Jongno 3-ga Korean BBQ with table lamps and a 90-minute limit: Tapgol

The weather's really cooled down lately! It finally feels like fall is here. Weather like this calls for outdoor BBQ, right? My friend and I hung out in Jongno after a while apart, and while figuring out what to eat, we ended up going to Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch, a place I'd spotted while walking by last time!

Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga hours and how to find it

Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch is open daily from 5pm to 1am. It's located right across from Tapgol Park's east gate, so it's really easy to find.

Thanks to this gate and the stone wall, the view has so much more atmosphere. Ikseon-dong and Seosullae-gil are close by too, so it's great for a stroll after eating, and there are plenty of cafés nearby for a coffee after. I'm not usually one for walking around, but with the weather this nice lately, I've been going for light walks after meals a lot!

What's on the menu at Tapgol Gongwon: frozen pork belly and the Tapgol Set

The menu at Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch

For meat, there's frozen pork belly / frozen pork neck / frozen duck loin, beef chuck flap / beef short rib / brisket. For sides, there's brisket doenjang stew (soybean paste stew) / pork kimchi stew / kimchi fried rice / steamed egg!

And this Jongno 3-ga Station frozen pork belly spot has something called the Tapgol Set, a good option for two or three people to share, made up of one serving each of 3 types of frozen meat all together. It was Sunday, and there were seriously so many people. On weekends and holidays there's a 90-minute dining time limit, so keep that in mind! And as it says, side dishes are self-serve.

Sunday 7pm at Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga: was there a wait?

We arrived at this Jongno 3-ga outdoor BBQ spot around 7, and a single table happened to just be getting cleared, so we sat down without any wait at all! Great timing. Once the sun went down it got cooler, and there was zero heat to deal with, which was really nice. Truly the season for outdoor BBQ. There were a lot of couples at the tables, plus families and groups of friends.

Each table has one of these lamps installed, and it really sets the mood. Just this one thing completely changes the vibe.

First, the side dishes arrived in this wide basket-like tray! I heard the atmosphere is different between day and night, so I should go during the day next time too. And this place unusually only has outdoor seating! I wondered what happens if it rains, but from the review photos it looks like they put up some kind of awning on rainy days. Good, good!

The wall of the shop opposite the park gate is decorated like this. The place has such a distinct atmosphere that you can't help but look even if you're just passing by without thinking. My friend praised the vibe the moment we arrived! In reviews of this Jongno 3-ga Station frozen pork belly spot, people often say they got swept up in the atmosphere, and that's exactly right.

It's a little bit of a shame that the meat is frozen, in a way, but still, being able to enjoy a proper outdoor BBQ vibe in this weather and this atmosphere is a huge plus!

Grilling the frozen pork belly yourself, with utensils from a basket

Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch is a grill-it-yourself kind of place. I grilled the meat myself! Well, my friend grilled it from start to finish so I could eat comfortably. Love you for that.

Between the tables at this Jongno 3-ga outdoor BBQ spot, there are baskets like this. Inside are utensils, wet wipes, beer cups, and the like, so just grab what you need!

Fall's gotten so much shorter than it used to be, so I feel like now is exactly the time to go. I'm the type who believes you should soak up an atmosphere like this while you can. After I posted on Instagram, quite a few friends said they wanted to come along too. It's definitely the kind of vibe anyone would love. And the staff were all kind! There are a decent number of seats, so unless the waitlist is absolutely insane, I don't think you'd have to wait too badly.

Brisket doenjang stew alongside the frozen pork belly

Stew is a must when eating meat, so we ordered a brisket doenjang stew too! I was torn between kimchi stew and this one, but I think I made the right call. Across from us, I also spotted the guy known on Instagram for spinning the sandwich board!! Suddenly everyone was going

wow

and filming on their phones, and when I looked over, sure enough — it was the sandwich-board-spinning guy, haha

Ate it plain off the grill, with bracken fern, dipped in ssamjang (dipping sauce), and with kimchi grilled and piled on top!

My friend said there's no way you can not drink in an atmosphere like this, so we ordered a beer!

When eating meat, you really have to grill the kimchi in the meat fat on the pan too — that's the real flavor. It was cooked just right, easy to eat together. Chatting with my friend while people-watching and soaking up the atmosphere, time flew by.

How Tapgol Gongwon differs from other outdoor BBQ spots in Jongno 3-ga

Jongno 3-ga is such a neighborhood full of outdoor BBQ spots, but most of them have that simple pojangmacha (street tent bar) feel, packed tightly together and loud and crowded, right? Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch is perfect if you want that outdoor BBQ feeling but with some atmosphere, without it being too loud — just the right amount of noise. This Jongno 3-ga Station frozen pork belly spot only opened recently, so all the more reason to go now!

I think the zucchini in the doenjang stew was the tastiest part! I thought about ordering kimchi fried rice too, but my friend said she was full from drinking beer, so we kept it light this time — next time I'll go with more people and eat more heartily!

After eating our fill of meat, stew, and beer, we walked a loop to help digest and look around, then wrapped up the day chatting at a café and taking photo booth pictures! It was a pretty fun day overall

The restroom is at the far end of the outdoor seating! Only one person can go in at a time.