Maebong Station beef BBQ, olive oil ice cream and songpyeon: Woosang

◷ Hours 11:00-22:00 / Break time 15:00-17:00 / Last order 21:00 ✔Restroom (O) ✔Parking (O)

Hi, it's Haebomyeondwae. 🐷 I recently watched an episode of Choo Sung-hoon's YouTube channel about charcoal grilling that really stuck with me. Watching him grill meat over charcoal made me suddenly crave charcoal-grilled beef so bad. 😂 Plus I hadn't tried a fancier charcoal grill place before, haha.

So I looked up good restaurants near Maebong Station and ended up visiting Woosang Hwarogui Gangnam Maebong Station Branch!

The vibe and seating at Woosang Hwarogui Gangnam Maebong Station Branch

Woosang Hwarogui Gangnam Maebong Station Branch is a charcoal-grilled beef specialist near Maebong Station. The seating is divided into private rooms, semi-curtain rooms, and the main hall, so it was great for a private meal. If you're looking for a quiet Korean BBQ spot near Maebong Station, this could be a good match.

The moment I sat down, the charcoal brazier already set up on the table caught my eye. Woosang seems to put real care into using good-quality charcoal and serving cuts prepared fresh that day, and you could tell they'd thought carefully about the charcoal and brazier, not just the meat.

Opening the drawer under the table, you'll find chopsticks, spoons, and tissues neatly laid out. Tongs and scissors for cutting the meat were included too, and the scissors cut so well I wondered where they got them from!

The menu and the 85,000-won Sang [賞] Assorted Platter

The menu ranges from single beef cuts to assorted platters, side dishes, meal options, and drinks. What we ordered that day was the Sang [賞] Assorted Platter for 85,000 won.

• Chamjinsal 130g
• Angeomisal 130g
• Gadakgalbi 150g
• Grilled assorted vegetables
• Scallion pile

We went with the assorted platter so we could try several cuts at once~!

The tasting

Scallion pile

The scallion pile comes stacked up like a mountain, and pressing it down with chopsticks makes it naturally collapse, haha. The sauce served with the scallions had a Japanese-style soy sauce feel — not too salty and slightly sweet — which paired perfectly with the meat.

Basic side dishes

The basic side dishes included pickles, seasoned cucumber peppers, gat kimchi (mustard leaf kimchi), and potato salad. Good for enjoying the meat's flavor on its own while still having something to snack on in between.

Chamjinsal — recommended medium-rare

Finally, the main event! The first cut we grilled was chamjinsal. It's from the upper rib area next to the sirloin, known for its snowflake-like marbling. The staff recommended grilling it medium-rare. The moment it hit the charcoal and started sizzling, it already smelled incredible ><

The surface picked up a subtle charcoal aroma while the inside stayed moist and tender, and the nutty flavor from the marbling came through even with just a light dip in salt~

Angeomisal — deep beefy flavor

Next up, angeomisal! It's a specialty cut that doesn't yield much per cow, apparently tender yet with a deep beefy flavor. We grilled this one medium-rare too. If chamjinsal is soft and nutty, angeomisal has a stronger beefy taste and more chew. It was fun comparing texture and flavor across cuts from the same cow.

Gadakgalbi — recommended well-done

Gadakgalbi is Woosang's signature cut, made by removing the bone from the rib section and slicing the meat into long strips. The staff recommended grilling this one well-done. It had that chewy, slightly springy texture unique to long-cut rib meat.

Grilling it a bit longer gave the outside a nice golden color, and the texture came alive with each chew — I understood why they suggested cooking this cut separately!!

Dessert: Excellent ice cream with pepper, salt, and olive oil

And to wrap up the meal, dessert! It was Excellent ice cream — but not served plain. They topped it with a bit of pepper, salt, and olive oil.

At first I thought, 'wait, does this combo even work with Excellent...?' but it turned out to be a surprisingly great match, haha. The everyday Excellent ice cream suddenly felt like a fancy dessert. Woosang... this place is truly amazing...

Chuseok songpyeon service

Since we visited right before Chuseok (Korean thanksgiving), the owner also gave us songpyeon (half-moon rice cakes) to celebrate the holiday. 🥹 After eating all that meat, getting songpyeon at the end really gave off holiday vibes — a small but genuinely happy touch, haha. Being sent off with songpyeon after a delicious meal made this visit to Woosang Hwarogui even more memorable. 🐷

🐷 Haebomyeondwae's review — highly recommend

Unlike a typical Korean BBQ place where you just grill one cut, I liked being able to compare different textures and flavors going from chamjinsal to angeomisal to gadakgalbi. Grilling it myself over the charcoal let me really pick up on that subtle smoky aroma, and with the scallion pile and various accompaniments, it was more fun mixing things up than just eating meat nonstop.

If you're near Maebong Station looking for an atmospheric beef restaurant, or searching for a good spot along Yangjaecheon, give Woosang Hwarogui Gangnam Maebong Station Branch a try^^! That's it for today — Haebomyeondwae! 🐷