How to Order Korean BBQ: Cuts, Grams and Grill Etiquette

A Korean barbecue menu becomes easier when you read it in this order: meat, cut, plain or marinated, grams per serving, minimum order, then grade. The price beside the meat is usually a 100-gram comparison figure, not necessarily the amount that arrives as one order.

At a glance

Compare 100-gram prices
Meat prices are displayed per 100 grams; a serving can weigh more or less.
Choose cut and seasoning
Check whether the cut is plain, salt-seasoned or marinated.
Read both grade marks
Beef quality and yield grades measure different things.
Ask who grills
Some meat is grilled at the table; some dishes arrive cooked.

Step 1: read the price unit

Restaurant price lists display meat such as bulgogi and galbi per 100 grams. If a per-serving price is also shown, the weight of that serving must appear with it. Displayed prices include VAT.

Check three numbers:

Price per 100 g: useful for comparing cuts.
Weight of one serving: the amount attached to one menu order.
Minimum servings: a restaurant condition that may be separate from the price display.

A label such as “1인분 150g” describes quantity. It does not by itself promise that one serving can be the whole order.

Ask about the minimum before ordering

Use “몇 인분부터 주문돼요?” (myeot inbun-buteo jumun-dwaeyo?) — “What is the minimum number of servings?” Then ask “1인분이 몇 그램이에요?” (irinbuni myeot geuraemieyo?) — “How many grams is one serving?”

Multiply the serving price by the required number of servings before adding drinks, rice, noodles or stew.

Step 2: choose the cut and seasoning

The prescribed classification divides beef into 10 primal and 39 sub-primal cuts, and pork into 7 primal and 25 sub-primal cuts.

	Primal cuts	Sub-primal cuts
Beef	10	39
Pork	7	25

On pork menus you will see names such as samgyeopsal (belly) and moksal (neck). On beef menus, galbi refers to rib cuts, while chadolbagi belongs to the brisket/plate group. The Korean Food Promotion Institute lists Samgyeopsal as “Grilled Pork Belly” and Moksalgui as “Grilled Pork Neck.”

The same cut may appear as saeng (plain/fresh), salt-seasoned or yangnyeom (marinated). Compare the same preparation before deciding by price.

Ask “양념이에요, 생이에요?” (yangnyeomieyo, saengieyo?) — “Is it marinated or plain?”

A leaf wrap with meat, spring onion, garlic and ssamjang

대경라이프 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Majang Meat Market — the cuts before they reach a grill

Seoul Tourism Organization Archive (Seoul Tourism Archive, KOGL Type 1)

Step 3: understand origin and grade labels

Domestic beef labels distinguish hanu, dairy-cow and yugu beef. “Domestic” therefore does not automatically mean hanu.

Beef carries two separate marks:

Quality grade: 1++, 1+, 1, 2, 3 or ungraded, assessed from marbling, meat colour, fat colour, texture and maturity.
Yield grade: A, B or C, calculated from backfat thickness, ribeye area and carcass weight.

In 1++A, 1++ is the quality grade and A is the yield grade. A higher quality grade is not a guarantee that every diner will prefer the meat; preference for leaner or fattier cuts is separate.

Step 4: check where the meat is cooked

Some restaurants place a burner or grill on the table. Others serve particular dishes already cooked. Ask “직접 구워야 해요?” (jikjeop guwoya haeyo?) — “Do I grill it myself?” when the setup is unclear.

If staff begin cooking at the table, follow their lead and ask before moving meat they are handling. Keep cooked pieces away from raw meat and use the utensils provided.

Step 5: make a wrap and order the finish

Leaf vegetables may arrive with ssamjang, which the official foreign-language guide renders as “Red Chili and Soybean Paste.” Put one piece of meat, a little ssamjang and any garlic or spring onion you want on a leaf, then fold it into one mouthful.

Bossam is not barbecue. The same guide renders it as “Kimchi Wraps with Pork”; it is a boiled-pork dish rather than meat grilled at the table.

Rice, cold noodles, soybean-paste stew and fried rice are normally separate menu items. Check their prices before adding them.

Confirm three things at each restaurant

Minimum servings, who handles the grill and current menu prices are restaurant-specific. Check them on the menu or ask staff rather than carrying a rule from one restaurant to the next.

See How to order at a Korean restaurant for the general sequence and Eating alone in Korea for solo-order questions.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the menu price shown per 100 grams?

Korean restaurant price-display rules require meat such as bulgogi and galbi to be shown per 100 grams. If a serving price is added, the serving weight must be shown too.

Does 1인분 mean I can order only one serving?

No. It identifies one serving as a quantity. The restaurant may have a separate minimum-order condition.

What is the difference between 1++A and 1++B?

1++ is the quality grade. A or B is the separate yield grade, which relates to the amount of usable meat.

Does domestic beef mean hanu?

No. Domestic beef labels distinguish hanu, dairy-cow and yugu beef.

Will I always grill the meat myself?

No. Some restaurants grill at the table and some dishes arrive cooked. Ask when the setup is unclear.

Are rice and noodles included with the meat?

Usually they are separate menu items. Check before ordering rice, cold noodles, stew or fried rice.