Best Korean BBQ Restaurants Around the World

The best-scored korean bbq place in each of 11 cities.

Regional variations

Seoul (beef-led, hanwoo specialists)

Beef-grilling country. Hanwoo beef restaurants in Cheongdam, Gangnam, and Mapo districts. Galbi (short rib), chadolbaegi (thin brisket), and dry-aged hanwoo cuts. Cuts are graded by marbling, comparable to Japanese A5 Wagyu grading.

Jeju Island

Pork country. Heuk-dwaeji (Jeju black pig), a heritage breed with deep flavor and high fat, is the regional pride. Grilled in thick slices with little marinade. Jeju pork bbq is the destination cuisine of the island.

Jeonju and the south

Marinade-heavy bulgogi tradition. The Jeonju-style bulgogi is sweeter, more deeply sauced, and the side-dish (banchan) count goes higher than in Seoul. Jeonju is also the home of bibimbap, which Korean BBQ restaurants often serve as a closer.

Outside Korea (Los Angeles, New York, Sydney)

The Korean-American BBQ format expanded in LA's Koreatown in the 1980s. It tends to add cheese corn, steamed egg, and Americanized sides; the meats are also commonly thicker-cut and less precisely portioned than Seoul originals.

Defining korean bbq dishes

Galbi

Marinated beef short rib, butterflied along the bone. Soy, garlic, pear juice, sesame oil, sugar. Grilled over high heat and cut from the bone with scissors at the table.

Bulgogi

Thinly sliced beef (sirloin or ribeye) marinated in a similar sauce to galbi but cooked on a domed pan, often with onions and mushrooms. The most globally exported Korean BBQ dish.

Samgyeopsal

Unmarinated pork belly, thick-cut, grilled to crisp the fat. The everyday Korean BBQ. Dipped in sesame oil and salt, wrapped in lettuce with garlic and ssamjang.

Ogyeopsal

Five-layer pork belly. Like samgyeopsal but with skin attached, giving an extra crisp layer. A more recent (1990s) addition to Korean BBQ menus.

Chadolbaegi

Beef brisket sliced paper-thin and laid across the grill in single sheets. Cooks in seconds. The textural counterpoint to thicker galbi.

Moksal

Pork shoulder/neck. Less fatty than samgyeopsal, more flavorful than loin. A second-tier order after the pork belly.

LA Galbi

Cross-cut beef short rib (the bone runs across the meat, not along it), invented by Korean immigrants in Los Angeles. The thinner cut cooks faster and is sweeter than Korean-style galbi.

Banchan

The 8 to 20 small side dishes that arrive automatically. Kimchi (multiple types), pickled radish, bean sprouts, spinach, marinated lotus root, steamed egg, soy-glazed potato. Refillable on request.

Ssam

The wrap. Lettuce or perilla leaf, grilled meat, ssamjang (fermented bean paste with garlic, sesame, chile), raw garlic, raw chile, rice. Eaten in a single bite.

Doenjang Jjigae

Fermented soybean paste stew with tofu, vegetables, and clams or beef. The standard closer (after the grilling is done) with a bowl of rice.

How to order

At a Korean BBQ table, order by the gram: galbi by 300g portions per two people, samgyeopsal in 200g servings, mixed plates for groups. Ordering one meat at a time is normal; pace through the meal. The server (or the youngest at the table) typically manages the grill; pace meat onto the fire to fill it but not crowd. Eat in waves: meat in a wrap, drink soju, banchan reset the palate, more meat. The standard closer is naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles) or doenjang jjigae with rice. Banchan refills are free; just ask. The rookie mistakes are ordering too much meat at once (the grill clogs, the meat overcooks), pouring soju into your own glass (you pour for others, they pour for you), and treating ssam fillings as a serve-yourself buffet (the leaves, garlic, and chile come for the wraps).

What to drink with it

Soju (the rice-or-grain distillate, around 17 to 24% ABV) is the universal pair. Chilled in green bottles, poured into small glasses, shot or sipped. Each pour is poured by someone else; never pour your own. Beer (Cass, Hite, Terra in Korea; OB) is the secondary order. The two together is 'somaek' (soju plus beer mixed in proportion). Makgeolli (cloudy rice wine) is the traditional alternative, especially with pork. After the meal: bori-cha (barley tea) or hot ginger tea to settle the heavy meal. Avoid red wine and cocktails; the flavors clash with grilled marinades.

Where to eat it

Seoul holds the deepest Korean BBQ scene: Cheongdam-dong for hanwoo (Born&Bred, Cheongdam Cake), Mapo and Yeokjeon Hoegwan for the classic bulgogi rooms, Hongdae and Itaewon for younger crowd samgyeopsal places. Busan and Jeonju each have strong regional Korean BBQ scenes. Jeju for the heuk-dwaeji black-pig specialty. Outside Korea: Los Angeles's Koreatown holds the most concentrated Korean BBQ scene in the world (Park's BBQ, Quarters, Genwa). New York (Cote, Antoya, Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong), Sydney, Melbourne, Tokyo (Yakiniku Toraji, Imafuku), and London all have credible scenes.

A short history

Korean BBQ descends from medieval Korean grilling traditions, but the modern format (tabletop grill, banchan profusion, ssam ritual) crystallized in postwar Seoul. The Korean War and subsequent US military presence introduced cheap beef cuts and gas grills; the high-end hanwoo beef tradition rebuilt from the 1980s. Korean BBQ went global with the Korean-American diaspora; LA Koreatown by the 1980s, New York and Sydney by the 2000s, and the modern world's Korean BBQ chain (Cote, Baekjeong, Genwa) is mostly LA-trained.

Frequently asked

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