Seoul Korean BBQ with friends in Jongno 3-ga after a 20-min wait: Cham

Today I came to Jongno to meet friends I hadn't seen in a while, for pork belly and a few glasses of soju. I often come to Jongno 3-ga for drinks at the pocha (street tent bar) alley in the evening, but I think this was my first time on the Line 1 CGV cinema side! I strolled through the gold and silver jewelry shop street, drooling over everything (I want it all..), then arrived at the BBQ restaurant just in time for dinner. I was invited to eat here, but I'll leave an honest review.

Where is Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch, and is there parking?

Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch (참돼짓간 종로본점) is at 1 Donhwamun-ro 5ga-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the first floor of Picadilly CGV Theater, Unit 1-89. It's open 12:00–23:00. Takeout, reservations and groups are all possible, and there's no parking lot of its own.

It's right there, 50m from Exit 2-1 of Jongno 3-ga Station, so public transport is easy! There's no parking lot, so if you come by car, you'll need to use a nearby public lot or the CGV parking lot separately.

How long is the weekend dinner wait at Cham Dwaejitgan?

When I put my name down at 6pm on a weekend (Saturday or Sunday), there were 7 teams ahead of us. The screen said 120 minutes, but we actually got in after 20 minutes. Maybe because it was a weekend evening, the waiting list built up right away.

My boyfriend was sure it would shrink fast, so I trusted him and waited. (We got in after 20 minutes. If it had gone past 21 I would have been mad, but his confidence beat me.)

While waiting I browsed the menu out front~ There's a wide choice of meats and sides, so I planned my order in advance to place it the second we sat down!

What's on the menu at Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch?

Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch sells two kinds of pork, black pork and Boseong green pork (Boseong nokdon), by cut, and it has all the usual side dishes like kimchi stew, doenjang (soybean paste) stew and cold noodles.

• Black pork five-layer belly (ogyeopsal), black pork belly (samgyeopsal)
• Boseong green pork belly
• Boseong green pork flower neck (kkotmoksal)
• Boseong green pork cheon-gyeopsal (jowl)
• Boseong green pork gabeurisal (rib-end cut)
• Sides: kimchi stew, doenjang stew, cold noodles

I like that there are so many kinds of pork, along with a good variety of side dishes.

What are the interior and seating like?

The inside of Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch is large with lots of seats, but the tables are packed together, so my spot felt a bit cramped. The fresh meat is displayed out front like at a butcher's shop. Honestly I was too distracted to look closely, but it gave a fresh impression!

Still, with so many seats, even with a wait we got in quickly! Groups are welcome too, so I think booking ahead would make it comfortable.

There's a separate self-bar and a good range of drinks, which I liked~ But for me it's somaek (soju mixed with beer) for the first glass, then soju from the second :)

Side dishes and the self-serve bar

The tables at Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch are pre-set. Personal sauces are spicy sauce, wasabi, mushroom wasabi, doenjang, garlic and salt, and the side dishes are cabbage salad, seasoned scallions and garlic scapes. You can get more at the salad bar.

The self-bar is neat and tidy, which I liked. They didn't bring chili peppers to the table, but the self-bar had them, so I took as many as I wanted. It's nice that you can help yourself to more sauce too.

Kimchi, which you can't do without for pork belly, and the fresh vegetables were tasty too.

The grill comes already set up like this. The minari (water dropwort) comes with the meat at first, and extra costs ₩5,000. The potatoes also come at first, and extra is charged separately. Eating them at the end after the meat is just perfect.

The cute shishito peppers and mushrooms came in such small amounts that I secretly ate them all myself. My friends probably didn't even know they were there.

How does the black pork belly (₩19,000, 150g) taste?

The black pork five-layer belly at Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch is ₩19,000 for 150g, and a staff member grilled it until done, which was so convenient. They said they use a handmade grill that keeps the grease from splattering. And it's cooked over real charcoal, which levels up the meat quality!

Look at that pretty pork belly. Look at all that fat. Imagine how tender it must be.

Being right in front of the fire, it was hot even with the air conditioning on. But watching the fire show was fun too.

They even cut the meat nicely for you. I really respect the staff, running back and forth.. I'd definitely had a big lunch and wasn't hungry, but seeing the fully cooked pork belly made me hungry all over again.

Black pork neck (₩18,000, 150g) and the downside of grilling it all at once

The black pork neck at Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch is ₩18,000 for 150g, and the staff grill everything you ordered all at once from the start. For a slow eater like me, that was honestly a bit inconvenient.

Meat that sits on the grill for a long time loses flavor and gets hard, which I don't like, and yet they grill the pork neck at the same time too.

Once the pork belly is fully cooked, it moves to the side of the grill. While the neck cooks, you have to eat the belly fast. Suddenly a mountain of meat piled up! All that meat was cooked before the minari even finished. It's like a buffet... You have to eat quickly before it cools.

Pork belly or pork neck: which should you order?

Personally both were tasty, but I'm casting my vote for the belly over the neck! I like fatty meat, so the belly with its balance of fat and meat suited my taste.

Kimchi stew (₩8,000) and Jirisan kudzu cold noodles (₩8,000)

The kimchi stew at Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch is ₩8,000. The kimchi was very sour (well-fermented) so it was tangy~, but the stew was also packed with meat. Eaten with rice and broth, it's the best, as always!

The Jirisan kudzu cold noodles (mul naengmyeon) are also ₩8,000. I already like naengmyeon, and it was so hot from the fire show inside, so I ordered the cold noodles. I didn't expect much, but the broth was so good. You know it's easier to snip the noodles with scissors and eat them with the broth (thanks, Sung Si-kyung, haha).

I learned how to add vinegar and mustard from Instagram. I mixed them 1:1 and made it taste great.

I finished with the potatoes~ Eaten with the spicy sauce, the flavor doubles! Even better.

Soju and the complimentary milk thistle

You can't eat black pork without soju. My first glass was beer, which I sadly didn't get a photo of.

What I found really thoughtful at Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch was the free milk thistle (a liver supplement)!! I already take it regularly, but getting it at a drinking place was a first, and it felt like a small but real joy!

Who is Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch best for?

Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch is a Jongno 3-ga pork belly restaurant I highly, highly recommend for dates, friend get-togethers and group gatherings! This time it was black pork, but next time I'll try the Boseong green pork.