Seoul Korean BBQ date in Sinnonhyeon: sesame oil steamed egg, Sansol

Sansol Sinnonhyeon basics

Sansol Sinnonhyeon (산솔 신논현점) is a Korean BBQ restaurant specializing in aged meat, on the 1st floor at 15 Gangnam-daero 112-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It is open 11:30–23:00 on weekdays and 12:00–22:00 on weekends, with a break from 15:00 to 16:00. For parking, use the Sinnonhyeon public parking lot, and reservations are taken through Naver.

Do you need a reservation at Sansol Sinnonhyeon?

I recommend booking. I failed to get a reservation the week before and only made it by trying again. This was a weekend date at Sansol in Sinnonhyeon🍖 after my boyfriend and I wrapped up our plans in Hongdae. It's so famous that it didn't work on the first try!!

Sansol is already a well-known Sinnonhyeon favorite, a really, really good BBQ place where you can taste aged meat from Gangwon-do, with Cheorwon Odae rice too🔥

Since I had booked ahead, the side dishes were already set out when we arrived. When we got there at 5pm on the weekend there was already a waiting line, so it's popular enough that people have to wait.

Atmosphere: is Sansol Sinnonhyeon good for a date?

The inside of Sansol Sinnonhyeon feels cozy yet upscale, so it works well as a date spot. Lots of blog reviews said it's a good place for meetups and get-togethers in Sinnonhyeon, which made me go "huh?", but once you step inside it really is super cozy, and

it also feels really classy. The table next to us was even a couple in the early flirting stage, so it's a good place to come on a date, and

Suction grills mean no BBQ smell on your clothes

The highlight of Sansol Sinnonhyeon is its suction grill. It pulls the meat smell downward and sucks up the smoke immediately, so you really don't come out smelling of meat✨ I loved that the restaurant didn't have that hazy, smoky BBQ-joint smell either, so it was comfortable!!

The water even comes in a rustic bottle like something you'd find at grandma's house, filled with corn silk tea (oksusu-suyeoncha)!!

Side dishes at Sansol Sinnonhyeon

The basic side dishes at Sansol Sinnonhyeon are below. A lineup that goes perfectly with meat🫶🏻

• Seasoned lettuce salad
• Mustard leaf kimchi (gat-kimchi)
• White kimchi (baek-kimchi)
• Seasoned cucumber
• Salt, meljeot (anchovy sauce), wasabi and ssamjang (seasoned soybean paste)

What we ordered at Sansol Sinnonhyeon and the prices

We ordered aged pork neck, aged pork belly, country-style steamed egg and bibim naengmyeon. The staff grill the meat right at your table, working really hard and fast, so all you have to do is eat..!!

• 🍖 Sansol aged pork neck, 2 servings ₩17,000
• 🥩 Sansol aged pork belly ₩17,000
• 🍳 Country-style steamed egg ₩6,000
• 🍝 Bibim naengmyeon ₩10,000

How was the aged pork neck?

True to its reputation as an aged-meat place, the meat at Sansol Sinnonhyeon was in great shape, T_T I'm not lying, it's the best of all the BBQ places my boyfriend and I have been to, purely for meat flavor. Sansol🍖

As a pork neck lover, I like pork belly too, but Sansol's aged pork neck is the real star!! Super chewy and springy with zero gamey smell, and I finally understood what aged meat is all about🍖

I load up on protein with meat every week for my diet, so I compare the meat at every BBQ place, and this one really deserved first place from both of us, and

mushrooms and zucchini come in the same set, so the amount and taste for the price are great. I fully count this as a top Sinnonhyeon Station restaurant!!!!

Country-style steamed egg with loads of sesame oil

Sansol Sinnonhyeon's country-style steamed egg (gyeran-jjim, ₩6,000) is unusual: it's topped with a generous pour of sesame oil. I'm a huge steamed egg lover and order it every time I go to a BBQ place, but this style was a first for me.

It might split opinions, but it had a nutty, slightly oily, unusual flavor!! The portion is big too, so I recommend it as a side.

What does the bibim naengmyeon taste like?

Sansol Sinnonhyeon's bibim naengmyeon (₩10,000) tastes like chewy cold noodles mixed with the sauce of instant bibim ramen?? When you eat meat, you need either doenjang stew or naengmyeon~~ so my boyfriend ordered it.

I didn't eat it myself, but the portion is really big and the flavor is punchy, so it's a good kick of a side dish!! Next time I'll try the mul-naengmyeon (cold broth noodles) or the kkakdugi (diced radish kimchi) fried rice.

My boyfriend happily digging into the meat haha (secret snap)

Is Sansol Sinnonhyeon worth going back to?

Sansol Sinnonhyeon is a Sinnonhyeon favorite where you can eat delicious aged meat, and it was genuinely great.

If you're looking for a BBQ place near Sinnonhyeon Station, I absolutely recommend it🍖