Skirt steak date night at Gogup Yeonguso, a Gyeongan-dong BBQ spot

I quietly spend a lot of time every weekend trying to figure out what to eat with my husband. This time I was seriously craving meat, so I went looking for a good BBQ restaurant in Gwangju, Gyeonggi and ended up here. Since it was an early Sunday evening, I wanted to eat before the place got too crowded. We had a dinner date at Gogup Yeonguso in Gyeongan-dong, splitting galmaegisal (skirt steak) and ogyeopsal (thick-cut pork belly). The meat quality was good and there were plenty of side dishes, so it was fun mixing and matching everything between the two of us.

Grilling the meat ourselves and taking our time to chat made it feel like a proper weekend date. For anyone looking for a good BBQ restaurant in Gyeongan-dong, let me walk you through everything we ate.

Gogup Yeonguso location, hours and parking

• Location: 7-7 Gyeongan-ro 41beon-gil, Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, 1st floor
• Hours: 11:40 AM – 10:30 PM / Weekends 10:40 AM – 10:30 PM
• Parking: Limited parking, space for 2–3 cars in front of the restaurant

What is Gogup Yeonguso like inside?

Walking in, the overall vibe was clean with dark tones.

Black tables blended calmly with brown chairs. Rather than the usual hectic feel of a typical BBQ restaurant, it felt closer to a comfortable space to sit and eat. The gaps between tables weren't cramped either, which made it easy for the two of us to sit facing each other and talk.

The walls and ceiling were black-toned, with yellow lighting scattered here and there, giving it a slightly casual yet distinctive feel. It looked like a place you could stop by without much fuss when looking for a BBQ restaurant for a date in Gwangju, Gyeonggi.

Besides the indoor seats, there was a separate terrace space outside too. Tables were set under a yellow awning, so it seemed like it would be nice to eat outdoors on a good-weather day. There was also a self-serve side dish bar on one side of the restaurant, making it convenient to grab whatever side dishes you needed.

Overall, the impression I got was of a comfortable, clean space that's good for eating meat and talking, rather than anything flashy.

Gogup Yeonguso menu and what we ordered

Looking at the menu, it was set up so you could choose between beef and pork depending on your preference.

For beef, I saw several cuts including galmaegisal (skirt steak), LA-style short ribs, and chuck flap tail, and for pork there were familiar options like ogyeopsal (thick-cut pork belly), so it wasn't hard for the two of us to decide.

Rather than sticking to just one type from the start, we decided to try meats with different textures together. So the first thing we picked was galmaegisal. Since we wanted to grill the pork thick, we also ordered ogyeopsal. And of course, after eating meat you inevitably start craving hot soup, right? For the finishing dish, we picked woo-samgyeop ramyeon (beef brisket ramyeon) so we could eat both meat and soup to our heart's content.

How did the galmaegisal (skirt steak) taste?

The galmaegisal we ate first caught my eye right away with its thickness when it arrived on the plate.

It came with vegetables like king oyster mushrooms, eggplant, and garlic scapes on the side.

The grill plate was fairly wide, which made it easy to grill the meat and vegetables together. As my husband and I talked and slowly cooked it on both sides, the smell alone was enough to get me really excited once the surface started browning.

The galmaegisal was first cooked in long strips, then cut into bite-sized pieces and grilled a bit more. Taking a bite, the outside was nicely browned while the inside stayed juicy, and the texture was quite good. It wasn't tough or dry at all, and the more you chewed, the more that distinct savory meat flavor came through. My husband took a bite too, said the meat was good, and immediately reached for another piece.

It was fine on its own, but dipping it in the sauces that came with it or adding side dishes brought some nice variety. There wasn't just one sauce either — it was fun choosing whichever one suited our taste. Wrapping the meat in lettuce with a bit of garlic or side dishes worked well too.

Eating the grilled mushrooms and eggplant in between made for a much more varied combination than just eating meat non-stop.

Thick ogyeopsal (pork belly) eaten alongside the skirt steak

Next came the ogyeopsal. As you can tell from the photos, it was sliced quite thick, so it had a strong presence the moment it hit the grill.

The lean meat and fat layers were stacked up nicely, so we slowly flipped it to brown it evenly. At first we cooked it through to the center, then in the end grilled the surface a bit more to get it crispy.

The well-cooked ogyeopsal had a browned exterior, soft fatty parts, and lean meat with a good chew. Because of the thickness, unlike thin samgyeopsal, even one piece felt quite filling in the mouth.

For meat this thick, I like pairing it with tangy, salty side dishes like kimchi or pickles. Eating a piece of meat followed by a bite of side dish cut through the richness, so I kept reaching for more.

Galmaegisal and ogyeopsal had clearly different textures, so ordering both was a good call. Alternating between the chewy skirt steak and the thick, savory pork belly meant we didn't get tired of it until the very end.

Finishing with woo-samgyeop ramyeon (beef brisket ramyeon)

Even though we'd eaten quite a lot of meat, ending it there felt a little unsatisfying. In moments like that, ordering ramyeon is basically the natural next step, so we ordered the woo-samgyeop ramyeon (beef brisket ramyeon).

It came in a big bowl with a generous amount of broth and noodles, topped with a good amount of beef brisket. The savory flavor from the meat added to the broth made it taste heavier and richer than regular ramyeon. Being able to pick up meat along with the noodles kept it satisfying right to the end.

After eating all that meat, it could have felt a bit heavy, but the hot broth cleared the palate. My husband and I ended up saying, 'good thing we ordered the ramyeon,' and kept spooning up the broth until it was gone.

Good thing we ordered the ramyeon

Is Gogup Yeonguso worth it for a Gyeongan-dong BBQ dinner?

From the meat to the woo-samgyeop ramyeon, the portions were generous overall, and the staff were friendly throughout the meal. Grilling everything ourselves at a relaxed pace while chatting and enjoying whatever combinations we wanted made for a satisfying weekend date dinner.

Gogup Yeonguso, which we found while looking for a good BBQ restaurant in Gwangju, Gyeonggi. The thick ogyeopsal and the chewy galmaegisal each had their own charm, which made them great to eat together. Finishing with hot woo-samgyeop ramyeon at the end gave us the feeling of having had a proper dinner.

The restaurant's atmosphere is clean and it has a terrace, so it's good for a couple's date or a visit with friends. There's enough menu variety that it also felt like a comfortable place for a family meat outing. Parking fits about 2–3 cars in front of the restaurant, but the space isn't very generous, so that's worth keeping in mind.

It was a great spot for a relaxed weekend evening grilling meat and having a date with my husband, so we left satisfied. If you're looking for a good BBQ restaurant in Gyeongan-dong or Gwangju, Gyeonggi, and you like a clean atmosphere along with grilling both beef and pork yourself at a relaxed pace, this place might be worth checking out.