Gwangalli galbi restaurant with retro tour-bus interior: Haean Sutbul

One afternoon's discovery is Haean Sutbul Galbi Gwangalli branch, near Gwangalli Beach.

Haean Sutbul Galbi — the sign decked out in red and blue neon is so pretty.

Where is Haean Sutbul Galbi Gwangalli, and when is it open?

Haean Sutbul Galbi Gwangalli Main Branch is at 35 Namcheonbada-ro, 1st floor, Suyeong-gu, Busan. It's open daily from 17:00 to 01:00, last order at 00:00, and there's no parking, so you'll need to use a nearby paid lot.

That clack of the door opening is so fun. It feels like you're stepping into some secret hidden space.

The retro interior that looks like a tour bus

The inside of Haean Sutbul Galbi Gwangalli is unusual from the moment you're at the door. Push it open with a clack and the interior feels weirdly familiar.

This time it's a retro tour-bus vibe. Restaurants with this kind of interior when I was a kid always seemed to have names like "OO Hall."

Let's step further into the cozy place. There are both 4-top and 6-top tables ready, and the space is wide enough that it'd be great for group reservations too.

The chair covers with the Haean Sutbul Galbi name in calligraphy-style font are so nostalgic and nice.

As a kid, going to weddings meant eating galbitang (short rib soup) in halls with this exact vibe.

The moment I walked in, some bygone era just rushed straight through me.

Stain remover right on the table

Haean Sutbul Galbi thoughtfully has stain remover ready on the table. It's such a hassle when food splashes onto your clothes. And if you don't clean it fast enough, the stain sometimes won't come out.

I'm a bit of a klutz and often spill things on my clothes, so today I actually wanted to spill something just to try this out.

Haean Sutbul Galbi menu and what three of us ordered

The menu at Haean Sutbul Galbi Gwangalli is mainly raw ribs and marinated ribs, with grilled tail and Korean beef tartare also available. We order two servings each of raw ribs and marinated ribs.

The basic side spread, japchae included

What stands out about Haean Sutbul Galbi's table setting is that they give you japchae (stir-fried glass noodles). Japchae is always delicious no matter when you eat it — it's usually a dish you'd only make for birthdays or celebrations, so seeing it at a BBQ restaurant is a pleasant surprise.

Pickled onions and scallions, radish salad, baek-kimchi (white kimchi), and a variety of side vegetables all come out too, which is great.

There are several helpful notices laid out kindly. Worth a glance.

Small plates and shot glasses are already set right beside the table. Thanks to this setup, we could grab what we needed right away whenever, and at the same time, the staff were incredibly quick at clearing and resetting tables.

They serve the spoons and chopsticks soaking in hot water like this, which feels hygienic, and when you scoop up rice, the spoon isn't cold, which is nice. I bet a warm spoon feels even better in the dead of winter.

Grilling marinated galbi and raw galbi for three

The marinated ribs and raw ribs at Haean Sutbul Galbi go straight onto the grill as soon as they arrive. Today it's my sibling, my partner, and me, three of us. The two of them take charge of grilling in perfect harmony, since they'll be eating most of it anyway.

Haha.

We're hungry so we grill and eat the meat in a daze. I tried hard to take photos along the way, but apparently everyone was too hungry, because nobody actually took any mid-grilling shots.

Today my partner and sibling wrap the meat into lettuce wraps and devour them like this.

Hey, let me have some too.

Thanks to the owner's warm philosophy, everyone leaves with big smiles after a satisfying meal.

One afternoon's discovery was Haean Sutbul Galbi, with ribs that kept everyone's chopsticks busy.