How to Order Korean BBQ: Cuts, Portions and Etiquette

How a BBQ restaurant works

Korean barbecue, usually called 고기집 (gogijip, “meat restaurant”), is built around a grill in the middle of your table: charcoal at some places, gas or a hot plate at others. The flow is the same almost everywhere:

1. Sit down. Coats and bags often go inside the seat of your chair, which lifts up, to keep the smoke off them.
2. Order meat by the portion. Menus list prices per 인분 (inbun, “portion”), usually with the weight in grams. The usual rule is one portion per person, and many places, especially pork restaurants, ask for at least two portions to start.
3. Side dishes arrive while the grill heats: kimchi, salads, sauces, lettuce and more.
4. Grill and eat. At many casual pork places you cook it yourself. At beef restaurants and busier spots, staff often grill and cut the meat for you.
5. Finish with a “meal” dish, such as rice, stew or cold noodles, if you’re still hungry.
6. Pay at the counter by the door on the way out. Cards are accepted almost everywhere, and there’s no tipping (see tipping and etiquette in Korea).

Most tables have a call button. Press it and a server will come. Otherwise, raise your hand and say 저기요 (jeogiyo, “excuse me”).

The main cuts

Restaurants usually specialise in pork (돼지, dwaeji) or beef (소, so), and many do both. Pork is the everyday choice. Beef costs more, and Korean beef, 한우 (hanu), is the priciest.

Korean	Romanization	What it is
삼겹살	samgyeopsal	Pork belly, the classic. Thick, fatty and unmarinated
오겹살	ogyeopsal	Pork belly with the skin on
목살	moksal	Pork neck/shoulder, leaner and chewier than belly
항정살	hangjeongsal	Pork jowl; small, fatty and crunchy
갈매기살	galmaegisal	Pork skirt (diaphragm), lean and meaty
돼지갈비	dwaeji galbi	Pork ribs, usually in a sweet soy marinade
소갈비 / 갈비	so galbi / galbi	Beef short ribs, plain or marinated (양념, yangnyeom)
차돌박이	chadolbagi	Thin-sliced beef brisket; cooks in seconds
등심	deungsim	Beef sirloin
안심	ansim	Beef tenderloin
우삼겹	usamgyeop	Thin-sliced beef belly (plate)

Tips:

• Marinated meat (galbi, anything labelled 양념) burns quickly, so turn it often or let staff handle it.
• Thin cuts like chadolbagi take seconds per side. Thick pork belly needs several minutes and is usually cut into pieces with scissors once it’s browned.
• Jeju black pork (흑돼지, heukdwaeji) is a speciality you’ll also see on menus outside Jeju.

Side dishes and lettuce wraps

Side dishes (반찬, banchan) come with the meat at no extra charge, and refills are usually free. Some restaurants have a self-service bar for refills; otherwise ask the staff.

The classic way to eat barbecue is a lettuce wrap (쌈, ssam):

1. Take a leaf of lettuce (상추, sangchu) or perilla (깻잎, kkaennip), which tastes a little like mint.
2. Add a piece of meat and a dab of 쌈장 (ssamjang), a thick soybean-and-chilli paste.
3. Add garlic, chilli or kimchi if you like, then fold it up and eat it in one bite.

Eating wraps with your hands is completely normal. Other common extras include sesame oil with salt for dipping and grilled kimchi or garlic on the edge of the grill.

After the meat: rice, stew and noodles

Koreans often finish with a carb, called the 식사 (siksa, “meal”) part of the menu. Common choices:

• 된장찌개 (doenjang jjigae): soybean paste stew, often served with rice
• 공기밥 (gonggibap): a bowl of rice, ordered separately
• 냉면 (naengmyeon): cold noodles, popular after beef
• 볶음밥 (bokkeumbap): fried rice cooked on the grill plate at some places

Drinks

The standard pairing is 소주 (soju), 맥주 (maekju, beer), or both mixed together as 소맥 (somaek). Soft drinks are always available, and nobody minds if you don’t drink alcohol.

Drinking etiquette, according to the Seoul Tourism Organization:

• Don’t pour your own drink. Pour for others and let them pour for you.
• With older or senior people, pour and receive with both hands, and serve them first.
• Younger people often turn their head slightly away from elders when they drink.

At the table generally, wait for the eldest to start eating, and when you finish put your chopsticks and spoon back where they were.

Prices

There’s no fixed price, and portion sizes vary by restaurant, so check the grams on the menu. As a guide, the Korea Consumer Agency’s price survey (참가격, Chamgagyeok) put the average price of pork belly in Seoul restaurants at ₩21,321 per 200 g in September 2026, and ₩21,230 on average for the first half of 2026. Check other dishes and regions with Is This Price Normal?. The survey converts every restaurant’s portion to 200 g so they can be compared. Portion weights differ between restaurants, so a menu price can be higher or lower than this.

Beef costs more, and hanu can cost several times as much as pork. We couldn’t find an official average for beef barbecue, so check the menu before you sit down. For daily budget estimates, try What Will It Cost?. For paying, see money, cards and cash in Korea.

Eating solo, and dietary needs

Solo diners: eating alone in Korea is common, but a two-portion minimum can make barbecue tricky. Look for places that advertise 1인 (il-in, “one person”) sets, or ask at the door with the phrase below. Restaurants are busiest at dinner, so going at an off-peak time helps.

Dietary needs: barbecue is hard for vegetarians, and side dishes, stews and dipping sauces often contain fish sauce, salted shrimp or meat broth. If you have an allergy or don’t eat certain foods, show a written card in Korean. Our Food Card makes one for you.

Useful phrases

English	Korean	Say it
Excuse me! (to call staff)	저기요!	jeogiyo!
Two portions of pork belly, please	삼겹살 2인분 주세요	samgyeopsal i-inbun juseyo
Can I order one portion?	1인분도 돼요?	il-inbundo dwaeyo?
Could you grill it for us?	구워 주실 수 있어요?	guwo jusil su isseoyo?
More lettuce, please	상추 더 주세요	sangchu deo juseyo
Not spicy, please	안 맵게 해 주세요	an maepge hae juseyo
The bill, please	계산해 주세요	gyesanhae juseyo

For more restaurant phrases, open Say It.