Bucheon Okgil-dong Korean BBQ worth a 30-minute wait: Dwaeji Gongbang

This is my visit review of Dwaeji Gongbang Bucheon Okgil-dong Main Branch (돼지공방 부천옥길동본점). I ordered the half platter (thick pork neck, gabrisal, ribfinger meat and kkodeulsal).

• Address: 7-4 Yangji-ro 184beon-gil, Sojae-gu, Bucheon, Gyeonggi, South Korea (1st floor)
• Hours: 16:00 (15:00 on public holidays) to 24:00
• Last order: 23:20
• Groups, reservations, corkage and parking available (3 to 4 cars in front of the restaurant)

I hadn't had meat in a while and wanted to eat out. After looking around for where to go, I ended up at Dwaeji Gongbang in Okgil-dong.

How long is the wait at Dwaeji Gongbang Okgil-dong?

When I arrived around 7pm, there were about five groups ahead of us, and we got in after waiting around 30 minutes. Once you register for the waitlist, you can check your turn in real time via KakaoTalk, and there are waiting chairs in front of the restaurant.

It's easy to get to by bus too, so access is good.

I got there around 7pm and was surprised by how many people were there. Looking around, the other BBQ places had no wait at all, so I wondered if we should just eat somewhere else. But I figured if everyone was willing to wait, it must be really good, so curiosity won and we decided to wait too.

There were about five groups ahead of us, and when you register for the waitlist you get a KakaoTalk message that lets you check in real time. There are waiting chairs in front of the restaurant. Luckily it wasn't a long wait; we got in after about thirty minutes.

Inside the restaurant, the self-service bar and what we ordered

The restaurant has quite a lot of seats, with a mix of round and square tables. If you run out of side dishes, you can grab more from the self-service bar.

Inside, there were quite a lot of seats, with round and square tables mixed together. This is the self-service bar, where you can get more side dishes whenever you run out.

Shall we order?

Around the table there were lots of notices, from how to eat the meat for the best flavor to other instructions.

What we ordered and prices

• Half platter ₩49,000
• Steamed rice, 2 bowls ₩2,000
• Soju ₩5,000
• Beer ₩5,000

I normally make somaek (soju mixed with beer) with Cass, but that day Kelly threw the first pitch at the LG game, so I ordered Kelly beer instead, haha.

Banchan and barley tea at Dwaeji Gongbang

The side dishes here are white kimchi, salted hairtail guts (galchi sokjeot), pickled chili strips, pickled garlic scapes, myeongi namul (pickled wild garlic leaves) and a chive salad(?). There was a nice variety of pickles and jangajji (soy-pickled vegetables) that go well with meat.

I just love it when a BBQ place or pub serves hutgae-su(?) instead of plain water.

Also, each person gets their own ssamjang (seasoned dipping paste), salt and wasabi.

How was the half platter at Dwaeji Gongbang?

The half platter (₩49,000) is made up, from the top, of thick pork neck, gabrisal, ribfinger meat and kkodeulsal. The thick pork neck wasn't dry at all, with the fat and juices blending softly, and the other cuts each had a different chew.

Ta-da~ here's the meat we ordered, the half platter. From the top, it's thick pork neck, gabrisal, ribfinger meat and kkodeulsal.

The names of each cut are kindly written near the vent, so it was easy to check which meat we were grilling.

Cook the thick pork neck only 80 to 90%

I started by grilling the thick pork neck. Following the advice that it tastes best cooked only 80 to 90% through, I tried it as soon as it was golden. Even though it's neck meat, it wasn't dry at all, and the right amount of fat and savory juices blended softly. It wasn't tough, and the texture was really moist.

Grilled white kimchi with pickled chili strips and garlic scapes

As the restaurant recommended, I rinsed the white kimchi, lightly grilled it on the grill and wrapped it with the meat. The combination was excellent.

Dip the meat lightly in the pickled chili sauce, then top it with chili strips and garlic scapes. The sharp, salty kick kept me reaching for more.

The default soft tofu stew is spicy for low spice tolerance

Partway through the meal, the default soft tofu stew (sundubu jjigae) came out. The broth was deep and tasty, but for someone like me who can't handle spice, it was a bit hot and spicy.

My companion, who handles spicy food well, loved it and finished the whole pot clean.

The grilled gabrisal, ribfinger meat and kkodeulsal each had a different chew and a nicely savory flavor too. The portion was generous enough that I almost left some, but eating them with the side dishes, I ended up finishing everything. A satisfying meal 🤍

Is Dwaeji Gongbang Okgil-dong worth the wait?

• There was about a 30-minute wait, but it was worth it
• The pork neck was soft and juicy, not dry
• Strongly recommend the combo of grilled white kimchi, pickled chili strips and garlic scapes
• Happy that they serve chilled hutgae-su instead of plain water
• The portion was generous, and I'd go back when I want meat in Okgil-dong