Cheongju yakitori izakaya: Charcoal Omakase A and oden soup, Sutori

Sutori Cheongju Bongmyeong Branch: opening hours and what we ordered

Sutori Cheongju Bongmyeong Branch is a yakitori izakaya at 70 Deogam-ro 114beon-gil, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea. It's closed on Tuesdays, and open Wednesday through Sunday from 18:00 to 3:00 the next day, with last order at 2:00.

Sutori Cheongju Bongmyeong Branch Closed Tuesdays Wed–Sun: 18:00–3:00 (next day) Last order: 2:00

If you're looking for a yakitori place in Bongmyeong-dong, Cheongju with lots of skewer variety and enough to actually fill you up, this is the spot. I went with the Charcoal Omakase A and a hot soup, so I could enjoy skewers and oden soup together.

Things kicked off with potato salad and cabbage salad as appetizers. Light and easy to nibble on while waiting for the skewers, and crab salad is also an option.

What comes in the Charcoal Omakase A at Sutori?

Yakitori is usually grilled to order skewer by skewer, so it tends to take longer than food that comes out all at once. But at Sutori, freshly grilled skewers kept arriving in a steady stream, so I barely felt like I was waiting.

As soon as I finished one skewer, the next one showed up, and every so often a new type would appear — it felt almost like a skewer omakase, enjoying each one as it came.

There were so many skewer types I can't remember them all, but they included pork neck, knee cartilage, heart, breast cartilage, lotus root, Vienna sausage, quail egg, chicken breast, cheese skewers, and tsukune (Japanese chicken meatballs), among others.

The tsukune stood out especially. A staff member showed me how to beat an egg yolk, dip the tsukune in it, then wrap it with seaweed. Following that method, the soft tsukune paired surprisingly well with the yolk and seaweed.

Oden soup packed with fish cake, plus cheongyang chili

The oden soup (Japanese-style fish cake soup) I ordered alongside the skewers was also satisfying. It came packed with more than one or two kinds of fish cake, plus bean sprouts, so it was fun picking through the broth for different bites.

The broth itself was clean and light, so I could keep drinking it without feeling weighed down, and I added cheongyang chili to make it a bit spicier. Switching between skewers and warm broth made for a great combo.

Since I like my oden soup spicy, I asked if they had cheongyang chili, and the staff brought some out neatly sliced on the side. That let me adjust the heat to my taste, which made the meal even more satisfying.

How filling is the Sutori omakase course?

The Charcoal Omakase A at Sutori Cheongju Bongmyeong Branch was filling enough to make me give up on a second round. Honestly, when I ordered, I was planning to eat the skewers and then head somewhere else. But once the skewers kept coming and coming in so many varieties, I ended up way more full than I expected.

In the end, I skipped the second round, walked around a bit outside to let it digest, and went home. These are great dishes to pair with drinks, but I'd driven that day so I couldn't drink — I just focused on the skewers, and honestly, they were plenty delicious and filling even without alcohol.

Terrace and window seats, and the service at Sutori

The place also has terrace seats and window-side seats, so on a nice day you could enjoy that outdoor feel while eating. The staff were kind too, and since there were several of them, they responded quickly whenever I needed something, which made things easy.

If you're looking for a yakitori place in Bongmyeong-dong, Cheongju that grills skewers one at a time, give Sutori Cheongju Bongmyeong Branch a try!! With such a wide variety of skewers and bigger portions than you'd expect, it's a perfect spot for anyone who wants to take their time and enjoy a relaxed meal-slash-drinking session, one skewer at a time.