Converted-house Korean BBQ in Hongdae, 30-min weekday wait: Chopilsal

Why I picked Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch

Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch (초필살돼지구이 홍대점) is known as a pork belly place near Hongik Univ. Station that people queue for, so I chose it for a long-overdue weekday evening meetup in Hongdae. Today is pork belly and soju day!! It's been ages since I picked Hongdae for a meetup, and heading there on a weekday evening felt so good, T_T. I go out now and then, but it still gets me excited every time.. 💕

It's been so long since a night like this, so I picked my Hongdae restaurant very carefully. Out of all those candidates, I landed on the Korean BBQ place near Hongik Univ. Station, Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch!!! A Hongdae spot people actually line up for? I had to go!!!

How long is the wait at Chopilsal Hongdae?

On a rainy weekday evening, I got in after waiting over 30 minutes at Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch. It really is a Hongdae place with a line. Hongdae felt kind of empty that day, and for some reason there were fewer people than usual. Even so, the wait at Chopilsal was pretty long. It was exactly the kind of queue-worthy Hongdae spot I wanted, so I got even more excited, haha (I mean, if you've come all the way to Hongdae, you have to go somewhere with a line, right?)

After 30-plus minutes of waiting, we're finally seated!! This Hongdae pork belly restaurant has a first and second floor and is fairly big. (And there's still a wait, so you can tell how popular it is!!)

The atmosphere of the converted-house 2nd floor

Chopilsal Hongdae is a converted house, so the space is unique and fun. We were shown to the 2nd floor, which seemed like it used to be a room, a cozy, homey space! Because it's a converted room, it felt snug and intimate, like visiting a friend's house, which made it extra comfortable!

A Korean BBQ place that serves pollock roe and garlic with pork belly

One good thing about Chopilsal is that roe and garlic sauce come out with the side dishes. I love the pork belly and pollock roe combo, and not many pork belly places serve salted pollock roe. Here they give you roe and garlic, so I happily piled roe on my pork belly 😊

First, 2 servings of pork belly and some soju, please. Pork belly and soju on a pitter-patter rainy day.. so good 💕 The mood here is just right for grilling pork belly and having a drink on a rainy day, so I patted myself on the back for choosing this Hongdae pork belly place 🤭

Then the pork belly arrived, and wow, it looked so delicious!! It wasn't even grilled yet and I could tell right away it was great pork belly. Plump and fresh, with a lovely color from the start.

Does Chopilsal grill the meat for you?

Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch has no grilling service, so you grill the pork belly yourself. I actually liked that. Grilling piece by piece at our own pace with a glass of soju was even better. These days it's convenient when staff stand and grill for you, but sometimes it feels a bit much. (The portion isn't huge anyway, haha)

Yakiniku (Japanese-style grilled meat) vibes, hahaha. Slowly sipping soju while grilling pork belly, the pork belly is great, the mood is great, just so good T_T

How was the side dish, soybean paste stew?

Chopilsal is famous for its side dishes! ✨✨ When you order the soybean paste stew (doenjang-jjigae), rice comes with it, and wow, so much zucchini in the stew..? It was even better than homemade doenjang, so I ordered another bowl of rice just for the stew, haha

Chopilsal pork skin: price and how to eat it

Another highlight of Chopilsal Hongdae is the pork skin (gyeopdegi)!! It's ₩9,000 per serving, easy to order without worrying about the bill, and for two people it was perfect drinking food 🤭✨

The pork skin comes pre-grilled, so you only need to grill it lightly, then dip it in the soybean powder (kongga-ru) they prepare. So good!!

I'm normally not great with pork skin, but Chopilsal's is chewy with no gamey smell and so tasty!! Perfect with drinks, too. It's good enough to win you over to pork skin, and I'd call it a Hongdae pork skin hotspot 😊

And along with the pork skin, this was honestly the best pork belly I've had lately!! How can it be this good in quality and taste?!! So nutty and rich!!!!

Is Chopilsal Hongdae worth the wait?

A Hongdae pork belly and pork skin hotspot worth queuing for, Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch!! Definitely get the pork skin, and eat lots of pork belly too! It was totally worth the wait!!

I recommend Chopilsal, the Hongdae spot worth waiting for!!!