Hyupjin Restaurant No. 5

About

Bustling butchery-style beef restaurant in Doksan-dong Cattle Market offering ultra-fresh domestic beef platters and raw offal cuts.

Tucked deep within the alleyways of Doksan-dong Cattle Market—Seoul’s historic meat hub operating since 1973—Hyeopjin Sikdang No. 5 delivers the primal, unadorned experience of a true butcher-style restaurant. While a recent expansion swapped cramped corners for an airy dining hall with tablet-equipped tables, the room still holds the spirited, bustling clamor of market workers and local gathering tables grilling meat over heavy cast-iron plates. The restaurant's calling card is domestic beef (*yugu*), prized for its clean flavor and freshness. Most diners order the signature *Amso Hanmari* ("A Whole Cow"), a generous 600-gram platter loaded with an assortment of cuts such as thinly sliced brisket (*chadolbagi*), skirt meat (*chimachal*), short plate (*upjinsal*), and beef neck chain (*jebichuri*). The sheer variety lets you gauge distinct textures as you work across the hot metal, alternating between richly marbled, fast-searing brisket and lean, deeply savory muscle. Regulars pair lightly seared brisket directly wrapped around seasoned raw beef (*yukhoe*), a contrasting bite of hot rendered fat and chilled, silky meat. What truly anchors the restaurant’s cattle market roots is the complimentary spread of fresh offal served before the grills even warm up. Depending on the day's cut, platters arrive heaped with raw liver, tripe (*cheonyeop*), spleen (*jira*), and cow spinal cord (*deunggol*). The spinal cord—spongy, slick, and slightly chewy—can be eaten raw or kissed briefly by the grill until warm and tender. Clean banchan like seasoned bellflower root, leeks, perilla leaves, and a comforting crock of dried radish green soybean paste soup (*siraegi doenjangguk*) cut through the beef's natural richness. Paired with a final bowl of cold noodles, Hyeopjin Sikdang No. 5 proves that the old-school butchers of Geumcheon-gu still hold the secret to unvarnished, nose-to-tail beef dining.