Ilmirak 일미락

Cast-iron pans do the work: staff grill gabrissal (pork collar cap), fermented pork neck and belly, mostly keeping the juices in without charring, though results vary with whoever is at the pan. Each bite can go into truffle oil, wasabi, ssamjang or salted anchovy sauce, and the anchovy sauce gives the biggest savory lift. Aged kimchi is grilled for you, and a small earthenware pot of kimchi bean sprout soup comes alongside. Gaengsigi kalguksu, doenjang sulbap and kal-bibimmyeon arrive in full meal portions, so order them only with room left; the mung bean pancake, crisp outside and soft within, is the lighter finish. The hanok-style room is tidy and fairly quiet, but prices run high and a table for three or four feels cramped.