Forewarning: our gastronomic experience at Busan Table BBQ, one of the capital’s most famous Korean barbecue restaurants, will leave your mouth watering.
There are more and more traditional Korean barbecue restaurants in Lisbon – yes, the ones where you have a grill on the table and you roast the food yourself – and they’re also getting better, especially when it comes to the high quality of the meats you can eat here.
We’re just talking about, for example, a Premium “Snowflake” Wagyu or the always delicious Super Black Angus entrails, which we tasted with great delight at the Busan Table BBQ on Avenida Fontes Pereira de Melo 3E (very close to the Marquês traffic circle).
It’s not just “another” Korean barbecue in town
As the name suggests, at the Busan restaurant you (or a waiter, if you prefer) cook your own meat and vegetables, something that the Korean people have practiced with great skill for centuries, and that we Portuguese, who also enjoy grilling and roasting, love like no other.
Not least because going to Busan Table BBQ is a whole experience, not only with the food but also with the space, which in our opinion is more industrial and futuristic than welcoming, with the highlight being the huge tubes that come down from the ceilings to suck in the smoke from the grills, the stainless steel and aluminum tables and, of course, the giant neon, which is set up on one of the walls to serve as a background for photos full of lights that are already circulating on social media.
We were warmly welcomed by the owner Siran Yu, who quickly, it seemed to us, ordered “all the food” that the restaurant had in the kitchen.
We know very well how Asian people like to treat their guests, so once again we thank you for the warm welcome.
We thought: “It won’t be easy to eat all this!” But it was! I mean, there were some foods that we only tried, like the Rice Cakes with Vegetables and Spicy Sauce (8€), the Special Bibimbap Balls with Tuna (8.5€) and the Pancake with Seafood (8€).
As for the rest, all the meat we were served, we ate it all. .. we don’t like to spoil anything 😅
World-class cuts of meat
We’ve already talked about the cuts of meat we eat in Busan, but it’s worth mentioning that we’re dealing with some of the most famous – and expensive – cuts of meat in the world, but that in Busan they don’t empty our wallets.
We roasted a generous Super Black Angus entree (20€), alongside a no less hefty Wagyu “Snowflake” Premium piece (28€). To the question of whether it’s worth spending “so much” money on these meats! Yes, they’re worth every penny, because every bite is an incredible flavor bomb.
The wheel, the super Ferris wheel
All accompanied by various types of vegetables, also roasted on the stove in front of us (we changed the coals three times, just to give you an idea of how much meat we roasted here), the “boss” ordered the famous Busan Roda Gigante (48€), a meal that serves three people well and includes 10 different types of meat and two other seafood products, squid and prawns.
In the 10 small boats with good chicha you can try everything from beef tongue, pork neck, lamb, spiced chicken or beef steak with black pepper.
The rest are a surprise, so you can go and try this treat.
Did we like it? We’re already on a diet to go there again!
The dining experience at Busan Table BBQ is a memorable one, not only because of everything we’ve already said, but also because the service is very attentive, something that is increasingly rare in this cosmopolitan and “rushed” city.
So, if it’s your first time at one of these Korean barbecue restaurants, you’ ll have all the help you need to cook the food you choose, as well as suggestions and descriptions of the dishes.
We’re already counting the calories to go there again, because when there’s quality and freshness in the food, nothing in life is ever so expensive… especially when you leave a place like this with a full belly and a smile on your lips. See you in Busan!
Address: Avenida Fontes Pereira de Melo 3E (near the Marquês de Pombal traffic circle)
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, from noon to 3pm, and from 6.30pm to 11pm
Average price per person: between 20€ and 30€