Geumdwaeji Sikdang Seoul Michelin Pork BBQ : Honest Waiting Review
During the long Chuseok holidays, I decided to finally try Geumdwaeji Sikdang, that super famous pork bbq place you always see on TV and social media. I used to live in Seoul, but coming back like this really felt like a little Seoul trip. My “let’s catch Seoul when it’s empty” plan totally failed though, just saying.
📍 Location
Geumdwaeji Sikdang – Jung-gu, Dasan-ro 149 (near Sindang area in central Seoul)
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🚶 Getting There & Waiting System
We planned it kind of smart… or at least we thought so.
- Restaurant opens: 11:30
- Our KTX arrival at Seoul Station: 10:49
- Arrival at Geumdwaeji: exactly 11:30
- Waiting number on Catch Table: 47
Not 4, not 7, literally 47. At opening time. That’s not a “stand in front of the shop and wait” number, that’s a “go somewhere else and kill time” number.
While I camped at the nearby Starbucks (about 200m away, 3 minutes on foot), my husband went off to do some quick shopping. I could tell there were quite a few other people in Starbucks also waiting for their turn at Geumdwaeji.
In the end:
- Waiting started: 11:30
- We were seated: 13:30
- Total wait: 2 hours
So yeah… my “empty Seoul” dream was very much fantasy.
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Interior & Atmosphere
I didn’t even know they had a second floor. We were guided upstairs to counter-style seats wrapped around the open kitchen. The place was completely full so I couldn’t really take many wide shots, but the vibe is very “efficient busy” rather than cozy.
Staff move super fast, each person taking care of 2–3 tables, grilling meat for everyone. Service was friendly and they explained the cuts really well.
There are celebrity autographs everywhere – EXO, BTS, and even BLACKPINK. I honestly recognized only the big names, the rest I had no idea who they were. Also I kept wondering… how do celebrities wait here when the line is this long? Do managers line up for them? Do they get special time slots? Am I the only one curious about this?
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Menu We Ordered
- Original Samgyeopsal (pork belly) 150g – 19,000
- Snowflake Pork Neck 150g – 19,000
- Basil Wraps – 5,000
- Whole Pork Kimchi Stew (small) – 8,000
- Later we added more pork belly (we ended up ordering 2 portions twice… no wonder we almost exploded)
This is pretty much the basic combo everyone orders here: pork belly + neck, then stew later.
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Food Review
Basic Setup
They use Maldon-style “royal” salt and give each person a plate of scallion salad, but it’s not the usual spicy one. It’s green onion sliced into a diluted soy sauce. It kind of reminded me of Hokkaido jingisukan style, but much lighter. Honestly the portion per person felt a bit too big for me.
Pork Belly & Pork Neck
The first platter came out with thick-cut samgyeopsal, pork neck, basil, mushrooms, garlic and green onion. When I saw the pork belly, my first thought was “that fat layer is way too thick…”
Then I noticed the packaging label on the meat: it said February, but I visited in October. I freaked out for a second and literally asked ChatGPT about it later. The answer was it’s probably the slaughter date and the meat has been aged. They even have their own farm, so I just decided to think “ok, this is aged pork, maybe that’s why it tastes good.”
All the grilling is done by staff. They use a special “clean charcoal” so the usual heavy bbq smoke smell was much less than a normal Korean bbq place, which I really liked.
They cooked the pork belly until the outside was quite firm and crispy. I love crunchy texture, so this was perfect for me. Even though the fat looked scary at first, it didn’t feel mushy or greasy in the mouth at all. No weird soft-fat texture, just rich and chewy in a good way.
The pork neck was good too, but the belly definitely won. Because of the fat, it was softer and had more flavor. We liked it so much we ended up ordering another round of belly.
Basil Wraps
The basil wraps can be eaten raw with the meat or lightly blanched like shabu-shabu. The basil aroma is pretty strong. I think trying one or two pieces is fun, but paying 5,000 for a whole plate… for us, not really necessary. Especially since they already give you regular lettuce wraps for free.
If you are a huge basil fan, go for it. If not, I’d skip and just stick with the basic greens.
Kimchi Stew
We weren’t planning to order stew at all. But then we noticed literally every single table had a pot of kimchi jjigae. Couldn’t lose, right? So we ordered the small whole pork kimchi stew.
For me, this was the best thing we had at Geumdwaeji. The pork inside the stew was insanely tender, one of the softest I’ve ever had in any kimchi jjigae. It just melted in the mouth. If you come here, I really recommend adding the stew, especially if you like rice with soup at the end of a bbq meal.
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Final Thoughts
Was it good? Yes, definitely. The meat quality is high, grilling is perfectly handled by staff, and the kimchi stew was honestly memorable. The smoke-free charcoal and clean interior are a big plus too.
But would I wait 2 hours again? For me, probably not. I’m glad I finally tried this famous Michelin-listed, celebrity-loved pork bbq spot, but I’m okay calling it a “one-time experience” for myself.
If you’re visiting Seoul and want to try a hyped local pork bbq place at least once, Geumdwaeji Sikdang is a fun stop. Just be mentally ready for that waiting number to be something like… 47.