Hyehwa pub for burner-cooked spicy gopdori-tang: Hyehwahwa

What is Hyehwahwa? A Korean pub in front of Hyehwa Station Exit 4

Hyehwahwa is a Korean pub on the 2nd floor right in front of Hyehwa Station Exit 4. Let me introduce my favorite restaurant in Hyehwa. This is my Nth visit here, and I've been satisfied every single time... but they always have new menu items, and every single one I've tried has been delicious. Good!!

This time I tried the gopdori-tang (spicy gopchang and chicken stew) and it was genuinely delicious — a bit different from other places' gopdori-tang, clean-tasting and chewy, seriously so good.

If you're looking for a Korean pub in Hyehwa with a nice vibe, clean food, and great taste, this is the place — Hyehwahwa.

Strongly recommend this place. It's right in front of Hyehwa Station Exit 4, right next to a CGV, so it's perfect to grab dinner before a movie, or a great date-night restaurant to visit before heading up to see the cherry blossoms or fall foliage night view at Naksan Park.

Closed on Mondays, open 17:00–01:00.

Hanok views from the 2nd floor and where to sit at Hyehwahwa

View

Since Hyehwahwa is on the 2nd floor, you get this hanok (traditional Korean house) view — the atmosphere is really nice. And you can eat with the window open, so it has a bit of an outdoor-dining feel too.

Besides that, there's also a bar table and 2–4 person tables, so just sit wherever's comfortable!

Hyehwahwa's menu and how QR ordering works

Hyehwahwa lets you order by QR code, and the menu had been updated again since I last checked, haha. The chef here apparently used to work at a Michelin 3-star place, and honestly everything is delicious across the board — they had a signature rice-cake gopdori-tang, so I ordered that once and added a half plate of two-plus grade Korean beef yukhoe too, haha. Besides that, a lot of people seem to go for the knife-cut octopus and pork jowl suyuk (boiled pork slices)!

This is the garlic suyuk plus yukhoe-and-salmon combo I had on a previous visit — it comes out looking really pretty and tastes great too. But this time I went for the new menu items, haha.

• Straw-fire seared spicy gopdori-tang
• Two-plus grade beef yukhoe, half plate

Free welcome makgeolli and dubu-kimchi for early arrivals

Since I came early, they gave me makgeolli as a welcome drink along with dubu-kimchi, and it was tasty.

After I finished it, there was a carp flopping around at the bottom of the glass! Such a cute detail, haha.

Two-plus grade Korean beef yukhoe: how much is a half plate?

Hyehwahwa's Korean beef yukhoe comes as a half plate, but the plate itself is so big that the portion is generous. I ordered the beef yukhoe as something simple and clean to have with a cold beer — dipped in sesame oil it's nutty and delicious, and the meat was really fresh!! I'll call it certified yukhoe restaurant.

This yukhoe sauce was genuinely delicious. Something peppery, a bit sweet too — this is the real deal ☺️❤️

It's so good I have to order more drinks - ❤️

Straw-fire spicy gopdori-tang, 7–8 minutes on the tabletop burner

For Hyehwahwa's gopdori-tang, they bring you a burner and you simmer it yourself for about 7–8 minutes! It's a gopdori-tang made with cleanly washed gopchang (beef intestines) that's been quickly seared over an open flame before going into the pot. The good thing about searing it once first is that there's much less grease, so it's actually clean-tasting and you don't get sick of it — and because of that, it goes down even easier!! Normally other places' gopdori-tang can feel messy or have a gamey smell or be too greasy so I can't keep eating it, but here there's none of that at all — genuinely the best I've had.

Plus it's loaded generously with potato, glass noodles, and rice cake, so the portion is huge too. I usually don't drink the broth of gopdori-tang because it's too greasy, but this one has that straw-fire and charred flavor going on, so the aroma is on another level. The broth here is so good that if I hadn't been full I would've ordered extra noodles. This has officially replaced my favorite dish here ---------

It's spicy but not too hot — just plain delicious.

And the yukhoe, need I say more ,,,,, nutty plus nutty, pairs perfectly with beer.

Open-kitchen straw-fire show: Hyehwahwa as a Hyehwa date spot

Looking out at the hanok view with a cool breeze and delicious food — this is basically enjoying the finer things, a Hyehwa spot for healing and a great date course, wouldn't you say? It might be the place that fits the mood of Hyehwa best.

The owner is quite young too — straw fire plus open flame equals a fire show. Since it's an open kitchen, being able to watch the cooking process up close was another appealing part, haha.

There's chicken inside too, plus plenty of gopchang, so I got to eat really full and satisfied. They offered ice cream as part of a review event, so I thought I'd try that too. But the portions were just too big and I couldn't finish it, hahahaha.

If you're looking for a good restaurant in Hyehwa, give this Korean pub, Hyehwahwa, a visit!