Dongdaemun Korean BBQ for families: Anhung Galbi

This time, I visited Anhung Galbi, located in Jangan-dong, Dongdaemun-gu.

An old-school charcoal rib restaurant I visited three times in Jangan-dong

This is one of my favorite restaurants lately—a meat restaurant in Jangan-dong that I visited three times in one month. There are lots of neat, stylish barbecue places these days, but grilling meat yourself over charcoal at an old-school rib restaurant is delicious in its own special way, haha.

Especially when going to a meat restaurant with a child, I find myself checking whether the marinade is too sweet or salty. At Anhung Galbi, the rib marinade was mild rather than overpowering, so it was good to eat with a child. Highly recommend it as a place to eat out with kids.

• Address: 153 Janghan-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, South Korea (서울 동대문구 장한로 153)
• Hours: Daily 11:30–22:30
• Last order: 21:50
• Parking for one car is available in front of the restaurant

You can find it while heading from Jangan Intersection toward Jangan Samgeori. It is a rib restaurant that has held its place in Jangan-dong for a long time. Rather than having the shiny feel of a newly opened barbecue place, it has the distinctive atmosphere of a beloved old restaurant that has been operating in one spot for years.

Spacious tables that felt comfortable with a child

It had a comfortable, homey meat-restaurant atmosphere! Rather than flashy decor, the smell of grilling meat and the charcoal-fired mood hit you first! I visited with my child, and the tables were wide, making it really nice for family meals! On weekends, practically every table had children at it... such a nice place for a family meal!

And what I personally loved was that you grill the meat directly over charcoal. Plenty of meat restaurants use a grill plate these days, but ribs really taste best over charcoal, right?

You absolutely have to order the pork ribs.

Pork ribs grilled directly over real charcoal

The meat arrived and the charcoal was brought over—this is the real joy of a meat restaurant, haha.

As soon as I put the ribs over the charcoal, even the sizzling sound of them cooking was delicious, you know? Anhung Galbi is introduced as a place that grills meat directly over real charcoal using a copper grill grate. As the ribs cooked, they took on a subtle charcoal aroma, and it definitely tasted different from pan-frying them at home. I guess people do not say ribs should be grilled over charcoal for nothing!

A marinade that is not too sweet or salty, great with a child

And from the perspective of visiting with a child, this was what I liked best! The rib marinade was not overpowering. When you think of pork ribs, it is easy to picture a sweet and salty marinade, but Anhung Galbi's was not too sweet or salty, so it did not feel heavy.

When eating meat with a child, places with overly strong marinades can be a bit worrying, but here we could eat it relatively lightly, which I loved. You could taste the meat itself along with the charcoal aroma, so it was good for adults and children alike. That is why I wanted to recommend it to anyone looking for a good meat restaurant in Jangan-dong to visit with a child.

Refillable bossam cabbage and bossam filling

The side dishes were so good I could polish off a whole bowl of rice... seriously delicious. Especially the bossam cabbage and bossam filling! This is why I came back to Anhung Galbi.

Putting the bossam filling on the cabbage and eating it with the meat worked so well with the ribs' gentle sweetness, and the texture was great too. In the end, it was so good that we got refills of both the bossam cabbage and filling. The person who went for meat and diligently got side-dish refills too... that is me 🙋🏻♀️ haha. When the basic side dishes are this tasty, meal satisfaction goes way, way up!!!!!

A separate burner that keeps doenjang jjigae hot to the end

Another thing that makes Anhung Galbi special is that it has two burners. Separate from the burner for grilling meat, there is one where you can keep doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) simmering, so the stew stayed piping hot until we were almost done eating.

How delicious is it to have a spoonful of doenjang jjigae and then a spoonful of rice while eating meat, haha. Especially when dining with a child, you are busy looking after them, so it is disappointing when food gets cold too quickly—but I loved being able to keep eating it hot. The meat-and-doenjang-jjigae combination never fails.

Even complimentary dessert naengmyeon

Dessert naengmyeon (cold noodles) was complimentary. After pork ribs, you crave naengmyeon so much, right? Even when you are completely full, one bite of cool naengmyeon somehow works the strange magic of making you order another serving of pork ribs, haha.

Anhung Galbi, which I visited with my child, was not a flashy, trendy meat restaurant; it had the charm of an old-school rib restaurant that has stayed in one place for a long time. I also liked that, for eating with a child, the marinade was not overly sweet, salty, or intense.

Above all, the side dishes were honestly much better than expected!!!!! With the stew and seasoned raw crab, it could practically run as a Korean set-meal restaurant, and finishing with the complimentary dessert naengmyeon properly rounded out the meal. If you are looking for charcoal-grilled ribs in Jangan-dong, this is a meat restaurant worth keeping in mind. I can see why Anhung Galbi has been loved by so many people for such a long time :)

There is an indoor restroom and complimentary ice cream. Such great taste... Anhung Galbi... I will be back again..