dipped lightly in salt, it had a not-too-salty seasoning that let the meat's own flavor come through. It's a fairly fatty cut, so a dab of wasabi works well too. The sharp kick of wasabi keeps the nuttiness while cutting the richness, so I could enjoy it cleanly to the end.

Toshisal with turmeric salt

Toshisal had a different charm from the jingalbisal. It has rich meat flavor but is relatively lighter than jingalbisal, so alternating the two cuts never got boring.

Eating toshisal after the richness of the jingalbisal, I could really feel how texture and flavor differ by cut. Toshisal has a more pronounced grain than the rib meat, with a appealingly chewy bite.

Dipped lightly in salt and turmeric salt, it brought out toshisal's own nuttiness and the deep beefy flavor rather than fatty richness. The muscle grain is there but it's soft and not tough at all, and it got more flavorful the more I chewed. Going through two kinds of beef before moving on to the lamb chops was more fun than eating just one thing.

And of course you can't have meat without soju! One bottle of Jinro, please 🍶 This was a date after work, and a glass of soju with well-grilled beef made the day's tiredness melt away. Hehe.

Yukrab Jongno lamb chops: can you cut them yourself?

For the lamb chops at Yukrab Jongno, you grill the outside until crisp, then press the bell and a staff member comes to cut them, we were told. My fiancé wanted to do it, so we just cut them ourselves haha.

You sear the outside of the lamb chops until crisp, cut them into bite-size pieces, and finish cooking them on the grill. The key is to get the outside golden while not letting the inside dry out!

These lamb chops had the characteristic lamb aroma along with the nutty taste of the golden crust, and they were delicious. Lamb chops can be hit or miss depending on taste, but ordering them together with beef like this lets you enjoy both, which I liked.

Finishing with 10-second grilled cheese

Last, the Yukrab set's 10-second cheese 🧀 Grill it until it softens and stretches, and eat it as a snack with the remaining soju! Salty and nutty, a great finisher.

Who is Yukrab Jongno good for?

I really liked that Yukrab Jongno lets you enjoy beef and lamb chops in one go. Above all, it was lovely to eat at a window seat, relaxed, looking at the view outside. There are also several private rooms inside, so I think it suits not only dates but also family gatherings and company dinners.

A Cheonggyecheon walk after dinner

After the meal we walked along nearby Cheonggyecheon (the downtown stream). Yukrab Jongno is close to Cheonggyecheon, so it's easy to fit in a light walk before or after eating. Rather than heading straight home after a big meat dinner, we strolled slowly, digesting and chatting, and the evening felt more relaxed.

Especially after sunset the surroundings change, so it seems good as a combined date course: dinner at Jonggak Station, then a Cheonggyecheon walk! The slightly dark, chic atmosphere at Yukrab Jongno feels upscale, so it's perfect for a blind date or a date. If you're looking for Korean BBQ near Jonggak Station, do try Yukrab Jongno, where you can taste beef and lamb chops at once! ⭐