Seoul Korean BBQ with outdoor seating and soju ice buckets: Donbyeorak

Not AI-written, no script — Sujjang wrote this one word by word herself.

🍽 Menu: samgyeopsal (pork belly), hangjeongsal (pork neck), cold noodles, doenjang jjigae, fried rice ⏳Wait time: none 🔁Would return: yes 📌Location: 24 Janghan-ro 26-gil, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, 1st floor 🥢One-line review: great pork quality, a good spot for drinks

— What we ordered — Kimchi samgyeopsal, 2 servings (360g): ₩36,000 Kimchi hangjeongsal, 1 serving (160g): ₩21,000 Cold noodles: ₩7,000 Doenjang jjigae: ₩2,000 Rice: ₩1,000 Flying fish roe fried rice, heaping: ₩5,000 Cheese add-on: ₩4,000 Soju, 1 bottle: ₩5,000 Drinks, 2 cans: ₩4,000

What kind of Korean BBQ restaurant is Donbyeorak Kimchi Samgyeopsal in Jangan-dong?

Today we went to Donbyeorak Kimchi Samgyeopsal Jangandong Main Branch in Dongdaemun.

Right at the entrance, a pig-shaped chair greets you — so cute, haha.

Inside, there are about 17 tables of 4, and the tables are spaced fairly far apart, so it feels comfortable and uncrowded.

The owner here is a kimchi master who makes her own kimchi using Haenam cabbage, so kimchi shows up in nearly every dish. Since kimchi samgyeopsal is literally in the name, we couldn't skip it — we ordered two servings of kimchi samgyeopsal, doenjang jjigae, and a bottle of soju.

Side dishes and free refills of tteok-ssam rice cake wraps

The basic side dishes were sauce, pickled radish, macaroni, bean sprouts, lettuce wraps, and kimchi, served alongside the meat and vegetables.

One unusual touch: they also gave us thin rice cakes called tteok-ssam that you grill and wrap, and apparently they're refillable.

How good is the pork in Donbyeorak's kimchi samgyeopsal?

And here's the raw pork we got,,! Out of all the BBQ places I've been to lately, this might be one of the best cuts of samgyeopsal I've gotten.

It's not just the cut — good meat is known for the fat turning golden when grilled, and this one turned golden after barely any cooking, so you could tell the quality was great even before taking a bite.

Outdoor seating and soju served in an ice bucket

Donbyeorak Kimchi Samgyeopsal Jangandong Main Branch has outdoor tent seating, and since the weather was nice we sat outside. Grilling meat while catching the cool breeze felt just like camping — such a good mood, haha.

The best part was that even ordering plain soju gets you a wine-style ice bucket packed with ice,, if you like drinking, you'll know how happy this makes you. It made me sad thinking why there's no place like this near my house ㅠㅠ

The steamed egg also came out bomb-style, puffed up and nearly overflowing. It's a free side dish, but it made me realize how much care goes into every single item on the menu.

Doenjang jjigae for 2,000 won, cold noodles and kimchi pork jowl

When BBQ places charge ₩5,000 or ₩8,000 for doenjang jjigae, you start wondering if you came for the meat or the stew — but at this low a price, it was easy to order without hesitation.

Sojjang was on medication, so instead of soju, she toasted with her pills, haha.

We enjoyed the samgyeopsal so much that we ordered hangjeongsal too, along with the cold noodles. The noodles were cooked well, and the broth had that refreshing, chilled style that reminds you of mukbap-style cold noodle soup.

The hangjeongsal we ordered was also good quality — nutty and delicious.

Is the 4,000 won cheese on the flying fish roe fried rice worth it?

And of course, no samgyeopsal meal is complete without fried rice..!! They switch to a round pan and fry it up right there,

and if you add cheese, they pile it up like a mountain and melt it down carefully with a torch.

Can you see the cheese stretching,, at first I thought ₩4,000 for cheese seemed pricey, but the portion really delivers. Wherever you scoop with your spoon, that much cheese pulls up with it, and we finished the fried rice happily.

The verdict on Donbyeorak Kimchi Samgyeopsal

This is the kind of place that makes you wonder why there's never one like it near your own home. Good pork quality, clean interior, outdoor tent seating, soju served in an ice bucket, and delicious fried rice — honestly, that's a solid choice whether you're there for the food or the drinks. It's a great spot to duck into when the weather's cool, after a walk, when you suddenly crave samgyeopsal — light and easy with two servings of pork and a round of soju. And since the soju stays cold in the bucket the whole time, I'd especially recommend it to anyone who likes to drink.