Korean Barbecue in Seoul: The 100g Menu Rule, Portions and Side Dishes

A "two servings minimum" is not a law. The rule that is in the law is about how the meat is priced: the price list must show barbecue meat such as bulgogi and galbi per 100 grams, which lets you compare restaurants on the same measure.

That changes how you should read a Korean barbecue menu. Instead of asking how many portions to order, work out how many grams your table wants, check the price per 100 grams, and treat any "1인분" (one serving) figure as a restaurant's own portion size, which it must state in grams.

This guide sets out what the rules require on menus, price, weight and side dishes, shows how official Seoul Tourism Organization listings present barbecue menus, and is honest about the customs, such as refills and tipping, that no official source addresses. The legal text is the enforcement rules of the Food Sanitation Act as amended on 1 September 2026, read on 23 September 2026.

The 100g rule on menus

The rule sits in annex 17 of the Enforcement Rules of the Food Sanitation Act (식품위생법 시행규칙), the list of duties for restaurant operators. Item 퍼 of section 7 says the price list must show meat such as 불고기 (bulgogi) and 갈비 (galbi) at a "100그램당 가격", a price per 100 grams.

The same item deals with cooked dishes. A restaurant that cooks the meat before serving may show the weight before cooking, so the grams on the menu can be the raw weight even if the plate that reaches you weighs less.

Per-serving prices are allowed but tied to weight. If a restaurant wants to show a price per 인분 (serving) as well, it must give the serving's weight alongside the price, and the annex gives two examples: "불고기 100그램 ○○원(1인분 120그램 △△원)" and "갈비 100그램 ○○원(1인분 150그램 △△원)".

The arithmetic is simple once the weight is shown. A serving listed as 150 grams for 15,000 won costs 10,000 won per 100 grams; a serving of 120 grams at the same 15,000 won costs 12,500 won per 100 grams, a quarter more for the same money.

Those 120-gram and 150-gram figures are illustrations of the format, not a standard portion. Nothing in the annex fixes how much meat a serving must contain, so one restaurant's serving can weigh more or less than another's.

The rule applies to the price list itself. Annex 17 says the list must be posted where customers can easily see it, inside or outside the premises, and restaurants whose registered floor area is 150 square metres or more must post it both outside and inside.

What the posted price covers

The posted price is meant to be the full price. Item 아 of the same annex defines the price list as one that includes value-added tax and shows "손님이 실제로 내야 하는 가격", the price the customer actually has to pay, and it requires restaurants to "가격표대로 요금을 받아야", charge according to that list.

The penalties for breaking this are set in annex 23 of the same rules. Failing to post a price list brings a business suspension of 5 days for a first breach, 10 days for a second and 20 days for a third, unless the failure was not the operator's fault, such as a computer error. Charging more than the posted price carries the same 5, 10 and 20-day suspensions.

The menu must also match the plate. Item 터 says the main ingredient and weight of what is served must not differ from the price list. Under annex 23, serving 30% or more below the stated weight means a 7-day suspension for a first breach, rising to 15 days and then a month; a shortfall of 20% to 30% brings a corrective order first, then 7 and 15-day suspensions.

Ingredients are covered too. Item 카 bans using, displaying or storing for cooking any product or ingredient past its use-by date; storing one for cooking brings a 15-day suspension for a first breach, and actually using one a month.

That gives you a practical check. A plate listed at 150 grams should not arrive noticeably light, and if the menu shows a per-serving weight, you can ask what you received; how to raise a complaint is not covered by the sources read for this guide.

No official source read for this guide says anything about tips. What the rules do say is that the posted price must already include VAT and be the price you pay, and that charging above it is a breach. For paying the bill itself, the guide to paying by cash or card covers cards and cash in Seoul.

Reading a barbecue menu

Official Seoul Tourism Organization listings on Visit Seoul show how this looks in practice, and they are the only restaurant-level sources this guide uses. Several list their meat by weight, which lets you apply the 100-gram rule directly.

Cheongdonok, a charcoal barbecue restaurant in Mapo-gu, lists "240-hour cross-aged Pork Belly (150g 15,000 KRW)", "Pork Neck (180g 18,000 KRW)", "Donmahawk (360g 36,000 KRW)" and a "Cheongdonok Platter (630g 63,000 KRW)". Every one of those works out at 10,000 won per 100 grams.

Busanjib KBBQ in Myeongdong, which the listing describes as a Korean-style meat restaurant using halal meat, lists "Wagyu rib fingers(150g) ₩32,000". That is about 21,300 won per 100 grams, a little more than double the pork price above, which shows why the per-100-gram figure is the useful one to compare.

Sets need the same arithmetic. Gram Gram's Apgujeong Cruise Branch, an onboard barbecue restaurant at Apgujeong Hangang Park listed on Visit Seoul in August 2026, prices beef ribs at 30,000 won for 200 grams and pork belly at 28,000 won for 250 grams, which is 15,000 and 11,200 won per 100 grams. Its Minguk Set of 200 grams of beef ribs, 250 grams of pork belly, garnish and two shrimp costs 80,000 won.

That set is 450 grams of meat for 80,000 won, while the same two cuts ordered separately at the listed prices come to 58,000 won. The set adds garnish and two shrimp for the difference, so it is not automatically the cheaper way to buy meat; divide by the grams before choosing.

Not every listing gives weights. BBQ YUL in Seocho-gu gives a range of "30,000–50,000 KRW per person" and names half and full sets of neck, shoulder blade and belly, while Doyajip in Yongsan-gu notes that "You can also order individual cuts à la carte". When a listing shows a price per person, the restaurant's own menu is where the per-100-gram price should appear.

Some listings give only a rough price band. Samil Jeongyuk Sikdang in Seocho-gu, a barbecue restaurant where you grill fresh meat, shows a price range of 20,000 won, and Jangsu Sikdang in Songpa-gu shows 10,000 won; neither says whether that is per person or per dish, so treat such bands as a rough guide only.

Busanjib KBBQ's listing adds two details that matter to some diners: it marks "Muslim Cooks Availability" as yes and "Alcohol for Sale" as no. The listing describes it as popular with Muslim tourists and places it in the heart of Myeongdong.

These are examples, not recommendations or a ranking. Listing details such as hours were current when the pages were read on 23 September 2026 and can change.

Portions and the two-serving question

No official rule sets a minimum order at a barbecue restaurant. The only official statements found are individual restaurants' policies as described by the Seoul Tourism Organization.

Hoonyook, an aged-pork barbecue restaurant inside Sinhung Market in Haebangchon, is the clearest example. Its listing says "Meat is ordered per portion per person", adds that at busy times dining is limited to 1 hour and 30 minutes, and gives a corkage fee of 20,000 won per bottle.

Read that as one restaurant's policy, not a national custom set down anywhere official.

Official listings also show that a barbecue meal often continues after the meat. Jangsu Sikdang in Songpa-gu, known for kimchi samgyeopsal grilled with kimchi on a thin cast-iron pan, serves rice stir-fried on the same pan after the meat course, according to its listing. Sammijeong in Euljiro, whose only main dish is grilled pork belly, lists soybean paste stew (doenjang-jjigae) and fried rice as add-ons.

Those extras are ordered and priced separately at the restaurants that list them, so leave room in the budget if you want them. The listings do not give their prices. If a restaurant does sell by the person, the law still requires the menu to state the price per 100 grams, and any per-serving price to state the serving's weight.

Use this decision rule when you sit down:

The per-100-gram price also helps when menus show sets. BBQ YUL's half and full sets and Cheongdonok's 630-gram platter can be compared with single cuts by dividing the price by the weight, where the weight is shown.

Side dishes and leftovers

Side dishes (반찬, banchan) come under a strict hygiene rule. Item 러 of annex 17 says restaurant operators must not reuse, re-cook or store food a customer has left, or food "displayed or served so that it could be eaten", except items the Minister of Food and Drug Safety has listed on the ministry's website.

The penalty is heavier than those annex 23 sets for the price-list rules. A first breach of the leftover rule means a 15-day business suspension, a second two months and a third three months.

The rules also push restaurants towards less waste. Item 머 says operators must try to use shared side-dish containers (공통찬통), small or combined side-dish dishes, utensils for taking portions of soup, stew and side dishes, or single-person trays (1인 반상), or keep takeaway containers so customers can pack up leftovers, and tell customers about them.

That wording is a duty to make an effort, not an obligation to supply a box.

Refills are a matter of service, and only one official listing mentions them. Visit Seoul's entry for MGM in Hongdae says staff "move around the restaurant, refilling any vegetables you might need"; it says nothing about whether that costs extra, and no rule makes refills free anywhere. The annex does not say whether side dishes are refilled, how many there must be or whether they are free, and no official source read for this guide does either.

Barbecue galbi and bulgogi get one extra protection. Item 로 bans washing or otherwise reprocessing meat already marinated for bulgogi or galbi so that it looks freshly prepared, with suspensions of 7 days, 15 days and a month for repeated breaches.

Side dishes are not an afterthought everywhere. The listing for Gwangyangbulgogi in Yangcheon-gu, which serves bulgogi with its own seasoning and rib eye, says "The side dishes are very delicious, not only the bulgogi", and gives closures on Seollal, Chuseok and the day after each.

Some barbecue restaurants make a point of having fewer side dishes. The Visit Seoul listing for Daechi Jeongyuk Sikdang, a butcher's shop and barbecue restaurant, says "The house speciality is their meat, so there are few side dishes".

Grilling at the table

Who grills depends on the restaurant, and no rule decides it. Visit Seoul's listing for Cheongdonok says staff grill "directly at the table", which it presents as a help for first-time foreign visitors facing a language barrier, and the BBQ YUL listing says "Staff grills the meat for guests."

Other listings say nothing on the point, so assume you may be grilling yourself unless staff start doing it. MGM's listing says staff there grill samgyeopsal, galbi and moksal on a cauldron lid, including pork belly grilled with minari (water parsley). Yukjeupdang's listing describes its meat as "grilled over charcoal", including 1++ grade Korean beef, without saying who does the grilling.

Settings vary as much as hours. Jamdubong The Nine in Mapo-gu, built from a former Han River dock, serves samgyeopsal and tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patties) with a river view, while Maple Tree House in Itaewon offers grilled pork or beef in what its listing calls a Western-style atmosphere.

Late hours vary widely. Mapo Sutbulgalbi in Gangnam-gu, which serves bone-in pork galbi, is listed as open daily from 11am to 6am, while Samgakjeong in Yongsan-gu, known for samgyeopsal and mosori-sal (jowl), is listed as open 5pm to 9:30pm from Tuesday to Saturday only.

The utensils on your table are covered by the hygiene rules too. Item 가 of annex 17 requires wet towels (물수건), spoons, chopsticks, dishes, side-dish plates, cutting boards, knives and other kitchen tools to be disinfected by a sanitiser, boiling water, ultraviolet light or electric sterilisation.

Drinks policies vary by listing. Cheongdonok offers free corkage, Yukjeupdang free wine corkage, Hoonyook charges 20,000 won per bottle, Doyajip charges a fee, and Busanjib KBBQ does not sell alcohol. For a lighter late-night option after barbecue, see the guide to how many street stalls remain.

A menu and table decoder

The terms below appear on menus and in the rules. The local name is given in Korean script where a source uses it.

Fried chicken, the other big shared-meat meal in Seoul, has its own guide: why fried chicken chains multiplied.

What this guide does not cover

Refills of side dishes, grilling etiquette such as who turns the meat, and whether tipping is expected are not stated in any official source read for this guide, so none is presented as a rule. The Seoul Tourism Organization's English search returned no results for "tipping" on 23 September 2026.

The list of foods exempt from the leftover ban, which annex 17 says the food safety ministry publishes online, was not read, because the ministry's website could not be reached on 23 September 2026. Country-of-origin labelling for restaurant meat and the details of the restaurant hygiene grading scheme were also not checked.

No penalty specific to breaching the 100-gram display rule itself was found in annex 23's list for restaurants, so this guide gives penalties only for the price-list, weight, leftover and marinade rules where the annex states them.

Several Visit Seoul listings were first published between 2013 and 2016 and have since been edited; the edit dates run to 2026, but details such as prices were not always present in the older entries. Check the restaurant's own posted menu on the day, which is the price list the law requires.

Beef grades such as the "1++" mentioned in one listing are not explained here, because the grading body's website could not be reached when this guide was checked.