Gangnam Korean BBQ with staff grilling: Ongijip Main Branch

Getting there from Apgujeong, Sinsa, and Hakdong stations

After finishing my swimming lesson in Bangbae, my friend said they wanted meat, so we ran straight to Apgujeong‼️ (Swimming really brings your appetite back..) While looking for Korean BBQ in Apgujeong, we found a place that par-grills the meat and even grills it for you, so we visited together. I loooove Korean BBQ places that grill for you...☺️ Because I’m terrible at grilling meat o̴̶̷̥᷅⌓o̴̶̷᷄

Ongijip Main Branch, Apgujeong Korean BBQ

It’s a 10–15-minute walk from Apgujeong and Sinsa stations on Line 3, and Hakdong Station on Line 7, near the Gangnam Eulji Hospital intersection where the three station areas meet! I walked from Hakdong Station, and it took about 10 minutes‼️

They’re closed every Sunday, and open Monday through Saturday from 16:00 to 23:00, with last orders at 22:30. Naver reservations are available! Since you can reserve, it would be great to book ahead for a company dinner or gathering. ‼️You can choose your menu in advance too‼️

An open-window restaurant with an outdoor-dining feel

They had every window in the restaurant open, so it had that outdoor dining-stall kind of Korean BBQ vibe‼️ It doesn’t look like a typical Korean BBQ place at all. At first, I thought it was an izakaya, haha. The atmosphere is great, and so is the interior 👍🏻👍🏻

There were plenty of seats inside, and above all, the tables were large, so eating was not uncomfortable at all. The chairs were wide too, which was great for putting down our bags 👍🏻 We visited with a reservation, and at around 8 p.m. there were about three other parties~ We were shown to a table that had already been set for us.

(I was shocked at how huge the meat grill was, haha.) You order using the kiosk installed at each table.

Ordering Pre-Grilled Set A and gabrisal

For two people, we ordered Pre-Grilled Set A and low-temperature-aged gabrisal (pork jowl), plus alcohol and drinks too~🍻🥤

Pre-Grilled Set A (500g) comes with 200g grilled pork neck, 150g aged pork belly, 150g low-temperature-aged gabrisal, and Ongijip salted anchovy sauce.

A service that grills the meat and even the kimchi

Because the meat comes par-grilled, there’s barely any oil splatter. And the super kind, handsome staff member cut everything up himself, kept checking whether we needed anything, and took care of us throughout. 💛💛So touched, so touched💛💛 🔥Bonus🔥 They even cut up the kimchi into bite-size pieces, hahahahaha. All we had to do was eat comfortably. Nicely golden-brown!

Everything was cut into easy-to-eat pieces. They came by regularly to keep an eye on the meat too, so we had nothing to worry about :)

Wrap it with pa-chae (seasoned shredded scallions) and it’s even more delicious >.< You can’t say no to pork and soju. The glass wasn’t an ordinary soju shot glass either—it felt like you should be drinking sake from it🔥 I think they even paid attention to the pretty glasses.

Tender gabrisal and dessert naengmyeon

Our extra order of gabrisal arrived. It was par-grilled too, and the meat was so tender and soft—not tough at all. Most importantly, it was bursting with juices🎉🎉 Doesn’t it look seriously appetizing? 🥹 It was delicious!! It wasn’t greasy from the fat or dry at all; it felt like they were serving good-quality meat^^ (Personally, the pork belly was most to my taste, haha.)

We added dessert naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles). The portion was generous for the price, so the two of us shared one and ate plenty. Meat + naengmyeon really must be the unbeatable rule... The seasoning was better than expected, so ⭐️please taste the broth before adding vinegar and mustard⭐️ As an Apgujeong pork belly spot, both the meat and naengmyeon passed‼️‼️

What I thought after visiting

• The restaurant is very clean and stylish
• The meat is par-grilled, and they even grill the kimchi for you
• The meat juices were craaazy
• The staff are incredibly kind
• A really good location for company dinners or gatherings
• The meat quality is good for the price
• ‼️I would visit again‼️