Songpa Korean BBQ for charcoal-grilled LA galbi: Hantiok

A Bangi-dong galbi spot visited by football heroes Kim Nam-il and Ahn Jung-hwan, as well as G-Dragon, Jo In-sung, and Jo Bo-ah! I brought back my review 😁

Hantiok Bangi Branch location and parking

From the entrance, Hantiok Bangi Branch catches your eye with an interior that recalls a traditional tiled-roof house. Its kids’ playroom opened on July 4, so it looked just right for bringing children along. There is also a small waiting area under the eaves for busy weekends.

Valet parking is available behind the building, and you can also use the roadside parking directly in front after paying.

A spacious interior with a tiled-house feel

Pretty potted plants and a Hantiok sign welcome you at the entrance. Head down one floor and the main dining space begins.

As you would expect from a popular restaurant, the walls are full of celebrities’ handwritten signatures!

The origins of the ingredients are clearly displayed, too. The gukbap (rice soup), guksi (wheat noodles), pork galbi, and pork neck all use Korean beef graded 1++ or higher!

The high ceiling made the whole place feel open and airy rather than cramped.

There is even a coffee vending machine in the dessert area, plus apparently this is the job’s-tears tea G-Dragon drank 😎

They were also selling various treats, including yakgwa (honey cookies). There were plenty of nostalgic snacks too, such as dalgona and cotton candy.

Overall, it was clean, with warm wood-toned accent decor. Tiled-roof details throughout made it feel a little like visiting a traditional tile-roof house! The table hoods were easy to adjust in height, so dining was comfortable.

Even though I visited on a weekday, it was very busy! It really felt like a popular Bangi-dong restaurant.

One side was entirely sofa seating, which looked especially nice for families.

The charcoal used for grilling the meat also caught my eye. Charcoal quickly cooks the surface and adds that smoky fire aroma, which really brings out the flavor.

There is a large self-service bar, so you can easily refill any side dishes you need. The restroom is accessible directly from inside rather than requiring you to go outside, and it was very clean too.

Celebrity seats, private rooms, and a kids’ playroom

One special feature of Hantiok Bangi Branch is that chairs are marked as seats used by celebrities! There is actor Jo In-sung’s seat, seats for football heroes Kim Nam-il and Ahn Jung-hwan, and actor Jo Bo-ah’s seat too. I found it really memorable how they gave each seat its own significance.

Hantiok Bangi Branch also has private rooms. There are three in total, each with a different feel. Room 3 connects to Room 2 through a folding door, so that side seems ideal for a large company dinner.

This time, I headed to the kids’ playroom that opened in July. As you would expect from a newly opened space, the facilities were very clean. With lots of arcade machines and claw machines, it looked like a perfect place for children to pass the time!

Hantiok Bangi Branch menu

This is Hantiok Bangi Branch’s signature LA marinated galbi. It is marinated in Hantiok’s own special sauce 🤩

Here are the meal and side menus. The prices are not scary at all—they are very reasonable. There is plenty of variety, from guksi to set meals.

There are lots of full-table sets too, from a pork belly-and-neck set to the LA marinated galbi set.

Neatly presented banchan

The basic table setting was very neatly arranged. Before getting into the meal, I also saw a welcome card on the table introducing Hantiok’s third generation. Hantiok began in Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province, in 1970 and has a 50-year history 😮

The side dish that seemed to be radish and vegetables pickled in a soy-based sauce was salty and sweet, making it a great match for the meat. The mild vegetable salad included cabbage and assorted vegetables, with a lovely crisp texture overall.

The spicy green-onion kimchi, tossed in a red pepper powder seasoning, did a great job cutting through the richness when eaten with the meat. The kimchi was seasoned just enough and left my palate feeling refreshed alongside the galbi.

Ssam vegetables for wrapping the meat were ready too—an essential with galbi. It was fun combining the meat with the wraps and various banchan (Korean side dishes), rather than eating the meat alone. Chili peppers, garlic, wasabi, and ssamjang (savory soybean dipping paste) were all served neatly as well.

Overall, the banchan felt designed to taste even better alongside the meat.

The 600g LA marinated galbi set

Our order arrived! The LA marinated galbi set (₩70,000).

It comes with 600g of LA marinated galbi and brisket soup. Hantiok’s trademark is stamped onto the mushroom, which made it great for photos too! Up close, the meat looked so juicy that it made my mouth water just looking at it 😋

Finally, I put the LA galbi on the charcoal grill 🔥 The marinade had properly soaked into the meat, and a gentle sweet aroma rose as it cooked. The outside browned beautifully over the charcoal, while a subtle smoky aroma gave the flavor a real lift.

The well-cooked LA galbi was juicy and tender rather than tough, becoming more savory with every chew..

The lightly crisp edges were especially delicious. With charcoal aroma, sweet marinade, and tender rib meat all together, this was galbi that would be hard not to love 😊

This is the brisket soup included in the LA marinated galbi set. Its clear, mild broth contained mushrooms and green onion, tasting clean yet savory. After continuously eating meat, a spoonful completely cut through the richness!

The dessert bibim naengmyeon (spicy mixed cold noodles, ₩8,000) had sweet-and-tangy, spicy seasoning that really woke up my appetite, with just the right flavor and portion after the meat.

The noodles were pleasantly chewy, and the seasoning was evenly worked through them, making every bite delicious 😋

A piece of meat with the cold noodles was especially good, neatly balancing the meat’s rich flavor. The sauce was not aggressively hot—just nicely tangy!

A full meal ideal for family dining and company dinners

Overall, this was a satisfying place with a generous and delicious LA marinated galbi set. The LA galbi was well coated in a sweet-and-salty marinade, while the meat stayed soft and moist, so I kept reaching for more. Grilling it over charcoal added a subtle smoky aroma that made the marinated galbi even more flavorful 🔥

It was fun eating with the variety of side dishes, taking sips of warm brisket soup along the way to balance the richness, then ending with sweet-and-tangy bibim naengmyeon. It was filling yet clean and refreshing 😋

The private rooms are another plus! It looked like a good option for family gatherings, company dinners, or an important meal. It was also fun to look at the marked seats where celebrities had actually sat. With a kids’ playroom as well, I thought it would work nicely for family dining, meals with children, gatherings, or company dinners.

The LA marinated galbi was tender and deliciously seasoned, and from the accompaniments through dessert, it was an all-around satisfying meal!