Geomdan Korean BBQ: pork neck beat pork belly, Euljiro Yeontan Gui

Euljiro Yeontan Gui Majeon Branch hours and info

Euljiro Yeontan Gui (을지로연탄구이) Majeon Branch is at 494 Geomdan-ro, Seo-gu, Incheon, a 2-minute walk from Exit 2 of Geomdan Sageori Station. It is open weekdays and Saturdays 15:00–01:00 (last order 00:00) and Sundays 15:00–23:00 (last order 22:00). Parking, groups, reservations and pets are all fine.

How to get to Euljiro Yeontan Gui Majeon Branch from Geomdan Sageori Station

Euljiro Yeontan Gui Majeon Branch is a briquette BBQ restaurant right by Geomdan Sageori Station, so it's easy to reach by subway. On days I crave meat in Geomdan I always wonder where to go, and this time I tried this place. It's just a 2-minute walk from Exit 2, so no parking worries, and I liked that right away. There's also parking for a few cars in front.

At night the big green sign and rows of bulb lights are visible from far away.

Seafood menu and the Geomdan Bowling Alley tie-in event

Euljiro Yeontan Gui Majeon Branch sells a variety of seafood as well as meat. Scallops grilled over briquettes must be amazing, right? But today was a meat day, so meat first!! haha

Out front stood a banner for a collab event between the restaurant and Geomdan Bowling Alley: take your receipt to the bowling alley, play 3 or more games, and you get Jeju flights plus a rental car for 48 hours. Seriously? I read it twice. First 300 teams only. That's pretty wild, isn't it?

What's the atmosphere like at Euljiro Yeontan Gui Majeon Branch?

Euljiro Yeontan Gui Majeon Branch is an old-school BBQ place with briquette grills set on oil-drum tables. In front of the shop sat neatly stacked burnt-out briquettes, ready to be thrown away. It's not a sight you see often, so I snapped a photo right away. haha

Step inside and you find tables with briquette grills on oil drums. The retro vibe is strong, and the interior looks like an old house converted into a restaurant, which I found memorable.

The walls are covered with handwritten menus and colorful paper menus, and a duct for the briquette smoke runs from every table up to the ceiling, which somehow feels very Euljiro. Doesn't it? haha It doesn't feel awkward even on a first visit; you get comfortable quickly.

Besides the indoor area you enter first, there's also a not-quite-outdoor, front-yard-style space with gravel on the floor. Grilling meat over briquettes while soaking in the old-time mood feels like it would taste even better, you know that feeling? haha

Maybe it's already a well-known Geomdan spot for company dinners, because even on a weekday the tables were nearly full of groups of colleagues.

The indoor sink and the briquette storeroom

Inside Euljiro Yeontan Gui Majeon Branch there's a well-kept sink. You know me: I get really touched when a BBQ place has a nicely maintained sink inside!! You have to wash your hands before eating ssam (wraps), so it's so convenient~

Across from the sink is a briquette storeroom straight out of an old drama, piled high with black briquettes. It reminded me of Jeongbong's mom in the drama 'Reply 1988', so proud when the briquette storeroom was full, and I chuckled to myself.

Self-serve corner and side dishes

The self-serve corner at Euljiro Yeontan Gui Majeon Branch has lettuce, perilla leaves, chili peppers, chives, onion, kimchi, salt, onion soy sauce and ssamjang (dipping paste), and you can take as much as you like. So I had no side dish worries at all. Wasabi is also set out separately in a small container, which is great for people who like a sharp kick with their meat. Zero feeling of awkwardness about refills.

Once you sit down, the basic side dishes and utensils are set. Wrapping greens and ssamjang, a personal chive sauce, and seasoned lettuce salad. Casual-looking but clearly made with care. I personally love the seasoned lettuce, so I really liked it. The chive sauce was even better with sliced onion from the self-serve corner.

Briquette-grilled pork neck and pork belly, ordered by the 100g

At Euljiro Yeontan Gui Majeon Branch we ordered pork neck, pork belly, bibim naengmyeon (spicy cold noodles) and rice, and the meat can be ordered in 100g portions. See the briquettes glowing faintly red under the grill? Briquette grilling these days..!! So rare, right~ Put meat on a briquette fire and the aroma rises at a completely different speed from gas.

Now, the meat!! Being able to order by 100g is a really handy system for first-timers and light eaters. You can try several cuts in small amounts without pressure. I liked that there's no ordering too much at once and leaving food behind.

The king oyster mushroom served with the meat was branded with 'Euljiro Yeontan Gui' (을지로연탄구이) using a hot iron, and I don't know why, but I loved that little detail so much.

Pork neck or pork belly: which was better?

At Euljiro Yeontan Gui Majeon Branch the pork belly was plenty good, but for us the pork neck was the overwhelming winner. Tender and juicy, with the smoky briquette flavor soaking in, it was so good I wondered how it could be at this price. The moment you take one bite and want to hit the reorder button arrived right here.

Bibim naengmyeon and icy radish salad

The bibim naengmyeon at Euljiro Yeontan Gui Majeon Branch comes with the broth on the side, so you can adjust the sweet-and-sour level to taste. It was a solid, back-to-basics flavor, and a bite here and there between the meat wipes out any greasiness.

The seasoned radish salad (musaengchae) the owner bragged about did its job too. A bite of the cool radish with icy slush is one of the small joys of Euljiro Yeontan Gui Majeon Branch. Sweet, sour and perfectly seasoned, and crunchy when chewed with the ice, it was a very fresh experience. No wonder the owner served it so proudly.

Why Euljiro Yeontan Gui Majeon Branch is worth a return visit

What impressed me most at Euljiro Yeontan Gui Majeon Branch was the attitude of the owner and staff. They looked after the heat for us and were courteous and kind the whole time. However good the food is, if the mood is uncomfortable you don't want to return, right? But here I felt good throughout the meal. That's really what makes you come back.

If you're looking for a good place in Geomdan Sageori, try Euljiro Yeontan Gui Majeon Branch once and you'll see why people return! Thanks for the meal again today~