Muhan Beef: Unlimited High Quality Beef In Jamsil
Originally reviewed on June 6, 2020
Name
| 한글 🇰🇷 | ENGLISH 🇺🇸 |
|---|---|
| 무한소 신천본점 | Muhan Beef Sincheon Main Office |
Price
| Korean Won 🇰🇷 | United States Dollar 🇺🇸 |
|---|---|
| ₩22,000 | ~$20 |
Operating Hours
| Day | Open | Close |
|---|---|---|
| Weekday | 16:00 | 00:00 |
| Weekend | 12:00 | 00:00 |
Location
Seoul Seek Recommendations
- 👑 Signature
- ✅ Counting Calories
- 🌶️ Spicy
| 한글 🇰🇷 | English 🇺🇸 | Price 💵 |
|---|---|---|
| 무한 리필 | 2-Hour Unlimited Meat Pass | ₩22,000/ea |
| 살치살 | Chuck Flap Tail (Flat) ✅ | N/A |
| 토시살 | Hanging Tender Steak ✅ | N/A |
| 치마살 | Skirt Steak ✅ | N/A |
| 차돌박이 | Beef Brisket (Korean) | N/A |
| 등심 | Sirloin Steak ✅ | N/A |
| 안심 | Tenderloin (Filet Mignon) ✅ | N/A |
| 육회 | Meat Tartare (Korean) 👑 | N/A |
Usually, we’d recommend specific menu items, but seeing as this is a refill restaurant, we’ve listed the entire main menu here. Although you can’t pick specific meat on refills, our favorites were the hanging tender steak (토시살) and meat tartare (육회).
Overview
This place had my mouth watering from the get-go. A must-try for any fans of beef or meat alike. They have a single main menu item with a few optional add-ons.
Note that the price listed is for each eater, and this spot requires a minimum of two. You may eat alone, but you will be paying for two.
Nestled on a famous food-street for locals, it sits beside a famous (and massive) 2-floor pork belly restaurant. For a flat fee, you are presented with 5 different meats, all premium grade. The catch is, to order more, you must eat what’s on your plate; this doesn’t apply to the yukhoe (육회) side dish, though.
The fastest way to get here is to take the green 2 Line straight to Jamsilsaenae Station (잠실새내역). Upon arrival, take Exit 4 and Muhan Beef is less than 5 minutes away on foot.
Contrary to Google Maps information stating 송파구 무한소 or Songpa-gu Muhan Beef, the actual name of the restaurant is 무한소 신천본점 or Muhan Beef Sincheon Main Office, designating it is a flagship establishment. Sincheon Station is the former name of Jamsilsaenae Station. The restaurant was built before this change, and has retained its original namesake.
Most owners usually own or have heavy ties with the meat factories or suppliers directly. In this specific case, the owner owns a beef factory which processes cattle. Thus, many such restaurants will have a very small amount of overhead, allowing them to slash prices and compete.
Arrival
You can see that the restaurant has a nice opening on the left side, which is open-air all year, weather-permitting. If you slide in early, you'll be able to pick a seat anywhere in the restaurant. One of the ajummas supplies the flowers.
As mentioned, they have a single main item menu; they'll assume you'll be having that, and will ask if you want any additional add-ons. You can get soups and whatnot, but most people just opt for the regular. Let's check out the interior.
Interior
These buttons can be seen in restaurants where the audience is implied to drink a lot; the top one is the general ordering button, but if you've already ordered either a soju or beer, you can simply press the respective button and the same kind of alcohol will be delivered to you. This works by checking which kind you ordered within the system; very common amongst the vast majority of Korean restaurants.
Side Dishes
Nothing really wild here; these are common side dishes which you'll see at any meat place. Slight variances will appear in the approach and the sauces which each bathes in, but they're more or less all equivalent.
The chili pepper and light vinegar soy is meant to accent the meat as a dip while the pickled side dishes are used as a palette neutralizer. The kimchi is eaten at the eater's discretion, and is a mainstay in any given Korean meal; as common as water.
Food Pics
Cooking the Food
After arriving and being presented with the meat, it was finally time to crank up the grill and get down to business. The ajumma recommends an order to eat it: beef brisket, chuck flap tail, hanging tender steak, skirt steak, sirloin steak, and beef tenderloin, while accenting with yukhoe inbetween.
Anywhere you go, the staff will recommend an order. There’s no necessarily correct way to eat meat, but it’s a kind gesture for those unaware of nuances. It’s kind of like asking which order to watch Star Wars in.
However, in this specific instance, she had a good point: when presented with an assortment of meat which includes beef brisket (which is fat heavy), always grill it first on a flat-top so that the oil can be used for other meats—you’ll see examples of this below. If you don’t, the other meats will stick due to the extreme temperature and more times than not, get stuck. Once there’s some oil on the flat top, it’s up to you.
Summary
This restaurant is very good quality for the price, and in general. I’ve been to places where the yukhoe goes for upwards of ₩40,000 a plate where the quality is not as fresh or beefy as this. Same with the sirloin; more upscale joints will throw a few ounces at you for ₩60,000 and it won’t taste as good as this.
Everything is sourced direct, and it shows in the flavor profiles of each cut of meat. All you need is some sesame oil and salt; nothing too crazy for sauces.
There are very few places in Seoul where you can throw down the equivalent of $20 and eat like this. There are better places, but seldom for the price range. We’d recommend this in a heartbeat to anyone with an empty stomach wanting to get an casual and fun experience.
One thing I would say is, for places like this, the atmosphere benefits from having friends or family around. Bring 3 or 4 if you’re not a couple. Remember, you need at least two people; otherwise, you’ll be paying for two people and eating yourself.
As we walked back home to Jamsil, we passed an aging and mossy statue of the ‘88 Olympics and came across a nice tuft of flowers on a light pole.
If you continue walking, you’ll arrive at the Lotte Tower. About 15 minutes on foot from Muhan Beef, it isn’t too bad of a trek.
A perfect ending to a lazy Saturday lunch.
