Gangnam beef restaurant with wagyu sirloin private rooms: Gogikkun

Gangnam BBQ recommendation | A beef restaurant an Australian actually vouched for 🥩

Gogikkun Kimchunbae Gangnam

I lived in Europe for 10 years 🇩🇪🇮🇹 — five in Germany, five in Italy — and ate plenty of great meat and food all over Europe. But whenever I come back to Korea, what I end up craving is Korean-style charcoal grilling. Haha.

This time I went for Korean BBQ in Gangnam with my sister, who's visiting from Australia, and her Australian husband (my brother-in-law). Long story short: the pork was great, but the star of the night was the beef 🥩. Especially since my Australian brother-in-law said the moment he tasted it—

"This is seriously one of the top 5 beefs I've ever had in my life."

—which honestly surprised me too. Haha. Hearing that from an Australian made me weirdly proud of this Gangnam BBQ spot!

What kind of restaurant is Gogikkun Kimchunbae Gangnam? Two full floors

Gogikkun Kimchunbae Gangnam is a sizable BBQ restaurant at 13 Gangnam-daero 100-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, using both the 3rd and 4th floors. It's an easy walk from Gangnam Station.

What made me feel good from the moment I walked in — there's a waiting area, but the staff kindly told us to relax with cold water while they got our table ready ♡

The 3rd floor is mostly regular tables, with a dark overall tone accented by wood and gold, so the atmosphere was pretty nice. What really caught my eye was that giant ventilation duct hanging from the ceiling that's typical of Korean BBQ places — haha. But we were headed to the 4th floor!!!!

Why the 4th-floor private rooms suit work dinners and dates

The 4th floor at Gogikkun Kimchunbae Gangnam is divided into rooms like this, and we went into Room La! It was great for eating and chatting comfortably and quietly with the group. The rooms are clean, so they're good for blind dates, couples, family gatherings, or quiet business dinners!!!

The air conditioning was blasting!! You can adjust the lighting and the AC temperature — you know how important that is at a BBQ place, right?

The room even had a coat hook, a plastic bag for bags or jackets, and a blanket ready! Whoever thought of this has real sense!!!!

What three of us ordered at Gogikkun Kimchunbae Gangnam

We decided to really go for it that day, so the three of us ordered this much. With such a variety of meat, it was perfect for comparing beef and pork side by side ♡

• PRIM beef short rib
• Premium wagyu sirloin
• Pork neck
• Pork belly
• Kimchi noodle soup
• Doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew, Naver review service)
• Omija highball

And look how the side dishes are laid out! Green onion kimchi, white kimchi, mountain herbs, shredded green onion, salt, shiitake wasabi, salted pollack roe, ssamjang — that's a solid lineup ♡

How do the PRIM bone-in short rib and premium wagyu sirloin taste?

What really stuck with me that day was the PRIM beef short rib and premium wagyu sirloin at Gogikkun Kimchunbae Gangnam!! The short rib had a rich beefy flavor that built the more you chewed it (I personally prefer mine medium-rare haha).

As you can see in the photo, the sirloin was pretty thick, so we seared the outside first over the charcoal before eating it — and wow, the juices stayed remarkably locked in.

The premium wagyu sirloin was definitely tender with a rich, nutty flavor!!!!

And after eating both kinds of beef, my Australian brother-in-law suddenly said—

"This is seriously one of my top 5 beef I've ever had." / "내가 살아오면서 먹은 소고기 중 TOP 5 안에 든다." Hahahahaha

You know how food tastes even better when the person with you is raving about it like that? 😂

Ogyeopsal and pork neck: my Australian brother-in-law's crispy grilling method

The pork belly and neck at Gogikkun Kimchunbae Gangnam were quite thick cuts, so grilling them over charcoal really brought out the juices. The pork neck had all the fat rendered out for a clean, light flavor!!

What was funny here was my Australian brother-in-law's preference — haha. Instead of eating pork belly juicy, he liked it grilled crispy like bacon. So he spent a good while grilling it to a crisp 🤣 (First time I've seen someone grill pork belly this seriously, haha.)

His eyes were literally sparkling in anticipation of that crispy pork belly, haha.

Personally, I loved it juicy too, but eating it grilled crispy was also its own kind of treat.

Cheers to pork belly~~!! They also had helpful instructions for the different ways to eat it!

Kimchi-mari guksu (cold kimchi noodles) and the omija highball

When the meat gets a little heavy, kimchi noodle soup is the answer. The tangy, refreshing broth with noodles and kimchi was great to eat between rounds of meat.

Pairing that with an omija (schisandra berry) highball was a pretty great combo 🍹 There was a cat-shaped ice cube on top of the highball ♡ So cute, right? Watching it melt away was kind of sad... bye kitty... 😢

A free doenjang jjigae for writing a Naver review

I'm a sucker for these little events 🤣 I wrote a Naver review and got a free doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew). After all that meat, finishing with hot doenjang jjigae might really be the proper ending to a Korean BBQ meal.

We ended up ordering rice and splitting it with my sister, haha. Can't resist carbs ♡

Menu at Gogikkun Kimchunbae Gangnam: meat, rice dishes and drinks

The meat menu ranges from premium pork belly, neck and rib meat to premium wagyu sirloin, PRIM beef short rib and skirt meat, so there's plenty to pick from depending on your taste.

For meals, there's cold buckwheat noodles, spicy mixed noodles, half-and-half noodles, beef doenjang jjigae, doenjang rice, green onion kimchi fried rice, and steamed egg — good ways to wrap up a meal after all that meat 🍜

There's a pretty wide drink selection too! From yuzu, omija and matcha highballs to Jim Beam, Jameson, Label 5 and Earl Grey highballs, plus soju, beer and soft drinks — great to enjoy alongside the meat 🍹

Gogikkun Kimchunbae Gangnam visitor info: seating, hours, parking, corkage

Gogikkun Kimchunbae Gangnam is an easy walk from Gangnam Station, and reservations, group bookings and full-venue rentals are all possible.

• The 3rd floor hall seats up to 80 people; the 4th floor private rooms can be reserved for 3 to 12 people; there are also 2–4 person hall seats
• ⏰ Weekdays 13:00–22:30 / last order 21:30, weekends 13:00–22:00 / last order 21:00
• 🚗 Parking is paid: ₩4,000 for the first 60 minutes, then ₩2,000 per 30 minutes (max ₩8,000). Nearby alternative parking lots are also listed
• 🍷 Free corkage, with wine glasses, whisky glasses, ice and a chilling bucket provided — good to know for anyone who loves meat and drinks

Final verdict from a diner who lived in Europe for 10 years

Having lived in Europe for 10 years, foreign friends visiting Korea often ask me, "What should I eat in Korea?" When they do, I usually recommend food you can only really enjoy properly in Korea.

In that sense, I think Korean-style charcoal-grilled meat is a great menu to bring foreign visitors to — it's crowd-pleasing and rarely disappoints, haha. This time in particular, seeing my brother-in-law from Australia enjoy the beef so much made me really happy 🥰

Juicy beef, crispy pork! If you're looking for a BBQ restaurant in Gangnam for a friends' gathering, a date, or a work dinner, give Gogikkun Kimchunbae Gangnam a try 🥩✨

They have private rooms and pretty much everything you'd need — haha. Really convenient and great! Honestly, I loved both the beef and the pork that day 🤎