Tteutgogi, Yongsan: pork ribs in an old house
A friend who works in Yongsan suggested Tteutgogi for one of our regular dinners. We take turns finding somewhere to eat and drink in different parts of Seoul, and this time a few of us already had reasons to be in the neighborhood.
I often end up around Yongridan-gil when I come here. Lately, though, I have been curious about the smaller streets south of Yongsan Station, where restaurants are opening among older houses and narrow alleys. Tteutgogi occupies one of those houses. Walking up to it, I was looking at the neighborhood almost as much as I was thinking about dinner.
Then we saw the queue.
Before you go
| Item | Notes |
|---|---|
| Queue | We did not book; we joined the queue through the Tabling app. Four of us waited about 90 minutes from 6pm on a weekday |
| Prices we saw | Two-person set ₩62,000, three-to-four-person set ₩99,000. Pork jowl skin ₩22,000, steamed egg ₩5,000 |
| Getting there | About 10 minutes on foot from Yongsan or Sinyongsan station. No parking at the restaurant; the I’Park Mall garage by the station is the practical option |
| Korean name | 뜯고기 신용산본점 |
Allow time for dinner
Our group of four arrived around 6pm on a weekday and waited about 90 minutes. A larger table seemed harder to come by, and the owner called to explain that another group of four was ahead of us. I appreciated that. Knowing roughly what was happening made it easier to step away rather than stand outside wondering.
Next time I would aim for an earlier dinner and keep the rest of the evening open.
An old house, set up for a busy evening
The large picture of the ribs outside helped us recognize the restaurant. Around it were the brick houses and tight lanes that had caught my attention on the way in. Through the entrance, we could see the meat being grilled before it came to the tables.
Inside were round metal grill tables, each with an exhaust duct overhead. Glass panels gave the old building a more open feel. I liked how the restaurant fitted a busy dinner service into the house without making elaborate decoration the main event.
It was still very much a barbecue restaurant. The ventilation kept the smoke from bothering my eyes, but some of the smell stayed on my clothes. That is worth keeping in mind if you have plans after dinner.
While we waited, I had noticed a fan set out for customers and a menu displayed outside. Small things, but on a warm evening with a long queue, they mattered. The phone call from the owner was another detail I remembered afterwards.
Picking up the ribs
The most memorable part of the meal was the shape of the meat. Part of the bone was left bare, making a handle you could hold while eating the pork attached to the other end.
We were given cotton gloves and disposable gloves to wear over them. Once the meat was ready, we picked it up by the bone and ate it that way. I had not eaten pork barbecue quite like this before. The name Tteutgogi began to make sense as soon as we started pulling the meat away with our teeth.
The pork arrived partly grilled, so it needed less time at the table than raw meat would. The outside had a little crispness while the inside stayed juicy. Having most of the grilling done beforehand also meant we could spend more of the evening talking.
I enjoy noticing how a restaurant has thought through the way people eat. Here, the exposed bone, the gloves and the pre-grilling all worked together. They were practical details, and they made the meal fun.
What we ordered
There were four of us, and we ordered a set with additional salt-seasoned and soy-marinated pork, then added hangjeong-kkeopdegi and steamed egg alongside our drinks.
If you are looking at the Korean menu, these are a few names from our meal:
- 뜯고기 세트, Tteutgogi set: the set menu we started with. The two-person set was ₩62,000 when we went.
- 항정껍데기, hangjeong-kkeopdegi: a pork jowl and skin dish with a chewy texture. Ours came in a connected piece, which was different from what I had expected.
- 계란찜, gyeran-jjim: steamed egg. Its soft texture was a welcome change between bites of pork.
The individual sauces and sides made it easy to try different combinations. I kept alternating the meat with pickles and the spicy shredded radish, then going back to the steamed egg.
By the end, I understood why my friend had suggested the place. We had good food to share and enough small discoveries to keep interrupting the conversation with another bite.
I’d recommend it for a catch-up dinner with friends, especially if you have time to spare before sitting down. Next time, I’d come earlier and try the ribs with the rice pot I missed on this visit.
My rating: 5/5. I’d happily go back.