Itaewon cocktail bar for Apple Martini and Faust: Yahwa Honsul Bar

Today I went to Haebangchon and Itaewon with a friend for the first time in a while.

If you like drinking alone, you've probably heard of the honsul bar (solo-drinking bar)! This is my review of Yahwa Honsul Bar Seoul Itaewon Branch (야화 혼술바 이태원점).

What's the atmosphere like at Yahwa Honsul Bar Itaewon?

Yahwa Honsul Bar Seoul Itaewon Branch is a solo bar in Itaewon where you can come alone without feeling awkward, and chat naturally with other guests if you feel like it. When you hear "solo drinking," you usually picture quietly drinking by yourself, but Yahwa is a bit different. You won't feel out of place coming alone, and you can talk with other people naturally if you want to. It's a bar with a pretty unique vibe.

So a fairly large share of guests come alone, and even first-timers can sit down and enjoy a drink without any pressure. The fun part is that the mood changes a little depending on the day of the week!

Calm on Sunday, hot on Saturday

On days like Sunday, Yahwa is relatively calm, so it's nice for chatting quietly with the bartender or the guest next to you. On Saturday, I heard, the mood gets much livelier, and it's common for people to share tables or strike up conversations with other tables.

I think the charm of Yahwa is that you can have a quiet drink alone or a night of talking with new people.

How do you order at Yahwa Honsul Bar?

At Yahwa Honsul Bar Seoul Itaewon Branch, you order with the QR code stuck to each seat. You can browse the many menu items with their descriptions and pick from there.

This time I tried these four drinks.

• 🍍 Malibu highball
• 🍏 Apple Martini
• 🍸 Cosmopolitan
• 🔥 Faust

How did the cocktails at Yahwa taste?

🍏 Apple Martini: a dangerous, drink-it-like-juice taste

Yahwa's Apple Martini had a stronger fresh apple aroma than I expected. It's sweet and tart, so you hardly taste the alcohol, which makes it dangerous haha. It goes down so easily, like a soft drink, but it's actually fairly strong, so be careful. If you like fresh, zesty cocktails, I think you'll be happy with it.

🍸 Cosmopolitan: a pleasantly dry, grown-up taste

The Cosmopolitan is that cocktail you always see in movies and dramas! The tartness of cranberry and the citrus aroma are nicely balanced. It isn't just sweet; it's pleasantly dry, so it tastes a bit more grown-up. The glass and the color are pretty too, so it's a great cocktail for photos.

Magic conchs all around the bar

Here and there in Yahwa there's a Magic Conch (?) sitting around, so I opened it up and stared it down. Asking questions by category, like marriage, changing jobs and romance, was really fun haha. Little joys like this!

🍍 Malibu highball: recommended for cocktail beginners

Malibu is a coconut rum-based liqueur, and with the Malibu highball the coconut aroma hits you right from the first sip. It feels a bit like a resort cocktail. It's sweet and fizzy, so it's easy to drink, and even people who don't drink much can handle it, so I recommend it for beginners.

🔥 Faust: the owner's recommendation and the best of the day

Faust was personally the most memorable cocktail of the day, and the owner recommended it! Rather than sweetness, it had rich flavor and a heavy feel. The first sip is smooth, but the alcohol makes itself felt more and more toward the end, so you end up sipping it slowly. I'd recommend it to people who like something a bit deeper than a light cocktail.

🥃 Godfather: a classic I had on an earlier visit

I'll also explain the Godfather I had at Yahwa before. It's a classic cocktail made with whiskey and amaretto, and you get a sweet almond aroma and the heaviness of whiskey at the same time. It starts out sweet, but the whiskey really lingers at the end, so it has a more masculine charm than you'd expect. It's also a menu item quite a few people who like strong drinks order.

Final thoughts on Yahwa Honsul Bar Itaewon?

Overall, Yahwa Honsul Bar felt less like a place just for drinking and more like a space for talking with people and enjoying the mood.

You won't feel awkward coming alone at all, and you can chat naturally with new people if you want, so I was really satisfied! If you're looking for a different kind of bar in Itaewon, it's worth a visit 🍸