Delicious Korean Barbecue in Seoul, South Korea
Seoul is a really big city.
And there are so many restaurants serving outstanding South Korean food that it can be difficult to choose which one to eat at – kind of the psychology of having too many choices to the point where it’s hard to make a decision until you just go for it.
While I was browsing through sites and searching for a good place to eat Korean barbecue, I stumbled into the New Village (새마을식당) recommendation by Seoul Eats. I located one of their branches in the Hongdae area of Seoul and went in for lunch.
I was glad I did!
The food was spectacular and the prices were decent for Seoul.
Menu at New Village Restaurant in Seoul
The menu is quite simple, just a few choices of meat and a number of side dishes. When you travel to Seoul, it can be challenging to order, but luckily their menu is written in both Korean and English making it pretty straightforward.
Grilling the meat
It’s important to note that at Korean barbecue restaurants you have to order 2 portions of the same kind of meat – not sure why, but I had to at every barbecue restaurant I visited in Seoul. In other words, one plate of pork is 8,000 Won, and you have to order 2 plates (or more or the same kind of meat).
I went with 2 plates of their signature and most popular pork bulgogi (Daeji Bulgogi 불고기), thin strips of pork splashed in a thick red barbecue sauce.
Price: 8,000 Won per plate
Getting hungrier by the second….
The meat sizzled up in front of my nose as my mouth watered with anticipation.
Though they are both awesome meat grilling meals, eating Korean barbecue is quite a different experience from eating Kenyan nyama choma; Both are delicious!
Finally ready for a heavenly bite
After just a few moments that seemed like an eternity, I was fashioning my Korean tacos beginning with lettuce, onions, garlic, peppers, chili paste and the delicious meat on top.
Kimchi Jjigae 김치찌개
Along with the Korean barbecued pork at New Village Restaurant, they also make a killer kimchi jiggae (Kimchi Jjigae 김치찌개), one of my favorite South Korean dishes when I was in Seoul.
Though it’s most often served in a scorching earthenware dish, this was just served in a pot, but boasted intensely delicious flavor.
Price: 4,000 Won
Bibim Naengmyeon (비빔 냉면)
Another dish I was happy to sample at New Village was the noodles in cold kimchi mixed soup known as Bibim Naengmyeon (비빔 냉면).
The soup was like a popsicle of kimchi. The contrast of the icy cold soup and the chewy noodles made this dish very enjoyable!
Price: 3,000 Won
New Village Korean Barbecue Restaurant in Seoul
New Village Restaurant in Seoul is set up as a nice new facility with state of the art barbecue stations and vents that suck up all the smoke.
New Village Restaurant in Seoul (새마을식당)
How to Get to New Village (새마을식당)
Though there are a number of locations throughout Seoul, here’s the one in Hongdae that I ate at:
- Take the subway to Hongik University (on the green line).
- Exit #8.
- Walk straight down the road and make your second left.
- Walk for a minute and the restaurant will be on your right hand side.
Here’s the map:
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Disclosure: This post was brought to you by Flight Center
This reminds me of home! No, I’m not Korean and didn’t grow up in Korea, but the neighborhood I grew up in had a huge Korean population. One of the shopping centers I’d ride my bike to only had Korean shops and restaurants and the closest grocery was a Korean one. There were a dozen good korean bbq restaurants within walking/biking distance of my childhood home and my family frequented them.
John of Travel Rinse Repeat recently posted..Larger Than Life in Kansas City, Missouri
Cool to hear that John, I’m sure you know a great Korean barbecue then! I think one of the best things about the US is that there’s people from all over the entire world – and authentic food too!
That BBQ looks AMAZING! Yes, it’s weird they you have to order two plates of the same meat, but it looks so good I can’t really imagine complaining about too much meat!
Steph (@ 20 Years Hence) recently posted..Sometimes “quit” is a four-letter word
That’s what I thought too Steph, if they force me to order 2 plates I won’t complain!!
mark: *ROAR* ME WANTS MEAT!!!!
sully86 recently posted..Death of Donna Summer
Haha, thanks Sully!
Reading this at a McDonald’s. No words to describe the envy.
Ryan at Travel and Graphs recently posted..Photo Friday: Robot on an Elliptical
Haha, thanks Ryan!
I’ll have to make sure to get a meal here when we are in Seoul!
Vicky recently posted..Four Months To Go!
Yes, I’d really recommend it and I’m sure if you enjoy barbecue you’ll love this place!