Jongno 3-ga Korean BBQ picnic-basket utensils and Tapgol Set for 3

This time we went to a well-known BBQ restaurant near Tapgol Park in Jongno — 'Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch.' (cheers)

Where is Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch, and what are its hours?

• 📍Name: Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch
• 📍Address: 111 Supyo-ro, 1F, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea (166m from Exit 5 of Jongno 3-ga Station, across from the east gate of Tapgol Park)
• 📍Hours: Daily, 5pm – 1am
• 📍Signature menu: Tapgol Set, Naju 1st-grade flash-frozen duck loin, 1st-grade female pork flash-frozen pork belly

How long is the wait at 7pm on a weekend?

Walking from Jongno 3-ga Station toward Tapgol Park, you spot this big Tapgol place! We went around 7pm on a weekend, and it was already packed with a full waitlist... (shocking, I know). We put our name down and there were about 4 teams ahead of us, so we waited around 30 minutes.

All-outdoor tables at Tapgol Gongwon, with tents when it rains

This outdoor seating area right beside Tapgol Park lets you eat outside straight away, and since the whole concept centers on the outdoor tables, there doesn't seem to be any indoor dining space! On rainy days they put up tents so you can eat outside with a bit of romance — imagine grilling pork belly with good people while watching Tapgol Park in the rain... so romantic, right?

By evening the place was really buzzing, with plenty of staff on hand — whenever we called for something, they came right over, super friendly. There are several other outdoor BBQ spots right next to Tapgol Park too, so the whole street had a lively vibe, kind of the perfect summer-night Korean romance (very satisfied, honestly). After about 30 minutes our turn came and we got seated!

What three people ordered, plus the self-serve side dish bar

The menu is built right into the table! We ordered the signature Tapgol Set, steamed egg, and kimchi fried rice (*steamed egg is ordered separately!). For side dishes, there's a self-refill area inside the building where you can scoop as much as you want, and for water, once you finish, you can grab a fresh bottle from the fridge yourself!

Utensils, soju and beer glasses from the picnic basket

Between the outdoor tables there's a picnic basket like this — inside you can freely grab utensils and soju/beer glasses!

Not long after ordering, the basic side dishes arrived! As you can see, the spread is quite solid, and eating it, I really got the sense the fundamentals here are well done — each side dish was tasty too! I especially loved the kimchi, the salted seafood, and the green onion kimchi! Even if you finish everything, you can freely grab more from the self-service bar.

Is the 55,000-won Tapgol Set enough for three?

And then... the good-looking meat arrived... can you see it... The Tapgol Set (₩55,000) was plenty for three people! One platter made up of Naju 1st-grade flash-frozen duck loin, 1st-grade female pork flash-frozen pork belly, and 1st-grade flash-frozen pork collar! I'd personally almost never eaten flash-frozen pork belly before, so I was curious how it would be.

Eating it for real, the meat cooked really fast so you could eat right away, and the flavor was just as rich as regular pork belly, with a generous portion that filled us up, hehe... Especially when you grill the side dishes — garlic, green onion kimchi, kimchi, bean sprouts — at the edge of the grill and eat them together... it's really delicious... long live Korean food. Oh, and don't forget to keep a paper cup at the edge of the grill~~!

A nice-vibe MZ-generation shot my sister took ^__^

Grilling each piece and wrapping it with wasabi and lettuce was really tasty! Maybe it was the outdoor BBQ atmosphere, or the summer-to-autumn evening setting, but the whole vibe was just great... looking around, plenty of couples were enjoying a cozy time together, and it also seemed like a great spot for friends or a work dinner! My sister kept reaching for more soju since the atmosphere and food were both so good, haha.

Steamed egg, ordered separately

And then came out... the steamed egg! Not a particularly unique flavor, more of a homemade-style steamed egg~~~ Since it's a familiar taste I've eaten since childhood, I actually kept reaching for it more. Wrapping meat, grilled kimchi, and steamed egg together is also incredibly delicious... yum yum good stuff.

Kimchi fried rice at 6,000 won, finished on the grill

So as we happily chatted through the meal... right when we started getting hungry again, we added an order of kimchi fried rice (₩6,000)! 🤤 It comes already stir-fried, served on foil, so you don't need to cook it on the grill — super convenient to eat right away. I grilled mine once more on the pan with the leftover meat fat, and it was amazing?????

So the three of us finished dinner very satisfied, enjoying the side dishes and rice thoroughly :)!! Even my boyfriend, who'd already had pork belly for lunch, said eating it again was still delicious. Hehe 😻😻

We finished our meal after about an hour and a half, and by evening the atmosphere got even better! The traditional Korean-style interior looked really cool, and the view blending with Tapgol Park right in front was wonderful — if you care about vibe as much as taste, I highly recommend visiting (two thumbs up) 👍🏼👍🏼

One-line verdict on Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga

The meat quality was great and the staff were kind! With the interior plus the view of the stone wall across from Tapgol Park, this place is packed with atmosphere. For 2-3 people, one Tapgol Set with kimchi fried rice or doenjang stew will fill you up. A place I'd love to visit again on a rainy autumn day.