Daejeon Korean beef grilled tableside at Yakiniku Doryong

Yakiniku Doryong in Doryong-dong, Daejeon: location and hours

Yakiniku Doryong (야끼니꾸 도룡) is in Doryong-dong, close to DCC, Daejeon Shinsegae, Expo, and Smart City, so it is in a great spot for dinner after a nearby date, shopping trip, or exhibition. Doryong-dong itself has lots of good restaurants in Daejeon, and this is an especially fitting place when you want Korean beef in a stylish setting!

A calm atmosphere at the bar table

The first thing I saw on entering was the long bar table. With its overall dark lighting and calm black-toned décor, it definitely had a different atmosphere from a typical meat restaurant.

The staff prepare the meat inside the bar and grill it directly over the charcoal right in front of you. It is lovely for talking on a date, and you do not have to get distracted grilling meat, which I especially liked. It seemed to have a nice atmosphere for a blind date, a regular date, or even an anniversary. There are hangers on the wall for your coats, too!

A varied menu, from sets to finishing dishes

The menu was more varied than I expected, with sets, individual cuts, sides, and meal dishes. Set menus range from a one-person set to two- and three-person sets, and there are also separate two- and three-person sets made up entirely of Korean beef.

Individual Korean beef cuts included beef tongue, tenderloin, striploin, chuck flap, brisket and skirt, special tripe, and today's Korean beef. Sides included ox tail, yuk sashimi (Korean-style beef tartare), and chicken neck meat. For meal dishes, there were beef ramen, kimchi stew, doenjang-jjigae (soybean-paste stew), perilla-oil makguksu (buckwheat noodles), and bibim makguksu (spicy mixed buckwheat noodles), plus Korean beef soup, braised ox tail, and rice. It is great for finishing with a proper meal after the meat. The sets in particular looked ideal for first-time visitors because you can try a little of several cuts at once.

There was more alcohol than I expected, too: sake that goes well with Korean beef, Japanese shochu, soju, beer, highballs, and wine. According to the menu, sake came in several price ranges, from ₩35,000 to the ₩120,000 range, so it looked easy to choose according to your taste or budget. Japanese shochu was available by the glass or bottle, while Korean soju and beer were ₩5,000 each.

Highballs included lemon highball ₩7,500, yuzu highball ₩9,000, ginger highball ₩7,500, and sake by the glass ₩7,000. There were bottles of red or white wine for ₩60,000 and house wine for ₩7,000, as well as non-alcoholic beer for ₩4,000 and a non-alcoholic highball for ₩5,000 for anyone who does not drink. Suntory The Premium Malt's draft beer was ₩8,000 per glass.

Best of all, Yakiniku Doryong has free corkage, so if you have a wine or other drink you already love, it would be great to bring it along to enjoy with Korean beef. It is a Doryong-dong restaurant that pairs especially well with a bottle of wine on a date or anniversary.

Table setting and side dishes

When you sit down, individual tableware, salt, and sauces are neatly set out. A light dip in salt is nice when you want to taste the meat itself first, while the accompanying sauce works well when you want something richer. Since the staff grill each piece right in front of the bar table, all you have to do is take it and eat it—so convenient, haha.

A variety of side dishes that pair well with the meat also arrived: dressed lettuce, shredded vegetables, crisp pickles, and wasabi. Korean beef can become a little rich if you eat it continuously, but having vegetables and pickles in between refreshed my palate nicely. I especially already love putting wasabi on beef, so a little wasabi on the tender Korean beef was such a delicious combination!!

What was in the 280g Korean beef set for two

The two of us visited and ordered the 280g two-person set for ₩60,000. It included yuk sashimi, beef tongue, an assorted Korean beef platter of striploin, chuck flap, and brisket, then a choice of marinated meat or special tripe at the end. We chose the special tripe!

Yakiniku Doryong's greatest advantage is definitely that the staff grill the meat themselves! They place a charcoal brazier in front of you and grill each cut according to its condition, so we could simply chat and enjoy each perfectly grilled piece as it came. So easy, haha.

From the first dish of yuk sashimi, I could tell the meat was in good condition. It was tender to chew rather than tough or overwhelming, so it was great for whetting the appetite before getting into the meat. It was a light, enjoyable start to the yakiniku meal.

The beef tongue had that distinctive chewy texture.

Its texture was completely different from the usual Korean beef cuts, which made it more fun to eat in the middle of the set.

The staff grilled it just right, so it was chewy yet tender rather than tough. A light dip in salt was a clean, simple way to enjoy it.

The striploin had a clean, meaty aroma. It was browned on the outside while staying moist inside, and the juices came through with every chew. Rather than coating it heavily in sauce, it paired better at first with something simple, like salt or wasabi.

The potatoes grilled alongside were so delicious, too!!

And the mushrooms with the beef—what is there even to say... so, so delicious!!

The chuck flap was noticeably tender. When I put a piece in my mouth, it did not feel firm or tough to chew; it softened beautifully, making it easy to eat.

Perhaps because the staff got the doneness exactly right, it was delicious with its juices still nicely intact.

The brisket had a slightly nuttier flavor than the cuts we had eaten before.

Its flavor grew as I chewed, and it was tender while still having just the right amount of bite—the fun of eating Korean beef.

I also found that a little wasabi on top made a clean, lovely combination.

For the final choice in the two-person set, we picked special tripe instead of marinated meat. The staff grilled the special tripe, coated in red seasoning, until golden over the charcoal.

After eating Korean beef, having a dish with a different texture in the middle made it feel as though we were enjoying a course meal one dish at a time.

Instead of putting everything on the grill at once, eating slowly as each dish changed made the whole meal feel wonderfully relaxed.

Perilla-oil makguksu to finish

After the meat, we ordered perilla-oil makguksu as our meal dish. I had seen reviews saying Yakiniku Doryong's perilla-oil makguksu was delicious and was curious to try it—and it really was so delicious!!!

Even though we were already fairly full after all the meat, I just kept reaching for it, hahaha.

It had a deep, nutty perilla-oil flavor and was such a good finish after the meat. If you visit, I really recommend not stopping at the meat—make sure to try the perilla-oil makguksu, too!

Why it was great for a Doryong-dong date

The meat quality was good, but Yakiniku Doryong's biggest advantage was that the staff grilled everything themselves from beginning to end, making it so comfortable to eat. The bar-table atmosphere was also lovely, so I would recommend it for a date or anniversary, and the free corkage would make it nice to bring a favorite wine to enjoy with Korean beef.

It is also close to DCC, Daejeon Shinsegae, Expo, and Smart City, so if you are looking for a good Doryong-dong restaurant or a stylish beef restaurant in Daejeon, it would be worth a visit. From the tender Korean beef and special tripe to the final perilla-oil makguksu, I was satisfied with Yakiniku Doryong overall :)