Gopchang Story KBBQ - Centreville — Restaurant in Centreville

I’m slightly hesitant to write this review because the Centreville location just opened and I’d like to keep it my personal secret for as long as possible…

I had never had gopchang, daechang, or makchang before (the different types of intestines) and was very hesitant to try it but it quickly grew on me. I like that the dishes come out on mini stoves so that I can make mine extra crispy, the way I like it. My favorite is the makchang (probably because it just tastes like chewy pork belly in my opinion) but daechang is a close second because it’s so plump and chewy. They have this makchang stir fry that I really like–it tastes a little like jjajangmyun–you can’t even tell these are intestines.

Perhaps more importantly… here are the must-try non-intestine dishes at Gopchang story (IMO): The beef tartare (yukhwe): This is my favorite dish here. I am very cautious about eating beef tartare even at fancy restaurants but it is so fresh here and pairing it with the asian pear makes such a big difference. Fried dumplings: These are so crispy and FAT. You can tell they’re handmade and not frozen because they all look slightly different. I don’t think this is available at their other location. Galbi: Why I go to gopchang story even though I don’t even eat intestines… their meats, especially their galbi, is SO high quality. You can see the juice dripping off the marbled cuts of meat when it’s cooking on the grill in front of you. I honestly think it’s a pity that people come here just for the intestines. Marinated galbi: I usually don’t like marinated galbi because it’s too sweet but their marinated galbi is everything. Maybe it’s because of the meat quality? I don’t know but definitely try it. Thick pork belly: not to be confused with the thin pork belly. I didn’t even know pork belly could taste so fancy. Beef brisket stew (Chadol dwenjang jeongol): They put so many toppings in this that is extremely filling and the flavor is on point. Sometimes you just crave a hot stew… Kimchi mari: Get it with the nengmyun noodles–it’s sweet, refreshing, slightly spicy. Perfect to finish off a heavy, meat-filled meal and the closest thing you’ll get to dessert here (besides going to kung fu tea next door)

Price: This isn’t where I go when I want a quick, cheap eat. I mean, it’s KBBQ. That being said, I think the value is totally there because I always leave feeling stuffed. Obviously you can’t try all these things if you go alone so I like going with a large group and that makes the final bill more affordable too.

Ambiance: The interior is even prettier than the Annandale location. It’s family friendly but it could also be a fun late night spot with friends, especially since this location is open until 2am.

Service: The servers are really efficient which I personally like even more than being chatty. They’ll chat with you if you initiate it but they don’t ask you questions unnecessarily. There are more guy servers than female ones (I feel like that’s the norm for a lot of kbbq places) and there’s this one server (or maybe he is a cook?) who is super good-looking and friendly so that may be why I’ve been back so often…

I forgot to take photos of everything but I’ll probably be back soon so maybe I’ll update this review with more photos later. Hope this was helpful for any fellow...

We went on a Wednesday night. It's one of a handful of places in the area that's open late. This place is open till 2am.

We were a party of 4. A large group of about 8 was the only party besides us. We were seated in a few minutes. While we waited we took the time reviewing all the awards they had won over the years prominently displayed right by the entrance. Intestines seemed to be very popular here.

Our waiter was a young man who had just completed his freshman year in college. He helped us with our order as this was our first time here. The menu was a barcode that downloaded a PDF to our phones. This is a bit inconvenient - but looks like it's a pandemic era relic that's going to stay. We ordered a pork set, beef bulgogi, and a entrails sampler. As it turn out, it was just more than enough for two adults and two teens. A tiny bit was leftover for the doggy bag.

Our waiter (sadly none of us asked for his name) was friendly and mindful of our needs. He explained all of the dishes he was preparing for us. The bulgogi and the pork set was prepared on an inset grill and the entrails sampler was set on a stove on our table. The table was set with the tiny samplers that Korean places serve up, before we were seated. So we got munching on those right away. Each place set had 3 dipping sauces - salt& sesame oil/spicy&sweet/chilly&sweet.

It was a fun experience! One we hope to repeat at this particular establishment over an over again. A note on the entrails - I really liked the small intestines (I'm going purely by the size of the pieces on the plate so I may be wrong about whether it was the small or large that I liked) were little bite sized pieces that were delicious when slightly crisp. The large intestines were very fatty - like a sausage that was primarily animal fat stuffed into sausage casing. This was very fatty and chewy. It tasted fine but the fat was a bit too much for all of us.

Shout out to our waiter - he knows who he is. He did a fantastic job and we left satisfied with a very...

TLDR: Don't get the spicy cold noodles and corn cheese. Definitely try out the beef tartare. A cloud beer with everything cuts a lot of the richness.

I am a big advocate of Korean BBQ. I absolutely love that stuff! I was excited to hear a new one opened up in Centreville and I had to give it a try!

We ended up getting Spicy Cold Noodles, Corn Cheese, Beef Tartare, Assorted intestines GUI and the Fried rice with cheese and fish roe. The food came out relatively quickly and we were ready to feast.

The Spicy Cold Noodles was kind of whatever, they tasted like just a generic one you can get almost anywhere else. As for the Corn Cheese it was below average for me. It just tasted like they get corn and layered some cheese on top. It wasn't very creamy in my opinion. I would definitely not get these two items again, as it was the most disappointing items I got.

The Beef Tartare on the other hand was the best dish I had here. Also probably one of the best Beef Tartare's I have had in general. It was seasoned really well, and had the right level of creaminess from the egg yolk and crunch from the garnish below. It was fantastic, we actually ordered another one after we finish this first one.

The Assorted intestines GUI was also really good. It was nice and fatty, but also had a clean like taste, that other places do not have with their intestines. What made it specifically good, was the powder they put on everything. That powder is highly addictive/ tasty.

The fried rice with cheese and fish roe was also added a lot to the experience since they cook it in the same dish the intestines were on. So they chop up what was leftover. It was a great way to end the meal!

Overall, this place is fantastic! If it wasn't so expensive I would definitely go more often. I will definitely come back to get the Beef Tartare as well as the Assorted intestines GUI! If you go and are above 21 I suggest you get a cloud beer with it, as it cuts a lot of...