Today, let’s have the Best Korean BBQ in Seoul. It’s not just regular Korean BBQ. You will see the final phase of Korean BBQ evolution.
The name of this restaurant is Nambu (남부). It opens at 11 in the morning but on weekdays, they only provide a special lunch set menu until 1:30, so Korean BBQ is only available after 1:30. But the break time starts at 3 pm, so if you want to have Korean BBQ on weekdays, it’s better to come here in the evening.
#1 Nambu Hanpan (남부한판)
The best thing in this restaurant is definitely pork shoulder (moksal, 목살) but we can’t miss pork belly (samgyeopsal, 삼겹살) when we have Korean BBQ, right? So, we decided to order this combo, Nambu Hanpan (남부한판).
It contains aged pork belly, pork shoulder and even gabrisal (가브리살), which is somewhere between Boston butt and pork loin. It’s 1.3 lb (600g) of meat, so 2 to 3 people can enjoy this.
Before the meat comes, we’ve got 7 different types of side dishes and 4 dipping sauces. Just like the Tetris blocks, everything fit on the table.
The main difference between here and other Korean BBQ restaurants is this grill. This place uses its own special grill. It has a unique pan for pan frying, a charcoal grill that can infuse the smoke flavor, and even a warmer for your cooked meat.
Some people prefer pan-frying their meat and some people prefer cooking over charcoal, but with this bad boy, everybody can be happy. How brilliant they are!
We were super impressed with their efforts to provide the best quality of Korean BBQ.
Normally, at Korean BBQ restaurants, you need to cook your meat by yourself. But here, the staffs will cook for you. These days, many restaurants provide this kind of grilling service but because of that, I guess it became more expensive. But I still prefer to have this grilling service because, you know, it’s always great to have someone cook for you, right?
Plus, if you’re not familiar with Korean BBQ very much, this grilling service will make your life a lot easier. Of course, there might be a taste difference depending on the server’s skill but I think it’s better than burning it.
Before you try the dipping sauces, I highly recommend trying it with salt first to fully enjoy the real taste of the meat. The outside was seared well, giving it almost a crispy texture but the inside was incredibly juicy and tender. Also, the smoky flavor was not too overpowering, it just had the right amount of smokiness.
And the mushrooms and vegetables cooked in pork fat were really amazing, too.
Since it’s a Korean BBQ, we couldn’t miss out on “ssam”, lettuce wraps. Normally, we put some meat, garlic, rice, kimchi, ssamjang on lettuce, wrap it up and eat it. But with this perilla leaf with some kimchi paste, you don’t need anything. All you need to do is just put some grilled meat and eat it all at once. It was so quick and easy and delicious!
Personally, my favorite way to enjoy this grilled pork was eating it with this white kimchi. With this bad boy, I could have a juiciness, smokiness, fattiness from the meat, and sourness from kimchi at the very end. All the components were coming together and made a magical bite.
- Want to have Korean BBQ feast at home? Click here!
#2 Kimchi Stew Sulbap (김치 술밥)
Koreans normally finish their BBQ with some savory carbs such as stew or cold noodles, so to finish our meal, we ordered Sulbap (술밥).
It looks like a regular kimchi stew but it has some rice in it. The starch from the rice made the broth much richer and deeper. And the tanginess from the kimchi cut all the greasy feeling, so it really made me want to order more meat.
They also have a soybean paste stew with rice (된장 술밥) but when you have Korean BBQ pork, trust me, the one with kimchi will be a better choice.
- Want to have Kimchi Jjigae (Kimchi stew) at home? Click here!
- Want to have Doenjang Jjigae (Soybean Paste Stew) at home? Click here!
Overall, we were very happy with the food and the service. If you want to have some great BBQ time with your family or friends, this restaurant is highly recommended.
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PRICE
- Nambu Hanpan (남부한판, 600g): USD 48.50
- Kimchi Sulbap (김치 술밥): USD 6.30
OPENING HOURS
- Mon-Fri: 11:00-22:00, Sat-Sun: 12:00-22:00
- Break Time: 15:00-16:30 (weekdays only)
NAMBU (남부)
- 서울특별시 서초구 효령로52길 5, 1층
- 1F, 5 Hyoryeong-ro, 52-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea (Nambu Bus Terminal Station Exit 5)
