Jongno beef and lamb rack grill: sirloin added to the set, Yukrab

Yukrab Jongno is a charcoal beef and lamb rack restaurant on the 3rd floor of a building at 42 Ujeongguk-ro 2-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul. I went looking for a place to eat beef near Jonggak to celebrate a friend's new job!

It's a place where you can eat both beef and lamb, and the price was pretty reasonable for the quality, so I came away properly full haha. The set menu composition was especially good for trying several cuts at once~! If you're looking for a good meat restaurant near Jonggak Station, this one's worth keeping an eye on.

Inside Yukrab Jongno: seating, and can you book a group dinner?

The store is clean overall, and each table grills meat directly over charcoal! There are nice window-view seats and, further in, private seats divided by walls, so group gatherings are possible too.

On one side there was a decent display of wine and other liquor, but the atmosphere wasn't the loud, chaotic kind of Korean BBQ place — it was comfortable for a meal.

What comes in the 2-person set at Yukrab Jongno

Yukrab Jongno has a variety of meat cut options, and after some deliberation we ordered the 2-person set that comes with grilled cheese and doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew)! We also added sirloin, which isn't in the set, haha.

You dip the meat into the various seasonings set out on the table, and I really liked the coarse Himalayan pink salt.

The 2-person set comes with galbisal, tosisal and lamb rack together, plus a generous amount of grilling vegetables. On top of that, grilled cheese and doenjang jjigae are included, so the spread felt pretty complete without adding anything extra~~ The marbling on the meat really caught my eye o_0!! It looked good even in photos, and once we actually grilled and ate it, the juiciness held up haha.

On a good day, soju is a must too haha.

How the galbisal and tosisal taste off the charcoal

You grill the meat over charcoal, and the charcoal was in good condition, so as soon as the meat hit the grill the surface cooked quickly into a mouth-watering sear haha. We grilled it alongside sweet pumpkin, eggplant, zucchini, green onion and cheese, one by one! The staff kindly explained the order and way to eat the meat, which was nice.

The galbisal we ate first was really tender. "Melts in your mouth" fits it well — no toughness at all, soft, with just the right amount of fatty richness, so it was delicious from the start haha.

We enjoyed it topped with wasabi and Himalayan pink salt like this.

The tosisal had a different, nutty flavor from the galbisal that I liked. Since you get to eat a little of each cut at once, it was fun comparing the difference between galbisal and tosisal haha.

It sizzles away deliciously haha.

We tried the grilled cheese with whole grain mustard on the side too!

Did the lamb rack at Yukrab Jongno have any gamy smell?

The 2-person set at Yukrab Jongno also includes lamb rack. Lamb can be tough to eat when it has that strong gamy smell, but Yukrab's lamb rack had none of it at all, so we ate it happily haha! Grilled to a nice golden brown over charcoal, the outside cooked up nicely while the inside stayed moist, giving it a charm all its own, different from the beef~

After finishing the meat off the bone, we even gnawed on the bits still stuck to the bone, and that part was tasty too haha. Since it's not just a beef set but one where you also get lamb rack, it seems like a great fit if you want to taste several kinds of meat in one meal.

Naturally, grilling all this meat led to a drink or two haha. With beef and lamb rack both sizzling on the charcoal, how could a drink not follow? haha.

The added beef sirloin was the best part of the meal

And then the sirloin we ordered separately. It was quite thick from the start, and the marbling was really good. If you love beef, this is the kind of visual that gets you excited even while it's still raw haha. They seared the outside first over the charcoal, then cut it into bite-sized pieces and grilled it a bit more.

The sirloin had a rich beefy aroma and really great juiciness. Even sliced thick and grilled, the juices stayed inside, so it was moist with every bite, and the flavor of the meat itself was excellent. Honestly, out of everything I ate that day, the sirloin was my favorite haha.

Beef prices shoot up fast if you want to eat it properly, so being able to eat this quality of meat until you're full at a relatively reasonable price seems like Yukrab's biggest strength. If you're looking for good beef near Jongno 3-ga, this could be a great option on both price and quality!

Finishing with doenjang jjigae and mul naengmyeon

The doenjang jjigae that comes with the Yukrab Jongno set had a decent amount of ingredients too. With plenty of tofu and zucchini in it, it was nice to scoop up a spoonful of hot broth every so often while eating meat~ Ordering the set doesn't just get you meat — it comes with grilled cheese and doenjang jjigae too, so the overall composition was satisfying!!

Of course, as a Korean you have to finish with mul naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodle soup) haha. Eating a piece of charcoal-scented beef along with the cold noodles felt totally different from eating the meat alone, and it was so good! Even though I was already fairly full, it was the kind of combo that kept me piling meat on top and eating more.

Verdict: is Yukrab Jongno worth it for a Jonggak celebration dinner?

I tried everything from beef to lamb rack, and overall Yukrab Jongno's prices were really reasonable for the meat quality. The galbisal had a nice melt-in-your-mouth texture, the tosisal had a good nutty flavor, and the sirloin stood out for its beefy aroma and juiciness. The lamb rack was also clean with no gamy smell, so it paired well with the beef haha.

With one set you get to enjoy several cuts along with grilled cheese and doenjang jjigae, and the charcoal condition, side dishes and staff service were all satisfying too haha. It's a great spot to enjoy beef at a reasonable price when the cost usually feels like a burden, so if you're looking for a good meat restaurant near Jonggak Station or good beef near Jongno 3-ga, Yukrab Jongno is worth a visit!