Seoul Korean BBQ near Chungjeongno Station: Doldam Sutbuljip

A charcoal grill restaurant near Chungjeongno and Seoul Station

It is close to Chungjeongno Station, so it is easy enough to reach by public transport, and it is also close to Seoul Station—definitely a location worth checking when you are searching for Seoul restaurants near the station. Parking can be surprisingly stressful around here when you drive, but Doldam Sutbuljip has building parking with two hours free!

Even from the outside, it catches your eye with the stone-wall feel suggested by its name!!! It is a barbecue restaurant, but rather than feeling like an ordinary one, the stone wall and outdoor area come together for a pretty nice atmosphere haha

Once inside, I found there were quite a few tables. I arrived right at opening time, 4 p.m., and they told me that after a little past 5, the whole place was reserved for a group and they could not take other guests. Good thing I came at 4... haha. It had that proper charcoal-grill restaurant atmosphere without the tables feeling cramped, so it was comfortable for dinner with my husband—and there were tables for bigger groups too. It looked like a good spot for a Chungjeongno Station or Seoul Station work dinner as well!!!

Ordering Korean pork belly through milmyeon

The two of us visited that day and ordered two portions of Korean pork belly, one portion of pork skin, milmyeon (wheat noodles in chilled broth), and a bowl of rice 💙

A certified Handon place! After all, Korean pork is the best, right?

They have a receipt review event, and the free gift is beef brisket doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew) or fluffy steamed egg... definitely do it!!!! haha

Meat really tastes best grilled over charcoal. Once the charcoal was burning properly, my anticipation shot right up before we had even started eating.

The side dishes and sundubu-jjigae

As soon as we sat down and ordered, the basic spread came out so generously...!!! There were so many side dishes that go well with meat: wrap vegetables such as lettuce, myeongi namul (pickled wild garlic leaves), green onion kimchi, bracken fern, salted pollock roe, cabbage salad, savory pancake, corn cheese, and more.

They especially set out the bracken fern and kimchi so we could grill them over the charcoal too, and that kind of spread is such a treat with meat, haha, right? Instead of eating only meat, I kept making different combinations—wrapping it in myeongi namul, topping it with green onion kimchi, or eating it with bracken fern!!!

And sundubu-jjigae comes as part of the basics! We did not need to add a stew separately after ordering meat; the pleasantly spicy soft tofu stew came automatically and was great with a bowl of rice haha

Korean pork belly grilled by the staff

You might think pork belly is similar wherever you have it, but the Korean pork belly we ate that day was seriously delicious... so delicious... reallyㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Best of all, the staff grilled the meat themselves from beginning to end! They put it on the charcoal and cooked it to a perfectly golden, ready-to-eat point, so we could just sit comfortably, chat, and wait. So convenient ෆෆෆ

One bite had that wonderful nutty pork-belly flavor, with the juices still beautifully intact, and I just kept reaching for more. It was delicious with a tiny dip of salt, and it went so well wrapped in the myeongi namul or green onion kimchi that came with it too!!! Personally, the Korean pork belly was what I remembered most among everything we had that dayㅠㅠㅠ Writing this is making me want it again...

Eating it while really letting its natural flavor shine! I dipped it just lightly in salt and it was bursting with juiceㅠㅠ My husband and I made eye contact the moment we took a bite, then nodded... it was that good!!!

The salted pollock roe is refillable, they said! On warm rice... honestly, I could finish an entire bowl with this alone.

Even the corn cheese was incredible.... It had loads of corn kernels in it, so I really dunked the meat in it—seriously so goodㅠ

Finishing with pork skin and refreshing milmyeon

We were sorry to end after the pork belly, so we added one portion of pork skin too. Its chewy texture makes it one of those dishes you always add at the end of a meat meal, and grilling it over charcoal really brought out its nutty taste. After pork belly and pork skin, it truly felt like we had had a proper meat feast hahaha!!!!!

People often have naengmyeon with grilled meat, but I still love milmyeon's distinctively chewy noodles with its refreshing broth. Having it after the pork belly, the meat's nutty richness and the cool taste of the milmyeon worked so well together, seriouslyㅠㅠ The reason I took especially many photos of the milmyeon that day is probably because I love it so much...?

If you will feel disappointed ending with only meat, I would recommend ordering milmyeon to finish things off too!!!!!

A Chungjeongno Station group-dining spot with parking

Parking is often a concern when looking for a barbecue restaurant in Seoul, but parking is available here, so I would recommend it to anyone seeking an easy-parking pork belly spot too! If you are looking for pork belly near Chungjeongno Station or Seoul Station with convenient parking, is this not a solid option once you consider the location too?

It is nice for dinner for two with your husband like us, and with plenty of tables, it also suits Chungjeongno, Seoul Station, or Chungjeongno Station work dinners! We had pork belly today, so next time I want to try the Korean pork galbi too haha