Yongsan shabu-shabu restaurant with wagyu and mushroom broth

This time, my husband and I went to Shabu in Seoul Yongsan Main Branch (샤브인서울 신용산본점) on Yongridan-gil for lunch in Samgakji. I already love shabu-shabu, so I was looking for somewhere around Sin-Yongsan to go. Here, you can choose the meat and broth separately, and the set comes with everything from vegetables through to the final course.

We chose Black Nine wagyu ribeye with clear mushroom broth, and added fried soy milk skin separately.

Hours and reservations

• Address: 1F, 61 Hangang-daero 62-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea (서울 용산구 한강대로62길 61 1층)
• Hours: Mon–Thu 11:00–22:00, Fri–Sat 11:00–23:00, Sun 11:00–22:00
• Break time: Mon–Fri 15:00–17:00
• Parking: Use the nearby Samgakji temporary public parking lot

I recommend reserving Shabu in Seoul Yongsan Main Branch in advance through Catchtable. We booked three days before our visit, and I heard that if you arrive without a reservation, the wait can be over an hour depending on the time. The table time limit is also 1 hour 30 minutes, so that is useful to keep in mind.

Getting there from Samgakji Station

Shabu in Seoul Yongsan Main Branch is about 247 m from Exit 3 of Samgakji Station. It is on the Yongridan-gil side, so it was an easy walk from the station, and the large “SHABU in SEOUL” sign in front of the building made it easy to find.

A calm interior with partitions

Once we went in, the restaurant felt more spacious than I expected. The tables had high partitions, so they were separated from neighboring tables to some extent, and the overall atmosphere was calm. It felt neater than a typical shabu-shabu place, so it seemed nice for a date or a family meal too.

Choosing the meat and broth

When ordering, you first choose your meat and broth. We decided to make it a little more special that day, so we ordered the Black Nine wagyu ribeye. There were four broth options—clear mushroom, spicy mushroom, crab soybean-paste, and sukiyaki—and we chose the most basic clear mushroom broth. When you choose clear mushroom, the final course is egg juk (rice porridge).

A guide to sauce combinations

There were three sauces set out at the table, along with separate chili peppers and garlic.

There was also a guide to sauce combinations, so we used it as a reference and mixed some up ourselves.

Black Nine wagyu ribeye

After a short wait, the Black Nine wagyu ribeye arrived. The marbling looked really good, and when I tried it, it was genuinely tender. I lightly dipped it in the broth without cooking it for too long, and it practically melted in my mouth without any chewy texture.

Plenty of vegetables and fried soy milk skin

The vegetables came piled high on one plate too. There was napa cabbage, bean sprouts, broccoli, zucchini, shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, and several other kinds of mushrooms.

We also added fried soy milk skin. It arrives crispy at first, but if you dip it briefly in the broth, it soaks up all that soup and becomes wonderfully moist.

We added the vegetables and soy milk skin, then let it bubble away. The broth was clear at first, but as the vegetables and mushrooms cooked in it, it became richer and richer as we ate.

Eating all sorts of vegetables alongside the meat made it feel like a properly complete meal. The kiosk also showed a method for wrapping meat and vegetables in rice paper. Personally, I liked that option too, since you can load it up with lots of different vegetables.

Egg juk made with the remaining broth

After finishing the shabu-shabu, you can request egg juk through the kiosk, and a staff member makes it directly with the remaining broth.

The broth had already been simmering with vegetables and meat for quite a while, so it was richer than at the beginning. Then rice goes into it too—how could that combination not be delicious? We were pretty full, but still ended up eating almost all of the porridge, haha.

How was it for lunch on Yongridan-gil?

If you are looking for a good lunch spot in Samgakji, Shabu in Seoul Yongsan Main Branch seems like a solid choice. The meat was tender and the vegetables were plentiful, so the meal was more filling than I expected, and we left full after finishing with egg juk. In particular, the clean atmosphere and somewhat separated tables made it nice for the two of us to eat at an unhurried pace.

That said, the wait can be long if you visit without a reservation, so I recommend booking ahead on Catchtable on weekends or during meal times. If you are looking for a date spot on Yongridan-gil or a shabu-shabu restaurant near Sin-Yongsan, it would be worth a visit :)