Gangnam Korean BBQ restaurant with icy kimchi noodles: Gukbo Garden

I went to Samseongjungang Station on Sunday for the first time in ages. It felt strange to set foot in Samseong-dong again. Until July, I commuted to Samseong-dong practically every day, but now I commute to Yeouido haha. Gukbo Garden Samsung Main Branch was near my old office, so I used to drop by now and then whenever I wanted delicious meat for lunch. It is a fairly new restaurant, but the meat must be good because it is popular at both lunch and dinner.

Gukbo Garden Samsung Main Branch: location and parking

• Address: 1F–2F, 608 Samseong-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Subway: Exit 3, Samseongjungang Station
• Hours: Daily 11:30–23:00
• Break time: Mon–Fri 15:30–17:00
• Last order: Daily 22:00
• Parking and valet available

Gukbo Garden Samsung Main Branch, a Korean BBQ restaurant in Samseong-dong, is at Exit 3 of Samseongjungang Station. You see it as soon as you come out of Exit 3, so the access is seriously great. Parking and valet are available too, making it convenient to visit by car. You can park in front of the restaurant. Parking is ₩5,000 for the first 120 minutes, then ₩1,000 for every additional 10 minutes. Valet is ₩5,000.

An old-world pine tree and private seating

This is the interior of Gukbo Garden Samsung Main Branch, one of the popular restaurants in Samseong-dong. The first thing that catches your eye when you walk in is the old-world pine tree. The whole space is decorated with upscale furnishings and interiors, and you can really feel the care put into every corner. It is clean and refined, so I have brought clients here for lunch a few times too haha.

Gukbo Garden Samsung Main Branch has a first and second floor. The first floor has open dining tables, and its overall bright yet calm mood makes it comfortable for a meal. Best of all, for a BBQ restaurant, there was no meat smell and the floor was not slippery—such a pleasant space.

Each table is separated by partitions, so you can dine privately. There is enough space between tables that I could not really hear other conversations! It was nice to eat comfortably without worrying about the people around us. The second floor has private rooms. I visited a Gukbo Garden room for a company dinner in March this year, and the photo below is one I took then. It is especially nice that corkage is free in Samseong-dong, making it great for company dinners like ours, business meetings, and all kinds of gatherings. Our company group chat held a vote for the dinner venue in March, and Gukbo Garden Samsung Main Branch confidently took first place, so that is where we went... haha. First place, wow... confirmed as a Samseong-dong favorite haha.

What we ordered and the lunch charcoal-grilled ribs set

Here is the menu at Gukbo Garden Samsung Main Branch. We ordered two servings of Gukbo marinated beef ribs, one serving of Han-don Seolhwa Emperor Kkotsal, and one serving of sal-eoreum kimchi-mari noodles—kimchi noodles in a lightly frozen broth.

If you visit Gukbo Garden Samsung Main Branch at lunch, you can have the ₩41,000 charcoal-grilled ribs set for ₩29,000! It is genuinely great value. The staff grill the meat themselves, the side dishes are plentiful, and the smell does not cling to you, so it is also really good for bringing clients at lunch. That is why lunch is always busy. Gukbo Garden Samsung Main Branch is running a Naver review event. They are offering a small serving of Korean beef yukhoe (seasoned raw beef), so it would be great to join in.

As I mentioned earlier, corkage is free at Gukbo Garden Samsung Main Branch. Delicious meat with delicious drinks! Ahhh~~~~

Cola and cider served in highball glasses

I am still not drinking, so I ordered cola and cider. They filled Jim Beam highball glasses with ice and served them that way! Sob, I was touched... I could not drink alcohol, but sipping from a highball glass still made it feel festive, which I loved.

The basic side dishes came out in such variety that they filled the table. As you would expect from an upscale restaurant, every dish was neatly presented, and just looking at them made me happy. There was japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), which I love, pickled chili peppers, and even marinated raw crab! The marinated raw crab does not come with the lunch special, but it does come with dinner...

Actually, the marinated raw crab was so delicious at my last company dinner that I ordered an extra serving. When I told my team leader I was going to Gukbo Garden that weekend, they said, “You’ll order extra marinated raw crab again, won’t you?” haha. Yep... I did order more. An extra order is ₩5,000! The marinated raw crab is sooo good... The staff kindly cut up the legs and body with scissors so we could eat it easily. Thank youuu.

Limited Han-don Emperor Kkotsal

Now, on to the meat for real! One serving of Gukbo Emperor Kkotsal: they say it is a special cut that brings out the rich fat flavor of the top 0.3% YBD Han-don pork.

It said limited availability, so I got curious and ordered it! Oh my, I am so glad I did. It was insanely delicious.......

The staff grill the meat from start to finish. I loved having the grilling service. As always, meat tastes best when a professional grills it... We had lots of questions and asked this and that, but they answered us kindly! Let’s try the Han-don first.

As you would expect from a Samseong-dong BBQ restaurant, the meat melted in my mouth. Even though it was pork, it was as tender as beef. It was delicious enough to make me consider ordering another serving, but we had already ordered two servings of beef ribs, so I held back.

It was so delicious even with just salt. The best, the best!!

Juicy Gukbo marinated beef ribs

Two servings of Gukbo marinated beef ribs, described as marinated Prime Angus ribs from the top 8%. Wow....... seriously............... this is crazy........so delicious..... I want to eat it again.............

Also, I liked that the table hoods at Gukbo Garden Samsung Main Branch do not stick out over the table, so they do not block your face when you talk. Yet your clothes still do not smell like meat. You can eat BBQ at lunch and go back to the office, or eat BBQ before a date—totally doable. Once again, I watched the professional’s dazzling handiwork. They carefully removed any charred bits too—another touching detail. They cut it into easy-to-eat pieces, so let’s dig in. The visuals are no joke, right? It was every bit as moist and juicy as it looked... so tasty.

There were many side dishes to eat with the meat, but honestly, the ribs themselves were so good that I did not need much else haha. They were delicious even without dipping them in sauce. Put one piece of rib on warm rice and it is game over! It melts in your mouth.

Icy kimchi-mari noodles and dessert

Sal-eoreum kimchi-mari noodles. Wow, there really were little flakes of ice floating in it. The broth was delicious too, and my friend kept drinking it. So glad we ordered it.

The noodles were chewy and the seasoned broth was tasty, making this perfect as a meal. Gukbo Garden Samsung Main Branch offers yogurt ice cream, Americano coffee, and omija tea (five-flavor berry tea) for dessert.

You lose out if you do not have the yogurt ice cream. Because it is free Yoajung-style yogurt ice cream... you have to get it. If I had had more room, I would have wanted three cups... but I was already so full that I only had one. ㅜㅜ What a shame. There are chocolate shells and cookies too, so you can enjoy it however you like.

Oh, this is a place with seriously delicious meat. The restaurant atmosphere is lovely, and the side dishes are generous too. It is especially good value at lunch, so I recommend visiting during lunchtime. Recommended for anyone looking for great meat in Samseong-dong!