All-you-can-eat Korean BBQ restaurants can be found not only in Seoul but in many parts of Korea. As the name suggests, you can enjoy unlimited servings of meat along with a variety of prepared side dishes and even desserts.
One Korean word that’s worth remembering is 무한리필.
You’ll see it not only at BBQ restaurants but also at other types of restaurants and food places.
If you know what it looks like in Korean, you’ll be able to spot places offering unlimited refills during your trip.
Today, we visited the ‘Gongneung Station branch’ of ‘고기싸롱 Gogi Salon‘,
a Korean all-you-can-eat BBQ chain.
How All-You-Can-Eat Restaurants Work in Korea
The all-you-can-eat BBQ restaurant I visited charges ₩20,900 per adult.
You pay when you’re finished eating and ready to leave. The price includes unlimited meat, side dishes, desserts, and drinks, so there are no extra charges for these.
You don’t need to make a reservation in advance. However, the restaurant can get quite busy,
and if there are no tables available when you arrive, you may have to wait for a while.
At many restaurants in Korea, you can simply choose any available seat you like.
One little tip: since you’ll be sitting right in front of a hot grill, it can get pretty warm while you eat. We chose a seat where the air conditioning worked well, so we could enjoy our meal in a cooler spot.
Once we had our seats, it was time to see what was waiting for us.
Let’s grab a plate, check out the food, and start eating!
The sauce in the large glass jar is an onion dipping sauce, while the red sauce next to the green onions is for the green onion salad.
There are plenty of options to choose from, including samgyeopsal (pork belly), pork neck, sirloin, marinated ribs, and spicy chicken.
But we usually stick with the samgyeopsal(삼겹살). It’s our favorite!
For us, Korean BBQ just isn’t complete without wrapping the meat in fresh lettuce and vegetables. So, we grab plenty of veggies to enjoy with our meat!
There were also other foods available, such as tteokbokki, soup, and various fried foods.
We took a little of each to try, but skipped the kimchi.
We usually check the country of origin before eating kimchi, and at many chain restaurants,
the kimchi is imported. So, we decided to pass on it this time.
Time to Try the Samgyeopsal
We grill the samgyeopsal until it’s nicely browned, then use scissors to cut it into bite-sized pieces and cook it a little longer.
The fernbrake cooking on the grill was something my dad brought back from the food bar.
It’s not something you need to have with samgyeopsal, but he likes it grilled with the meat.
A Little Tip: Eat Your Ssam in One Bite!
Start with a piece of lettuce, then add some meat, green onion salad, pickled radish, garlic, and whatever else you like.
But here’s the most important part: once you’ve wrapped your ssam, eat it in one bite!
Whether it’s big or small, the idea is to pop the whole thing into your mouth at once.
Since it’s all-you-can-eat, we head back for another plate of samgyeopsal and put it on the grill.Samgyeopsal is best when it’s grilled until the edges are nicely browned and crispy!
No matter how full you are, there’s always room for dessert!
We even made ourselves some waffles and enjoyed them with a cup of coffee before finishing our meal.
If you visit an all-you-can-eat restaurant in Korea, the basic idea is pretty much the same wherever you go: take as much food as you’d like, but only take what you can finish.
Then, sit back and enjoy your meal!
As for the taste, it’s probably best not to compare it with a restaurant that specializes in high-quality meat. The quality and flavor are different, but that’s not really the point. You’re paying a reasonable price to enjoy plenty of meat, side dishes, drinks, and even dessert in one meal.
So, if you’re looking for a casual and filling meal where you can eat a lot without spending too much, an all-you-can-eat restaurant in Korea is definitely worth trying.
If you’re traveling around Korea and come across a restaurant with “무한리필” written on the sign, now you’ll know what it means!
All-you-can-eat restaurants may not offer the same quality as a restaurant specializing in premium meat, but they’re a fun and affordable way to enjoy a filling Korean meal.
And if you love meat, there’s nothing quite like being able to go back for another plate whenever you want.
So if you see “무한리필” during your trip, why not give it a try?
Just remember to take only what you can finish and enjoy your meal!