Euljiro bone grill with a private room, groups up to 20: Eulji Baektan

I recently changed jobs and moved to Yongsan, which put me much closer to my husband's workplace, so after work we finally headed out to Eulji Baektan (을지백탄뼈구이), a well-known bone grill spot in Euljiro :)

Eulji Baektan location, hours and parking

Eulji Baektan is a 30-second walk from Exit 11 of Euljiro 3-ga Station on Line 2, so public transit access is the best 👍 Hours are Mon–Thu 11:00–02:00, Fri–Sat 11:00–02:00 and Sunday 15:00–24:00. There's no parking space of its own, so parking isn't possible ❌

I get off work at 5, so we came for a fairly early dinner, and more than half the tables were already full. I hear there's a wait when it gets crowded!

Eulji Baektan atmosphere and seating

The inside has that retro Euljiro feel, done in dark tones throughout.

It's an open kitchen, so you can watch the cooking. The flames from grilling the bones over open fire stand out against the dark interior, and I think that makes the whole place feel livelier!

The long, narrow space has 4-person tables and bar tables. There's also a 2nd floor, though I didn't go up. With so many tables, turnover should be quick 👍 The staff were incredibly kind. They kept walking around checking whether we needed anything and brought things before we even asked, which I loved.

Eulji Baektan menu, prices and side dishes

Besides the bone grill (ppyeogui), made with pork back bones, the charcoal-grilled beef brisket odeuregi and grilled cuttlefish are also said to be popular. It was our first visit, so we ordered the signature bone grill.

• Bone grill (small) ₩38,000
• Rice ball ₩5,000

Three side dishes come out: a cabbage salad with sriracha mayo dressing, sweet and crunchy kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi), and white kimchi that tastes salty, almost like pickled cabbage. The white kimchi was actually quite spicy, not what I expected!

Charcoal-grilled small bone grill: how hot is level 2?

Grilled over baektan, the finest charcoal, for a clean-tasting bone grill: Eulji Baektan

The small bone grill (₩38,000) comes generously topped with a sweet-and-spicy house sauce, with coarsely chopped garlic that really stands out 🤍 Baektan, considered the finest charcoal, burns at a steady heat, drives off gamey smells and adds a faint charcoal aroma. They say it gives pork a deep meaty flavor and cuttlefish a soft texture.

We chose level 2, which is said to be similar to Shin Ramyun, but it was much hotter than Shin Ramyun 😅 Personally, I found it as hot as Buldak noodles..

The meaty part of the back bone is usually dry, but maybe because it was grilled over baektan, it was incredibly tender.

The meat is great, but the sauce is the real deal. It's a flavor no Korean could dislike :) The sweetness of the charcoal-grilled green onion is great too! But it was spicier than I expected, so I struggled 😅

The tuna mayo rice ball that tamed the heat

I figured this couldn't go on, so I ordered a rice ball (₩5,000). Eulji Baektan's rice ball has seaweed flakes, mayonnaise and tuna, a slightly sweet, moist style 🍙

Honestly, scooping it up with a spoon is easier, but I worked hard to shape it for the photo. And when even the rice ball isn't enough, go for the cabbage salad~

Is the small bone grill enough for two?

Even the small bone grill is quite a lot of food, so for two people I think the small size is enough! The sauce has such good savory depth that I thought, "I'd love to take the leftover sauce home and make fried rice with it!"

Is it good for an Euljiro company dinner or group gathering?

Eulji Baektan has a room for 4–8 people and can seat groups of up to 20, so I think it's a good pick for group gatherings or company dinners in Euljiro 👍 Euljiro has plenty of great restaurants, but most of them are grill-your-own meat places. Eulji Baektan stands out with its bone grill ❤️ Next time I definitely want to try the seasoned grilled cuttlefish!