Seoul Korean BBQ in Isu: pork platter and bokbunja highball, Hwaseol

📍 13 Dongjak-daero 25-gil, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 1st floor ⏰ Daily 11:30–23:00 (break time 15:00–17:00) ✔️ Group seating available, separate men's/women's restrooms, Wi-Fi, reservations, easy payment, parking

Today I've got a review of Hwaseol, an Isu Station Korean BBQ spot that's apparently a must-visit near Chongshin University Station!

Isu Station is close to my boyfriend's place, so we eat there pretty often — and when I heard there was a Korean BBQ spot everyone raves about near the station, I went in with high expectations haha

Booking Hwaseol Isu Branch through Naver Reservation

We booked through Naver Reservation! Super convenient, so I'd recommend doing the same haha

Hwaseol's banchan, from jinmichae to green onion and baek-kimchi

Honestly, the main reason I wanted to come to Hwaseol was the tidy side dishes! Meat matters, but I'm just as picky about the banchan I eat alongside it *.*

Jinmichae (seasoned dried squid shreds), sweet pumpkin, pickled vegetables, green onion kimchi, baek-kimchi (white kimchi) — nothing was missing, and everything had a clean, mild flavor! If the seasoning is too strong or too bland things feel off-balance, but true to its reputation as an Isu Station must-visit, it was clear a lot of care went into the side dishes too.

Free corkage, group seats across two floors — a solid Isu dinner spot

On the first floor you can see the meat being kept in storage like this! Since corkage is free, if you're looking for a dinner gathering spot near Isu, you might not feel bad bringing your favorite drink along sometimes.

By the way, this Isu Station Korean BBQ spot has a second floor too, so there's plenty of room for groups! I was on the first floor this time, and since it was a weekend evening, it was completely full.

Hwaseol's han-don pork platter 6.9: pork belly, pork neck, and skirt meat, 550g

At Hwaseol you can enjoy both beef and pork, and we ordered the Hwaseol han-don pork platter (6.9). It comes with about 550g of pork belly, pork neck, and skirt meat, evenly portioned.

Since it's a place where staff grill for you, they set everything up for us at first.

The meat was overall good quality and really tasty! Eating it with rice and banchan was super satisfying for me, since I'm a huge pork belly fan 🤤🤤

Naengmyeon and a bokbunja highball to finish

The naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles) was refreshingly cool and tangy too!

Since we'd come all this way, we also tried the bokbunja (black raspberry) highball, and the visual was amazing..!!

It felt like a refresh that kept me ready for more meat! Overall, the meat at Hwaseol Isu was really delicious, but there was only one staff member on duty, so they looked quite swamped..🥺 Still, since they can accommodate large groups and the meat quality is so good, I'd recommend it!!