Gyodae Korean BBQ with cauldron-lid grilled pork belly: Sodangkkae

A rainy-evening Korean BBQ dinner near Gyodae Station

Something about the rain today just made me crave samgyeopsal (grilled pork belly)!! Searching for somewhere to go after work, I found Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip Gyodae Main Branch near Gyodae Station. It's not just about the meat — the variety of side dishes looked amazing too. Let me introduce Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip near Gyodae Station~~!!

Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip Gyodae Main Branch: location and hours

Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip Gyodae Main Branch is on the 2nd floor at 84-3 Seocho-daero 50-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul. It's open Monday–Friday 11am–11pm, and Saturday–Sunday 12pm–11pm.

Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip is close to the station, just 300m from Gyodae Station Exit 14. The interior overall is clean and tidy — exactly what you'd want. I actually prefer Gyodae over the crowded Gangnam BBQ spots for a quiet, cozy date. Gyodae is near the courthouse, so there's plenty of infrastructure and lots of cafés too — it feels like a great area to grab BBQ and go on a date :)

What does the name 'Sodangkkae' mean?

Turns out 'Sodangkkae' is a dialect word for solttukkeong (cauldron lid). It's no exaggeration to call this a premium BBQ spot near Gyodae Station — Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip is a certified must-try, grilling meat together with various ingredients on a cauldron-lid plate!

With all the recent controversy over Chinese-made kimchi, I really appreciate that Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip uses domestic Korean ingredients — it makes for safer, tastier food. We ordered the Sodangkkae Assorted Set (2 people)!

What comes in the 81,500 won Sodangkkae Assorted Set for two

The Sodangkkae Assorted Set (₩81,500) comes with the most popular cuts of pork — pork belly, pork neck, and pork jowl — plus yukhoe and stew.

What impressed me most at Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip was grilling all the side dishes together on the cauldron-lid plate! Kimchi, seasoned bean sprouts, minari, enoki mushrooms, and bracken fern all came out together, which was great — and then the staff even did the grilling for us... The pork is also domestic Korean pork, and with pork fat becoming such a hot 'superfood' topic lately, grilling all these vegetables in the fat rendered from fresh domestic Duroc pork was absolutely delicious~

Staff grilling service and a smoke-free table

Watching the staff carefully grill each piece of meat and side dish on the cauldron lid, one by one — we were supposed to be chatting on our date, but instead we both just zoned out watching the meat cook... With the sizzle of the grill and the staff doing all the grilling, all we had to do was eat comfortably, which was so nice~

The powerful exhaust hood sits right above the grilling area, sucking up the smoke immediately, so the meat cooked beautifully without filling the restaurant with smoke — that was a nice touch.

Can you see the quality of that pork neck?? Even while grilling, they kept the juices locked in and got a nice Maillard sear on the outside — the color and texture of the meat were fantastic.

Why we picked the crab doenjang stew

For the included stew, we went with crab miso stew (kkotgetdoenjang-jjigae)! Spicy with that distinctive refreshing seafood flavor — this alone would go great with a shot of soju.

Five-layer pork belly with cauldron-lid vegetables

The pork belly especially was so good. The satisfying crunch, the chewiness of the belly skin, the savory richness of the fat, and how tender the lean meat was~ Paired with enoki mushrooms, kimchi, and bracken fern, it never got boring — every piece disappeared way too fast, it was that good. If you're near Gyodae Station, definitely stop by Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip~!

The vegetables are also made with domestic Korean ingredients, and grilled in that good pork fat — even eaten on their own, they were delicious.

The last course: yukhoe (raw beef tartare)

After all that meat, the finale arrives — yukhoe (raw beef tartare)! Served with finely julienned pear in a soy-based sauce, and once mixed together, there was quite a generous portion. Dipping into the provided egg yolk and mixing it in, then having a bite with the pear, it tasted even better than what you'd get at a dedicated yukhoe restaurant :)

The sesame seeds you bite into here and there, along with the minced garlic, really brought out the aroma of the yukhoe. The beef was fresh and clearly good quality, with a savory, slightly sweet flavor that was really wonderful.

Is Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip good for a date or team dinner?

If crowded Gangnam dates feel like a bit much, or you're looking for a work dinner spot near Gyodae Station, I highly recommend Sodangkkae O-gyeopjip, a standout Korean BBQ restaurant near Gyodae Station.