After-work Guro izakaya for 3: Set 5, jjamppong swap, Chamisul, Sodam

Today's review is of an izakaya where I stopped for a drink after work in Gudi (Guro Digital Complex area). With friends, I wiped out aged sashimi + mixed skewers + Nagasaki jjamppong, every last bite, haha.

Where is Robatayaki Sodam Guro Digital Complex Branch, and when is it open?

Robatayaki Sodam Guro Digital Complex Branch (로바다야끼소담 구로디지털단지점) is at 97-3 Dijiteol-ro 32-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul, on the 2nd floor, 258 m from Exit 1 of Guro Digital Complex Station. It is open daily from 17:00 to 01:30, and you can reserve through Naver. Rooms for 3-4 people can be booked, and ordering a set menu gets you 10% off sake.

Just come out of Guro Digital Complex Station and walk toward Kkalkkal-georI (Kkalkkal Street)! Pass the blue arch, head straight into the alley and you'll spot it quickly. The sign says "Sodam" in big letters, so it's easy to find. It's on the 2nd floor of the building.

The opening hours are posted next to the door, and since it's open until 1:30 a.m., it's also good for a second round.

What is the interior of Robatayaki Sodam like?

Right when you walk in there's a fish aging cabinet... and whole fish are hanging in it. They say the sashimi is made from the fish aged here 👀

In front of the bar table, skewer ingredients and fish for grilling are spread out on ice. It's the robatayaki way, where they grill things right in front of you when you order, so sitting at the bar and watching the grilling seems fun. Seeing these fresh ingredients, you really feel what robatayaki is about.

Isn't this just Japan..?

It feels like a genuinely atmospheric Japanese pub was lifted and dropped into Gudi! There are tons of rooms, and it's really spacious.

Every table has a partition, so it was nice and private. You can chat without worrying about the next table, so it'd work for a company dinner or group gathering too. You can also book a room for 3-4 people through Naver reservations.

Robatayaki Sodam menu and set options

The menu at Robatayaki Sodam is huge: sets, tempura, à la carte dishes, even sake. When you can't decide, a set is the safest choice. There are sets from 2 people up to 3-4 people, and ordering a set also gets you 10% off sake!

The drinks list is huge too.

Complimentary side: a fried egg on a hot iron plate

As the basic setting, Robatayaki Sodam brings out a fried egg on an iron plate. The yolk is soft-set, and with a little soy sauce sprinkled on, it's perfect drinking food.

Set 5 for three, with the oden nabe swapped for Nagasaki jjamppong

What we ordered was Set 5 (₩67,000), the Nagasaki swap (₩3,000), and Chamisul soju (₩5,500).

• Set 5: ₩67,000
• Nagasaki swap: ₩3,000
• Chamisul soju: ₩5,500

Set 5 comes with small sashimi + mixed skewers + oden nabe (fish cake hot pot), but we swapped the oden nabe for Nagasaki jjamppong (spicy-free seafood noodle soup). The amount was decent even for three of us!! We ate almost everything, haha. The feast begins ~~~~

Aged sashimi

The Set 5 sashimi came with a good variety: octopus, salmon, white fish, scallop, and yellowtail? The fish is aged, so the flesh is chewy and the savory flavor really comes up. The salmon is thick, and its rich oiliness fills your whole mouth,

and the octopus has a satisfying chew. It also comes with pickled ginger and rakkyo (pickled scallions), which are great for cleansing your palate in between. The sashimi goes down so easily that the soju just keeps flowing...

Mixed skewers

The mixed skewers at Robatayaki Sodam have a really wide variety on a single plate. Ginkgo nuts, cherry tomato wrapped in bacon, quail egg wrapped in bacon, king prawn, and chicken skewers!

The chicken skewer is golden outside and juicy inside, and we kept picking them up one by one until they vanished in no time. The bacon wraps taste exactly like you'd expect: insanely good. The prawn is plump and bouncy.

The ginkgo nuts were bittersweet and nutty, perfect with drinks.

Finishing with Nagasaki jjamppong

Last was the Nagasaki jjamppong! A milky broth packed with mussels, shrimp, small octopus, beef brisket, bean sprouts, and cabbage.

The broth, rich with flavor from the seafood and brisket, is deep and refreshing, the kind that works as a hangover cure, lol. There are noodles in it too, so we slurped them down along with the broth. After sashimi and skewers, finishing with a hot soup was perfect.

A full-stomach, slightly tipsy day... Next time I want to sit at the bar and try the grilled fish too 👀

Verdict: sashimi and skewers in one sitting, a good group spot in Guro Digital Complex

If you're looking for an izakaya in Gudi, I highly recommend Robatayaki Sodam! There are plenty of places to drink after work in Gudi, but honestly that's also a bit of a dilemma. A place that does both sashimi and skewers properly is surprisingly hard to find. But at Sodam you can enjoy aged sashimi, skewers, and a hot pot dish all at once, which I loved!!

And personally, I think Sodam's biggest charm is the space. The vibe feels like Japan transplanted as-is, and there are lots of seats, plus lots of rooms and partitions. In Gudi, where offices are packed together, that matters a lot, you know,,, 🫠

It's easy to talk comfortably and rooms can be booked, so I'd recommend it for Gudi company dinners or group gatherings too 🍢❤️