Grilled pork restaurant in Jongno, Daegu with an 8pm wait: Hubaldae

What Hubaldae Daegu Jongno Branch is like at 8pm

This time I'm recommending a Jongno restaurant, a Jungangno restaurant in Daegu — Hubaldae Daegu Jongno Branch. I went around 8pm and it was still full, so I waited a bit before eating. This place felt like a real local hotspot.

This is the vibe inside. The staff move around in perfect sync — full of energy and really kind, which stuck with me.

The baseball memorabilia inside Hubaldae

Baseball-themed items everywhere you look.

There are autographed baseballs and bats too. It brings back memories of going to Sajik Stadium in Busan with a friend as a kid, having a beer and watching the game. I remember it even more vividly because my team lost every time I went...

Side dishes served at Hubaldae Daegu Jongno Branch

At Hubaldae Daegu Jongno Branch, the basic side dishes come out fast, they cut everything into easy-to-eat pieces, and they even portion it onto your plate for you. First, the side dishes arrive quickly.

They go so far with the care that you think, wait, they do this too?? haha.

The 'proper way to enjoy Hubaldae' sign is a must-read.

Hubaldae Daegu Jongno menu and prices

The four main menu items are pork belly, pork neck, grilled daechang (beef intestine), and grilled teuk-yang (beef tripe). The staff told me pork belly and pork neck are the most popular, so we ordered two servings of pork belly and one of pork neck. Each is 150g, priced at ₩14,900.

Basil, angelica leaves, and peppers come out too. Basil showing up here is a bit of a surprise.

This is kimchi jjageulyi (stewed kimchi) — pretty salty on its own. It's great for dipping meat into or mixing into rice.

The staff grill the pork belly and pork neck for you

Once the meat's on, they lay out the restaurant's signature honey butter potato on both sides. They also trim and add sundae (Korean blood sausage), mushrooms, red chili, and cheongyang peppers for you to grill along with everything.

The staff grill all the meat for you. They don't feed you by hand though, haha...

Before you know it, the grill is packed full.

It's cooking away nicely, and since they handle everything, you don't have to lift a finger — so convenient.

How to wrap pork with honey butter potato and basil

Following the staff's recommendation, I put honey potato, myeong-i namul (marinated fernleaf), kimchi jjageulyi, basil, cheongyang pepper, and sauce all together — and somehow it's this strangely harmonious, delicious combination. With the basil in there it even tastes a bit Western... it's like understanding that reaction foreigners have when they try bibimbap for the first time and get all patriotic about it.

Eating it plain is fine too, but the combo above is next-level good.

They move the fully cooked pieces to the edge, ask if you want more, and quickly turn down the heat — I appreciated that too.

Finishing with the house special ppokkeumbap

For dessert, we ordered the special stir-fried rice (teukje ppokkumbap). Every table around us had ordered one, so we followed suit haha. The rice came out fluffy and nicely fried, with quite a lot of meat mixed in too.

The seasoning is a bit mild on its own, so pairing it with the kimchi jjageulyi on top makes it taste amazing.

Free corkage at Hubaldae Daegu Jongno Branch

Worth noting, corkage is free, so it's great to dig out whatever good bottle's been sitting around at home and bring it along. I brought a bottle I'd picked up while traveling once, and drinking it corkage-free somehow made me feel like I was saving money...

Is Hubaldae Daegu Jongno Branch worth a visit?

The staff were super kind and the cheongyang pepper was tasty too. The honey potato wrap combo is genuinely amazing. They grill everything for you, corkage is free... overall, totally satisfied haha. If you're looking for a Jongno Korean BBQ restaurant or a Jungangno restaurant in Daegu, I really recommend Hubaldae Daegu Jongno Branch~!!

Hubaldae Daegu Jongno Branch: address and hours

• Address: 50 Jongno, 1F, Jung-gu, Daegu, South Korea
• Hours: 17:00–00:30
• Open daily, same hours year-round
• Corkage: Free