Solo dining Iberico pork neck rested and grilled: Dwaeji Mansion

I'd asked a friend who lives in Pangyo where to get good meat, and this was the recommendation — I'd saved it on Naver Map ages ago. I'd already made a reservation, but on the day my best friend suddenly had to work overtime. I went back and forth on whether to go alone, but ended up going solo, and it was better than expected, so I'm writing this up glad I went even by myself.

Location and hours of Dwaeji Mansion Pangyo Avenue France Branch

• 25 Dongpangyo-ro 177beon-gil, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, 1st floor, Avenue France
• 5 minutes from Pangyo Station Exit 1
• Daily 11:30–22:00
• Break time 14:30–16:30
• Last order 21:30
• Closed Sept 25 for Chuseok holiday
• 3 hours free parking in the building's basement lot, Hanshin Church parking if full
• Takeout and reservations available

Getting there, exterior

Come out of Exit 1 and Avenue France is right at the Pangyo Station intersection. It's on the ground floor along the main road, next to Olive Young and Kkweda, so it's easy to find.

Full even past 8pm — how was the solo seat?

It was already past 8pm, so I figured there'd be plenty of open tables, but everywhere except my reserved seat was full. Lots of company dinner tables, lots of people out for dinner — the whole place was buzzing.

I hesitated for a moment, worried that eating alone amid all the lively group dinners would feel awkward, but the staff kindly noticed one group had just cleared out and moved me to a more comfortable spot.

The restaurant has a clean black-toned look! It's a fairly large space, but it's popular enough that empty seats are hard to find, so make sure you reserve before you go.

They have high chairs and staff grill the meat for you, so it seems like a great spot for family dinners with kids on weekends.

Menu and prices

I was torn between Korean pork and Iberico, so I asked the staff about the difference.

For the pork neck cut, if you like a softer texture, go with Korean pork; if you like more chew, go with acorn-fed Iberico. They said they go through a resting process so the thick Iberico neck stays juicy rather than drying out, and I was curious about that process, so I chose Iberico.

If I'd come with my best friend, I would've ordered the herring roe bibimbap I was curious about after reading reviews — a bit of a shame I missed it.

What I ordered

• Iberico pork neck (150g) ₩23,000 x2
• Steamed rice

Table setting and wood ear mushroom banchan

The table setting was neat and every dish had its own charm. I'll tell you which combination to eat once the meat is grilled.

I don't usually go out of my way for wood ear mushroom, so I hadn't touched it, but I noticed another table getting a refill. Wait, is it good enough to refill? Curious, I tried it — totally delicious!! It's not a flavor you'd expect, so definitely give it a try.

The thick Iberico came with green onion, garlic, king oyster mushroom, and minari (water dropwort) alongside.

How they grill the Iberico pork neck (high-heat sear + 3-minute rest)

At first I thought, oh it's the usual thing where staff grill for you — but no, no! The staff member grilled it themselves, and it wasn't just occasional check-ins, it was practically 1:1 hands-on care.

First they seared the outside golden brown over high heat, then moved the meat onto oil paper.

That famous steak-house look, you know it — you could tell just by looking that the juices were locked in.

They wrapped the pork neck in the oil paper and let it rest for about 3 minutes.

Then it went back on the grill to finish cooking, and they were really meticulous about it.

With this level of care, it couldn't possibly be anything but delicious.

I was honestly moved by all this effort just to make the meat shine. The mushrooms, green onion, and garlic were also grilled golden in the fat.

Top sauce pick: grilled minari + special sauce

And the sauce combinations here are genuinely delicious.

Eating my way around the combos as instructed, before I knew it, everything was gone.

My top pick was grilled minari plus a special fish-sauce-like condiment. I put the grilled minari on top of the meat and dipped it into a sauce that tasted like something I'd had in Southeast Asia — wait, what is this combo? The minari's aroma with the meat's richness plus the spicy, salty sauce hit exactly my taste.

After a few bites I thought, "This needs rice," and ended up ordering an extra bowl. This is a total rice thief.

Final thoughts

Having the staff grill everything made it easy, and trying different bite after bite with various sauces and pairings was so much fun that I could stay focused on the food even surrounded by group tables. I need to come back to Dwaeji Mansion, this Pangyo Avenue France favorite, with my best friend. Eating something this good makes me think of her!