Isu Station late-night bar: gopdoritang with ramen at Rainbow Pocha

A place where chicken, gopchang (beef intestines), chicken feet and glass noodles all come piled in, and I happily finished it off with ramen noodles.

Rainbow Pocha Isu Branch, a bar near Isu Station that's open late

Rainbow Pocha Isu Branch (레인보우포차 이수점) is a pocha (Korean pub) about 128 m from Exit 11 of Isu Station, open daily from 16:00 to 04:40 the next day. I was looking for somewhere filling near Isu Station in the late evening and stopped by. Since it's open until dawn I wasn't rushed, and being close to Exit 11 made it easy to find.

Seating and atmosphere at Rainbow Pocha Isu Branch

The exterior has a definite pocha feel, and there's even a platform seating area like a yajang (outdoor night market). Inside, there was a wider variety of seating than I expected.

There are indoor tables and also seats with an open view of the outside, so on a nice day it looks like you could enjoy an al fresco feel. The atmosphere works well if you're looking for an Isu Station bar for a late meal with drinks.

Rainbow Pocha Isu Branch: basic info and what we ordered

• Address: 40 Dongjak-daero 27ga-gil, Dongjak-gu, Seoul (1st and 2nd floors)
• About 128 m from Exit 11 of Isu Station
• Hours: daily 16:00 to 04:40 the next day
• Reservations, takeout and delivery available

• Chicken-feet gopdoritang ₩39,900
• Ramen noodles ₩2,000
• Steamed rice ₩1,500
• Corn cheese ₩9,900
• Total ₩53,300

While we waited for our order, potato sticks and tangy pickled radish came out as complimentary side dishes, nice for light snacking.

How were the portion and flavor of the chicken-feet gopdoritang?

The chicken-feet gopdoritang (닭발품은곱도리탕, ₩39,900) at Rainbow Pocha Isu Branch was already quite generous when it first arrived.

It's not just chicken and gopchang: chicken feet, glass noodles and vegetables fill the whole pot, so picking through everything is part of the fun. Once it started bubbling and the broth soaked into the ingredients, it looked even more tempting.

The chicken was tender and well seasoned, and the gopchang was plump with that signature nutty richness. The glass noodles especially soaked up the thick broth, and they were delicious even on their own.

You get gopchang, chicken and chicken feet all at once, and the broth is so rich that it felt like a waste to treat it only as drinking food. I think it would suit anyone looking for a hearty meal near Isu Station too.

The chicken feet went well with the spicy seasoning, and with rice cakes, potatoes, cabbage and more in the pot, it got more filling the longer we ate.

Mixing rice into the gopdoritang broth

I ordered steamed rice separately (₩1,500), topped it with chicken and gopchang, and poured a little of the gopdoritang broth over it to mix. Of course rice goes well with a rich broth like this. It's a good choice when you want drinking food and a proper meal at the same time at an Isu Station bar.

Why the gopdoritang broth stayed rich even with ramen noodles added

At Rainbow Pocha Isu Branch, the staff brought extra broth separately when we added ramen noodles (₩2,000). I put the noodles in after eating a fair amount of the solids, and that extra broth was what I liked most!

After pouring in the extra broth and bringing it back to a boil, the soup hadn't reduced too much or turned salty, even though we'd been simmering it for a long time. Instead, the deep, rich flavor from when we first started eating came back.

The noodles soaked up the spicy broth and were tasty themselves, but personally the broth was what was really good at this point. I kept spooning it up even while eating the noodles. Adding extra ingredients often makes the soup weaker than at the start, but thanks to the extra broth, Rainbow Pocha Isu Branch kept that first-bite richness. I liked the menu so much that I definitely want to come back to this Isu Station bar whenever I crave a spicy, rich soup to go with drinks.

Side dish corn cheese and the no-blank prize draw

The corn cheese (₩9,900) I ordered as a side was generous too.

Lots of cheese melted over golden corn, nutty and sweet, and the cheese stretched long when I scooped it with a spoon. Taking a bite now and then between the spicy gopdoritang softened my mouth, and the combination worked well.

I also tried the nostalgic no-blank prize draw at Rainbow Pocha Isu Branch. The result: 5th prize! I got a bottle of cola. It's a small event, but drawing yourself was fun and getting the cola right away put me in a good mood.

Is Rainbow Pocha Isu Branch worth going back to?

Rainbow Pocha Isu Branch is open late, so it works for a first round, a second round or a late-night meal. The main dish alone was generous, and after picking through chicken, gopchang and chicken feet, mixing broth into rice and finishing with ramen noodles, it felt like a proper meal.

Personally, I was satisfied overall with the menu, the portions and the taste. It's a filling Isu Station spot for late nights and comfortable for a drink too. What I remember most is that even the final ramen noodles had that rich broth flavor similar to the first bite.

I left satisfied enough to think this place is only going to get more popular. Next time I'm looking for a bar near Isu Station, I want to try the other dishes one by one.