Hanok KoreanBBQ

Genuine charcoal-table grilling is rarer in Newcastle than the number of Korean signboards might suggest, which is what sets this rooftop room apart. Each table is fitted with its own bed of live coals, and the cooking is yours to run, a philosophy the owner frames as control, the diner deciding exactly how far to take each cut. The meat is where the attention goes: Angus and wagyu portioned for the grill, marinated galbi, thin belly for the quick sear, all of it timed by hand over real fire rather than gas. Around the grilling comes a generous spread of banchan, kimchi and seafood pancake, with silken tofu and beef soups, and hot-stone bibimbap for the table that wants rice. The setting is a shopping-centre rooftop, which sounds unpromising and turns out to suit it, wide windows, an easy family crowd, extraction handling the smoke so you leave without wearing the meal. Portions run generous and the service moves quickly, and while weekends fill early it rewards the booking. What lingers is the smell of charcoal and the small satisfaction of having cooked your own dinner to the exact second you wanted it.