Gyodae Station Korean BBQ date with a pork jowl set: Sodangkkae

A review of Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip Gyodae Main Branch, a Gyodae restaurant I'd recommend for company dinners.

It's been a while since my fiancé and I had a Friday night date in Gyodae >< He always works late, so a proper dinner date is precious!! We specifically went to Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip Gyodae Main Branch because they have pork jowl, which he loves~~

• Address: 2F, 84-3 Seocho-daero 50-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: Weekdays 11:00–23:00 / Weekends 12:00–23:00
• Parking: Free (Gwangdong Building parking lot)

Where is Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip Gyodae Main Branch, and what is the space like?

Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip Gyodae Main Branch is on the 2nd floor, a 5-minute walk from Exit 14 of Gyodae Station. The sign is visible from far away, so it wasn't hard to find.

The Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip sign, visible from a distance, haha Do you see that lid drawing? Apparently 'sodangkkae' is a dialect word for a pot lid! Random fact, haha

The interior view once you get up to the 2nd floor. Even though it's a BBQ place, it felt clean and spacious, no greasy feeling. Probably because there's a smoke extractor right above each grill!

This thing had seriously strong suction b We ate a ton of meat and still left without the smell sticking to us — so nice. I thought it'd be a great, comfortable spot for company dinners too.

Side dishes: green onion kimchi and special-sauce green onion salad

The basic sides were lettuce wraps, green onion kimchi, garlic, and a green onion salad tossed in special sauce. The green onion kimchi had such a great color, it looked like the textbook version of tasty kimchi, haha Oh, and I don't usually like green onion salad, but the red sauce here is so good that eating it with the meat is amazing!!!

Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip Gyodae Main Branch menu and prices

The meat menu at Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip Gyodae Main Branch includes domestic Duroc pork belly (150g) at ₩17,000, melt-in-your-mouth pork neck (150g) at ₩17,000, and premium pork jowl (120g) at ₩21,000. The sets for two are the Sodangkkae assorted set at ₩81,500 and the meat assorted set at ₩57,500.

• Meats: Domestic Duroc pork belly (150g) ₩17,000 / Melt-in-your-mouth pork neck (150g) ₩17,000 / Premium pork jowl (120g) ₩21,000 / Sodangkkae assorted set (for 2) ₩81,500 / Meat assorted set (for 2) ₩57,500 / Seasoned honeycomb tripe (160g) ₩10,000
• Lunch specials: Crab doenjang stew set ₩8,000 / Korean pork kimchi stew set ₩9,000 / Jeyuk set ₩12,000 / Pork belly set ₩15,000
• Sides: Sodangkkae doenjang rice bowl ₩10,000 / Crab doenjang stew ₩8,000 / Korean pork kimchi stew ₩8,000 / Water or bibim naengmyeon ₩7,000 / Cheese-bomb steamed egg ₩6,000 / Kimchi pancake (4pc) ₩10,000 / Korean beef yukhoe ₩27,000 / Golbaengi salad ₩21,000 / Truffle jjapaghetti ₩9,000 / Grilled Imsil cheese ₩9,000 / Muk salad ₩10,000 / Nurungji ₩4,000 / Freshly cooked rice ₩2,000 / Sodangkkae kim-jaban fried rice (1 serving) ₩6,000 / 100% mozzarella cheese ₩5,000

What comes in the Sodangkkae assorted set for two?

We ordered the Sodangkkae assorted set that day. Pork belly + pork neck + pork jowl, plus stew and even yukhoe — one order got us everything we wanted, haha You can choose doenjang stew or kimchi stew, so we went with kimchi stew!

The Sodangkkae assorted set arrived pretty quickly after we ordered.

Whoa, a whole plate of vegetables to go on the grill. Isn't that a huge amount, haha They really don't skimp on ingredients — the owner's generosity passes. A total success at winning over office workers; They give bean sprouts, water dropwort, bracken, cheongyang peppers, enoki mushrooms and king oyster mushrooms — heads up, the cheongyang peppers are pretty spicy, haha

Next, the raw meats that came out together. From left: pork jowl, pork neck, pork belly. I don't usually like pork jowl since it's fatty, but I fell for Sodangkkae's pork jowl ㅠㅠ Even before grilling, doesn't the meat quality already look great?

Staff grill the meat from start to finish

One of the biggest reasons I chose Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip Gyodae Main Branch while looking for Gyodae restaurants is that the staff grill everything for you!!

They really grilled everything from start to finish so we didn't have to lift a finger ㅠㅠ And the staff member was genuinely great at grilling. All you have to do is eat — this would be such a great company dinner spot for office workers near Gyodae, so jealous.

A grill full of the assorted platter. Gosh, it looks so appetizing, I'm starving!! While the meat grills, eating rice with the kimchi stew first is basically the rule.

The kimchi stew included with the set

This place is good at kimchi stew,, It's loaded with tofu, kimchi and meat. The broth is slightly sweet and spicy — the flavor of really good kimchi stew... The kimchi itself is just delicious, haha The fermentation level was just right too, so dipping rice in the broth and topping it with kimchi and meat was amazing;; Personally glad I ordered kimchi stew instead of doenjang stew ♥ While eating the stew — oh no, the meat's all cooked!!!!

Is Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip's pork jowl okay if you dislike fatty cuts?

I really... don't like fatty cuts, you know? But out of all the pork jowl I've had, Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip's was genuinely the best. Whether it's because they use really good meat or because they grill it well, I think it's just that the meat itself is excellent. No greasy or heavy feeling at all, it was genuinely delicious;; Is this why everyone loves pork jowl? The meat... really... it was a shock for someone like me who's always just had pork belly and pork neck, haha So nutty and delicious ㅠㅠㅠ I didn't let on because my fiancé would tease me, but I probably ate more pork jowl than him.... Ah, if you come to Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip, definitely try the pork jowl.

The pork belly was really well grilled too. It's hard to mess up, but I could really tell they use good meat here, haha the meat itself was tasty. My fiancé is fairly picky about "meat" too, and he admitted the meat here is delicious. As the one who brought him here, that was a proud moment.

My original favorite cut, pork neck ♡ The pork neck was sliced thick and delicious too ㅠ I've turned into a broken record saying "delicious" Rice, green onion kimchi, pork neck and ssamjang wrapped in a perilla leaf — pure bliss,, I was so absorbed in eating the meat that I completely forgot about the yukhoe, hahahahahaha Since yukhoe is served cold, unlike the grilled meats, they thoughtfully prepared it for right when we were finishing the meat — so smart!

Finishing with Korean beef yukhoe: how big is the portion?

You can't let your guard down until the meal is over... The yukhoe portion is seriously huge, haha This doesn't look like a 2-person portion, more like 3, boss..? And look at that color.

Yep, failed at placing the egg yolk neatly, didn't I?

Doesn't matter, you just mix it up ㅎ_ㅎ Mixed with the egg yolk, the yukhoe turns soft and rich — amazing! The pear served alongside was sweet and refreshing, pairing perfectly with the yukhoe. From grilled meat to raw meat, the yukhoe felt like the complete showcase of good meat, and we wrapped up dinner with it.

Is it a good group dinner spot near Gyodae Station?

Ugh, I went in without huge expectations, just thinking it'd be great that staff grill everything, but I ended up falling for the delicious meat — that was my review of Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip Gyodae Main Branch. If you're looking for a Gyodae restaurant for a company dinner, I highly recommend Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip Gyodae Main Branch. The vibe is clean and spacious, the meat is delicious, and staff grill for you — honestly, no need to overthink where to hold your dinner. Could you please move closer to my office (?) Anyway, next time I'm in Gyodae, I think I'll come back to this Gyodae restaurant, Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip. Thanks for the meal!