Moran Station bar with Kirin draft and mentaiko potato: Robata Sobeu

Today I'm bringing you a review of Robata Sobeu, an izakaya near Moran Station. Here's how it went!

Where is Robata Sobeu near Moran Station, and how do you book a table?

Robata Sobeu is an izakaya about 300 meters, or a 5-minute walk, from Moran Station. It newly opened in August, and you can reserve a table through Catch Table!

Inside Robata Sobeu: wood interior and bar seats at the open kitchen

Robata Sobeu, this izakaya near Moran Station, has a cozy wood-toned interior. The Japanese-style lanterns hanging around the space work well with the open kitchen, so it seemed like a nice spot for a date in Moran or for a quiet drink. Besides table seats, there are also bar seats looking into the kitchen, which was nice for the two of us.

If you just look at this lantern it feels like Japan, but turn your head and it's Seongnam smack in the middle haha, the gap felt strong. This lantern really gave off a strong Japanese vibe.

Robata Sobeu menu and what we ordered

Here's the menu! Robata Sobeu has a good variety of dishes to go with drinks, including aged sashimi, mackerel bo sushi (고등어봉초밥), robata grilled skewers, fried dishes, and more.

I was going to order more on the spot but the staff crossed it off for me, sniff sniff, my horse mackerel — I'll try it again next time . . They also had sake, traditional liquor, and even whiskey, so you can enjoy a lot of variety, but I love Kirin draft too much so I went with draft beer!

We had

• Mackerel bo sushi ₩29,000
• Mentaiko cheese potato ₩15,000
• Kirin draft beer, 2 glasses (then 2 more) ₩16,000 + ₩16,000

The free starter: cabbage salad with tempura crumbs

They give you cabbage salad sprinkled with tempura crumbs as the basic starter, and the tempura crumbs were really the kick. The cabbage salad sauce was tasty too, but the crunchy tempura crumbs were seriously delicious.

Cheers with draft beer before the food even came out!

Kirin draft beer at 8,000 won a glass, and why we had two each

Robata Sobeu's Kirin draft beer is ₩8,000 a glass. I'm usually a Cass draft person, but when it comes to Japanese draft beer, I like Kirin or Asahi the best? (Honestly Asahi and Kirin don't sell that well so I end up drinking Cass...)

There aren't that many places that pour Kirin draft, so once I saw they had it here I couldn't resist ordering. My friend was only planning on one glass, but the foam was seriously so good that we both ended up having two glasses total in the end~

Mackerel bo sushi, 29,000 won: nutty, with no fishy taste

Robata Sobeu's mackerel bo sushi is ₩29,000. This was the dish I was most looking forward to and had already decided on before even showing up — the mackerel bo sushi!!!!

It comes out neatly arranged, filling the whole plate — doesn't it look mouthwatering just from the visuals? My friend and I were genuinely impressed while eating it. I once had this delivered from another restaurant and it was so fishy that I ended up throwing it away, but this place is truly the real deal. I'll be back just for this, sob.

Each mackerel bo sushi piece was meant to be eaten differently — the left one wrapped in seaweed with wasabi, the right one just brushed with soy sauce! It was interesting how the same dish tasted different that way. I liked the left one better, my friend liked the right one better. Honestly they were both delicious, so I think the left one might be slightly better... or not??? Just, both were delicious, haha.

Mentaiko cheese potato, 15,000 won: the dish that calls for another beer

The mentaiko cheese potato is ₩15,000. It comes out on a hot pan piled with potato and plenty of cheese, and the visual of the golden-browned cheese was really great.

Soft potato plus salty mentaiko and savory cheese made for the perfect beer side dish. Honestly, after the mackerel bo sushi we were already so full, but this dish made us order one more beer each anyway. Filling up on the mackerel bo sushi and pairing beer with the mentaiko cheese potato — there's no set-menu combo better than this.

Is Robata Sobeu worth a visit? Our verdict

There are really so many bars near Moran Station, but if you want atmosphere and good food together, Robata Sobeu seems like a solid choice. Honestly, looking inside the shop it's Japan, but outside it's pure Seongnam — sitting by the window probably makes that gap even more noticeable haha.

Overall the food came out neatly presented and both dishes we tried this time were delicious. I heard the grilled fish is also a highlight, but it was sold out, which was such a shame. In particular, the mackerel bo sushi was savory with no fishy taste, and the mentaiko cheese potato was warm and salty, pairing really well with the draft beer.

We only tried two dishes this time, but next time I definitely want the grilled fish and the Iberico pork (I can't even imagine how good that must be). And since dogs are welcome, it's a great chance to see cute dogs too — I'm definitely bringing my friend's dog along with my friend for drinks...

Robata Sobeu location, hours and parking

• Name: Robata Sobeu
• Address: 28-1 Jeil-ro 63beon-gil, Jungwon-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Location: About 300m, roughly 5 minutes from Moran Station
• Hours: Tue–Thu 17:00–01:00 / Fri–Sat 17:00–02:00 / Sun 17:00–24:00
• Regular closed day: Every Monday
• Parking: Nearby public parking lot
• Reservations available, dogs welcome