Gyodae Station Korean BBQ with a 5pm minari set: Sodangkkae

Hi everyone, this is Gamya! I was craving meat with my other half today, so we visited a Korean BBQ place near Gyodae Station — and since they had a combo set, I liked the lineup so much I had to write this review haha.

Where is Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip Gyodae Main Branch, and when is it open?

Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip Gyodae Main Branch is on the 2nd floor at 84-3 Seochodae-ro 50-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul. Hours are 11:00–23:00 Monday to Friday (break time 15:00–17:00, last order 22:00) and 12:00–23:00 Saturday and Sunday (last order 22:00).

Since it's on the 2nd floor, if you follow the map there's a staircase on the right — just go up one flight and the entrance is right there! The sign is big so the entrance was easy to find haha.

Inside Sodangkkae: the 5pm reserved table after break time

Inside there are plenty of tables with generous spacing for the size of the space. Even the chairs are comfortable — the vibe made me wonder, is this really a BBQ place? haha. We had reserved for 5pm right when the break time ended, so we walked in with no rush, but the place filled up with customers pretty quickly after that haha.

Since we'd booked ahead, our table had a neat reserved-seat setup waiting for us. The place is spacious with lots of tables, so I thought it would be perfect for a weekday group dinner with coworkers!

What comes in the Sodangkkae combo set?

There were plenty of options — pork belly, pork neck, pork jowl, pork skin, and more — and it looked like they also serve lunch set menus! Seems like a great spot to visit for lunch too haha. Desserts were varied too, with naengmyeon (cold noodles), kimchi stew, kimchi pancake and more. After going back and forth, we wanted to try several cuts at once, so we went with the [Sodangkkae combo set]! It comes with pork belly, pork neck, pork jowl, plus beef tartare and a stew haha.

This is how the vegetables and meat go on the cauldron-lid grill! :)

Cauldron-lid grilling with minari and bracken fern, done by the staff

Side dishes came as a basic set — scallion kimchi, perilla leaves and lettuce for wraps, macaroni salad and more haha. Right after ordering, a generous vegetable set went on first, filling the grill with minari (water dropwort), bracken fern, enoki mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms, bean sprouts, kimchi and more.

Looking back at these photos while writing, my mouth is watering all over again ,,

And the biggest perk of this place! The staff grill all the meat for you 👏 Thanks to that, while the meat sizzled and turned soft and golden, my other half and I could just relax and focus on chatting.

Eating the well-grilled meat with minari, enoki mushrooms and grilled kimchi was honestly a perfect combination. The kimchi was so good we even got a refill and grilled more of it 😋

Once the meat's fully cooked, they move it onto a small side plate for you! You just pick it up and eat, no fuss haha.

Crab soybean paste stew and the beef tartare in the set

Right around when we were mostly done eating, the soybean paste stew arrived! We could choose between kimchi stew and soybean paste stew, and since I was curious about the crab miso version, I picked that haha. The savory soybean paste broth with crab in it wasn't harsh or salty at all — it was deep and refreshing, and it cut right through the richness of the meat.

Then the beef tartare, which was honestly beyond expectations — since it was included in the set, I wasn't expecting much, but it arrived as a thick, generous fistful, and the visual alone was impressive! Eating it with radish sprouts, fresh pear and egg yolk, it melted in my mouth, tender and fresh through and through haha. The quality of the generous portion of beef tartare was a total win.

Is Sodangkkae worth it near Gyodae Station?

Cauldron-lid grilling with minari and bracken fern, the comfort of having staff grill everything for you, and the well-rounded combo set — 'Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip' nailed all of it! Next time I definitely want to come back for a proper group dinner with coworkers >_< I highly recommend this place to anyone craving a big, generous meat feast! 👍