Korean BBQ by mall: the four Hwaro branches

Korean tabletop barbecue seared on a cast-iron griddle over a table stove, with free-flowing banchan, fresh wrapping vegetables and kimchi in the true gogi-jip style.

The pan sits over a stove in the middle of the table and the meat cooks in front of you, with garlic, kimchi and rice cake going on beside it. Wrapping vegetables and banchan come with the order and are refilled. If you have never sat at one, the guide to how a Hwaro table works walks through the order of it before you book.

Hwaro Central Ladprao is a Korean griddle BBQ restaurant on the 4th floor of Central Ladprao, Bangkok, run by The Bibimbab Co., Ltd.

• Floor4th floor
• Hours10:00 to 22:00, every day
• Phone093-036-8282
• CityChatuchak, Bangkok

The family traded here as The Bibimbab before Hwaro took the room, so the old address still leads to this door.

The full record, with the hours written out day by day and a map search link, is on the branch page for Central Ladprao.

Hwaro The Mall Ngamwongwan is a Korean griddle BBQ restaurant on the ground floor of The Mall Ngamwongwan, Nonthaburi, run by The Bibimbab Co., Ltd.

• FloorGround floor
• Hours10:00 to 22:00, every day
• Phone064-741-8282
• CityNgamwongwan, Nonthaburi

The family traded here as The Bibimbab before Hwaro took the room, so the old address still leads to this door. It is the only branch outside Bangkok, and it draws Nonthaburi rather than the city centre.

The full record, with the hours written out day by day and a map search link, is on the branch page for The Mall Ngamwongwan.

Hwaro Central Pinklao is a Korean griddle BBQ restaurant on the 5th floor of Central Pinklao, Bangkok, run by The Bibimbab Co., Ltd.

• Floor5th floor
• Hours10:00 to 22:00, every day
• Phone062-058-8282
• CityPinklao, Bangkok

Of the four, it sits furthest west, which makes it the griddle table for the Thonburi side of the river.

The full record, with the hours written out day by day and a map search link, is on the branch page for Central Pinklao.

Hwaro The Mall Bangkapi is a Korean griddle BBQ restaurant on the ground floor of The Mall Bangkapi, Bangkok, run by The Bibimbab Co., Ltd.

• FloorGround floor
• Hours10:00 to 21:00, every day
• Phone064-785-8282
• CityBangkapi, Bangkok

Of the four, it sits furthest east. It closes at 21:00 rather than 22:00, so plan an earlier evening here than at the other tables.

The full record, with the hours written out day by day and a map search link, is on the branch page for The Mall Bangkapi.

The carte is the same at all 4 branches, so the price does not depend on which mall you walk into. A griddle main, the full pan for the table, runs 250 to 295 baht. A mini BBQ, the smaller pan for one or two people, runs 185 to 245 baht. Rice, stews, noodles and the rest of the sides run 20 to 195 baht. Every figure is in Thai baht before VAT, and the set price includes rice, seaweed soup and banchan.

Dish by dish, with the Korean and Thai names beside each one, the carte is on the Hwaro menu page.

Every branch takes its own bookings on the number in its section above. For a large table, a birthday or a company dinner, the Group Order Center handles it centrally on 02-662-2268. Griddle tables seat around a pan, so a group of ten is several pans rather than one long table, and that is worth saying on the phone when you book.

Then look at The Bibimbab, the first brand of the same family, which serves dolsot bibimbap, soups and stews across 10 branches in Thailand. No mall holds both brands, so it is one or the other on the night. Every Hwaro table also serves bibimbap, fried rice, stews and ramyeon alongside the pan, which covers anyone at the table who would rather not grill.