Daegu izakaya terrace watching baseball with highballs: Gyodong Nakwon

I was out in downtown Daegu and went to Gyodong Nakwon, a Gyodong bar my friend recommended after having a great time there before! It had that Japanese izakaya vibe going for it, and honestly the menu was so exactly my type that I knew I had to go — and it really did hit the spot for a happy drink. Let's get into the review~ 🍻

Gyodong Nakwon hours and parking

• Hours: Mon–Fri 18:00–2:00 (next day) / Sat, Sun 17:00–2:00 (next day)
• Parking: Not available

Japanese izakaya vibes from the entrance

The orange Japanese-lettered sign at the entrance immediately gives off that izakaya feeling before you even step inside. But maybe because the place is called Gyodong Nakwon, the song 'Rumor of Paradise' kept auto-playing in my head lol 🎶

Right from the entrance you can see photos of their signature dishes, and they all look so good. Ugh, I'm getting hungry — let's go in and pick what to eat 🤤

The interior vibe is great too!! Japanese-style posters everywhere and sake bottles on display, it really feels like you stepped into Japan~ The lighting is soft too, so it's cozy in there!

Dachi bar seats, and a terrace with a screen

Besides table seats, there's also this dachi bar counter set up! Sitting side by side chatting over drinks seems nice too~

Keep going toward the back and there's this spacious outdoor pocha-style terrace! There's a big screen too, and they happened to be playing baseball. Since I wanted to enjoy a drink while watching the game, we sat here! The space is roomy enough that it'd work well for group gatherings or company dinners too!

Going further outside, this seems to be the smoking area! They decorated it so nicely.. total vibes. The view from inside was pretty, but from out here it's even prettier. You could tell they put thought into every corner, which made it fun to look around!

The menu and the drinks

The menu has all kinds of things from signature mains to side dishes! And during yellowtail season they even serve yellowtail~ The drink selection ranges from various sakes to highballs, soju, beer, traditional liquors and more, but we went with highballs!

The house snack here is shrimp chips, and they're great~ crunchy, nutty, and salty, so you just keep grabbing more..

Suntory highball and Jim Beam highball

The highballs arrived~ My friend ordered a Jim Beam highball, and I got a Suntory highball! They even matched the glasses to the drinks so nicely haha. Little touches like this just make me happy 😚

We each picked up a glass and did a cheers first. Taking a sip, it's refreshing and the aroma is really good! That's the flavor~~~

Our ordered dishes showed up too!! The food came out faster than expected, which was nice! We ordered crab tomalley pasta and aged salmon sashimi~ Both looked so delicious just visually, so I was busy snapping photos while the good smell wafted over.. we're hungry, let's eat!!!

How was the aged salmon sashimi

Let's start light with the sashimi~ Look at how thick these salmon slices are... the color looks so appetizing... 🤤

Dipping it in the sauce and taking a bite, it's genuinely soft, melting in your mouth.. and because the salmon is so thick, even one slice fills your mouth. Soft, savory, and with that thick texture done right, it's such a happy bite. Salmon really is love 🤤💗

Piling radish sprouts, onion, and wasabi onto the sauce and eating it all in one bite makes it even better~ The moist, soft, nutty salmon paired with the crunchy, sharp radish sprouts, onion, and wasabi is a great combo. This is the fun of salmon — piling on extras and getting a mouthful of different flavors at once.

Crab tomalley pasta: taste and one drawback

The crab tomalley pasta came out looking so pretty too. Even before eating, the rich crab aroma was wafting up and making me drool..

You mix all the ingredients together like this before eating! I usually love crab flavors so I was curious, and sure enough, the rich, dense flavor of the crab tomalley really comes through and it's so good!! The sauce was so tasty that I wish there was more of it 😭 If you like thick, rich sauces, you'll really love this one.

The shrimp in it were plump and generous too, adding even more richness! Coated with the crab tomalley sauce, the texture is great and the nutty flavor comes through even more.

That day we also celebrated my friend passing a civil service exam, and getting to enjoy delicious food with a drink alongside it made for such a satisfying meal! Getting to celebrate good news together made the day even more fun ☺️🍻

On the way out, they even handed us candy, so we left feeling good right to the end~ 🍬

Why I want to come back

I get it now, why my friend kept coming back! Every single snack was delicious and the vibe was great, so I left satisfied too. I noticed the motsunabe beef intestine hot pot on the menu, which I was curious about, so I want to go back and try that next time lol. I already want to come back! If you're looking for a bar with a great atmosphere in Gyodong, Daegu, I highly recommend Gyodong Nakwon!!! 🍻✨