Happy 4th of July, folks! Can I tell you guys something? I've never been to a July 4th celebration. Well, I guess it really isn't that hard to believe because 1. I grew up in the Philippines and 2. my family is furthest thing from patriotic. From what I hear, they usually consist of backyard barbecues and fireworks, right? I didn't want to miss out this year so I gathered up a couple of mates took to Manimal Smokehouse 매니멀 스모크하우스, the city's latest barbecue restaurant, for some goooood eatings.

When looking for the restaurant, remember to look up! It's on the second floor and the entrance is tucked away in a little alley so it's easy to miss. Once you see piles of chopped up oak wood, you know you're heading in the right direction.


The restaurant is a lot of smaller than I expected, so I'd be wary of coming with large groups. If you're just a party of two or three, grab a window seat for dinnertime people watching.



We couldn't decide between anything so we just got a bit of everything. An order of brisket, some pulled pork, and the recommended smoked BBQ chicken. You can't leave out the coleslaw (made without mayo!) and a side of green chile mac and cheese. Their cocktail menu looked tempting...but I'll save for another day.


Maybe it was my fault for stopping to take photos beforehand, but our meat was a tad chilled at first bite. That put a downer on my first impression. But visually mouth watering!

The rest of the verdict? The brisket was nice and chunky, but a little dry. The pulled pork was sweet and tangy. It would definitely paired nicely with some sliders but those cost extra here and we didn't think we'd need them at first. The chicken was tender and went great with the side barbecue sauce. I haven't seen smoked BBQ chicken on the menu of any of the other smokehouses in Seoul, so it's a welcome change for those looking for something different.