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SeoulVisited December 2021 Views –

Sanbul Deungsim, Seoul: Sirloin Over a Tabletop Brazier and Beef Doenjang Stew

Two slices of marbled beef on a black mesh grate over glowing embers in the round opening of a square aluminum plate, with a steel plate of raw beef, a yellow basket of greens and small side bowls around it.
How to order Address & map

Sanbul Deungsim (산불등심) is a small, old-style beef restaurant in Dadong, Jung-gu, Seoul, where sirloin is grilled over a brazier on the table. Blog posts and a 2017 Seoul city column describe a menu of just two dishes: grilled sirloin and a beef doenjang stew. The photos here are from a visit in December 2021.

The sirloin: deungsimgui (등심구이)

Deungsimgui (등심구이) is grilled beef sirloin. In the cover photo, two slices of heavily marbled beef lie on a mesh grate over glowing embers in the round opening of a square aluminum plate, with a yellow basket of greens and a white bowl of red-seasoned shreds behind the grill.

A round steel plate piled with thin slices of heavily marbled red beef on a glossy, worn amber-brown wooden table.
Raw, thinly sliced beef with fine white marbling on a round steel plate.

The slices are thin. The 2017 column calls Sanbul Deungsim's beef old-style frozen grill meat that cooks quickly and says it is Korean beef (hanwoo), not imported. Blog posts from October 2022 and March 2024 also describe Sanbul Deungsim's sirloin as frozen and list it as hanwoo 1++, the top grade of Korean beef.

Chopsticks hold up a browned slice of grilled beef with a rim of pale fat, with the grill and a plate of raw beef blurred behind.
A browned, grilled slice held in chopsticks in front of the grill.

The beef stew: sogogi doenjang-jjigae (소고기 된장찌개)

Doenjang-jjigae (된장찌개) is a stew built on doenjang, fermented soybean paste, and Sanbul Deungsim's version has beef in it. The column says it is made with beef trimmings simmered for a long time, and that lunch diners lined up for it despite grumbling about the price and the tight shared tables. A 2023 blogger writes that the stew is said to be better known than the meat, dark and rich, and salty enough to suit rice.

A black stone pot of red-brown stew steams on a round black saucer, with a steel plate of raw marbled beef behind it and plates of kimchi and a pale mashed side dish beside it.
The stew in its black stone pot, with raw beef and side dishes behind and beside it.

In my photos, the stew steams in a black stone pot on a round black saucer. A second photo shows it in a white bowl: large blocks of tofu, sliced green chilies and a dark chunk that looks like beef.

A hand holds a white bowl of red-brown stew with large blocks of tofu, sliced green chilies and a dark chunk that looks like beef.
The stew in a white bowl, with tofu, green chilies and a dark chunk that looks like beef.

Sanbul Deungsim: prices, seats and timing

Sanbul Deungsim's grilled sirloin is listed at ₩49,000 and its beef stew at ₩12,000 on Polle (뽈레), checked Nov 15, 2026. Blog posts quoted Sanbul Deungsim's sirloin at ₩43,000 for 130 g in October 2022 and ₩45,000 a serving in March 2024. Sanbul Deungsim seats about 20 to 25 people, a March 2024 blogger estimates, with floor seating and a few tables, and a 2023 blogger notes poor ventilation. In 2017, according to the column, Sanbul Deungsim did not serve sirloin at lunchtime, and a Polle reviewer from about five years ago wrote that lunch service seemed to have stopped. Check a map listing before you go.

How to order

Show this to the staff

등심구이 1인분 주세요.

Deungsimgui irinbun juseyo.

One serving of grilled sirloin, please.

소고기 된장찌개 하나 주세요.

Sogogi doenjang-jjigae hana juseyo.

One beef doenjang stew, please.

공기밥 하나 주세요.

Gonggibap hana juseyo.

One bowl of rice, please.

Rice (공기밥, gonggibap) is the third line because the 2023 blogger suggests eating the stew with it.

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