Gogi Halal Korean BBQ, Observatory

Updated: 02-11-2023

If you’re into K-Dramas then you’re likely into Korean food as well. Korean BBQ is the latest in trending food in South Africa, and Gogi have opened a halaal branch in Observatory in Cape Town to cater to the Muslim crowd clamouring for this new foodie craze.

The fact that they have been booked out for weeks in advance tells you how popular this cuisine has become. Or maybe it’s just the latest fad and will fizzle out in a few months. Then you won’t need to book months in advance to secure your seat. It’s also because right now it’s the only halaal option for this type of food. Until more outlets start offering it, be prepared to wait your turn.

The venue is located in St Peters Square in Observatory on the second floor. They are only open for dinner and reservations are a must. The decor is simple with open industrial celings. This is needed for the concertina style copper extractors which is dramatically pulled down from above when your grill is lit. They are a must have or you’d be sitting in a haze of smoke trying to find one another. Seating is booth style and is designed for large groups. Each table with it’s bbq pit set inside can take about 8 people.

The service was good and the waiters knew the menu well. They were all able to help us make choices as navigating the menu was a challenge for a first timer in trying to understand which flavours to expect from the foreign names.

We were a large group and everyone ordered something different so we could all have a taste. The mocktails were a citrusy Yuzu and a refreshing Basil & Mint. Both were delicious. We ordered the Beef Brisket BBQ and the Bulgogi BBQ. The brisket comes in a 250g portion as paper thin roll-ups which gets cooked rolled up on the grid. The Bulgogi is slices of beef marinated in soy, sugar, garlic and seasonings. Both were cooked for us by our waiter. You don’t in fact have to do your own braaing.

The BBQ set comes with bottomless sides of different sauces, hot and mild, pickled radish, potato, lettuce, kimchi, onions, rice and more. I found the marinated beef more tasty. The brisket was a bit plain but the idea is to pack your meat, rice and condiments into a lettuce leaf, roll it up and eat it like that. You can have endless flavour combinations depending on what you put together. We all enjoyed this as a fun interactive dining experience.

Some of the other dishes included Chicken Wontons – delicious, Sausage Kimbab which looks like sushi but has meat and veg – ok, Mini Corndog – bland, Korean Fried Chicken cubes – yum, Dakgalbi which is stir fried chicken and veg – good, Beef Short Ribs – delicious, and several more that I forget the names of. We tried 2 desserts, the one was a fried dough made with rice served with honey, I didn’t enjoy this, it was too stodgy. The other was a flat fried pastry with a nutty filling, hint of cinnamon, drenched in honey and served with ice cream. I enjoyed this, it gave me Baklava vibes.

The average price of the BBQ options is R300 and the mains are about R160. I did not spot a kids menu. This is not a cheap night out but it is a worthwhile experience.