Live fish sashimi platter and butter crab at Maenggu Pocha, Gwang-an

If you're in Gwangalli, Busan, you have to eat fresh seafood and sashimi, right?

So while hunting for good Gwangalli restaurants, I found this place where you can enjoy a bunch of menu items at once. Let me introduce Maenggu Pocha Gwang-an Main Branch, a bar in Gwangalli.

Basic info on Maenggu Pocha Gwang-an Main Branch

• Location: 72 Namcheonbada-ro 33beon-gil, Suyeong-gu, Busan, 1st floor
• Hours: 6 PM to 4 AM
• Pet-friendly, no parking (use the lot in front or the public parking lot next door)

What's the outside and inside vibe like

Maenggu Pocha Gwang-an Main Branch is located close to Gwangalli Beach.

The sign gives off a neighborhood pocha (street-food bar) vibe, so the atmosphere felt comfortable.

We made a reservation ahead of time just in case, and sure enough, the place was fully booked not long after we arrived~

There were a lot of travelers, but also plenty of locals. That's probably a guarantee the food is good, right? Haha.

Inside had a retro pocha feel, decorated with chalkboard writing you see right when you walk in and props with a 90s vibe.

Menu lineup and our order

The menu at Maenggu Pocha, this Gwangalli bar/restaurant, was really varied.

There were 3 kinds of platter sets, and we ordered the live fish sashimi platter.

There were also steamed dishes, soups, and single sashimi orders, so I had a hard time deciding what to pick haha. I think the wide menu range is one reason this place is considered a Gwangalli favorite. We also ordered the butter crab we'd been eyeing before we even arrived.

When we went to order drinks, there was a game event running for the soju brand Good Day, so we joined in.

We won a hangover remedy drink from the event's random draw and got it as a gift~

How was the live fish sashimi platter and butter crab

The soju came out first, served with shot glasses and the soju bottle nestled in ice! That kind of small detail really felt like a nice touch.

They also gave us disposable gloves so we could eat the crab comfortably.

The live fish sashimi platter came generously packed with sashimi, sushi, and even spicy fish stew. It was a visual that made you hungry just looking at it 😁

Being right by the Gwangalli sea, the sashimi had no fishy smell at all.

And then the butter crab we'd been looking forward to arrived, and the smell alone was serious business. The butter flavor made it addictive, and dipping it in the sauce made it even better without any greasiness.

The crab was big, so it was much easier to eat once we cut it with scissors~

How could you eat this without soju?? Soak it in some Good Day!!

As we ate, we started craving carbs and were about to order the fire noodle jjapaguri, but since someone in our group couldn't handle spicy food, we asked to switch it to regular jjapaguri (Korean-style black bean noodles) instead, and they happily made the change. I'd recommend eating this one as soon as it arrives~ Since it's a noodle dish, the taste gets a little worse once time passes!

How do the Maenggu Pocha coins work

A fun little extra at this Gwangalli bar!

At Maenggu Pocha, they give you coins that you can trade for snacks. Apparently 1 coin is worth ₩1,000. You can play a game to bet against other tables holding coins and win more, and once you collect 5 coins you can trade them for ₩15,000 worth of snacks.

We had just 1 coin, so we traded it for a snack we wanted. It was tasty eating Kkoedori (a classic Korean snack) again after a long time~

Where's the restroom

The restroom at Maenggu Pocha is inside, toward the back. They say if there's a long wait for the restroom, you should use the public restroom instead, but honestly, just having a restroom inside the place at all was really nice.

While waiting for the restroom, I took some photos — this area also had classic posters and newspaper clippings stuck up.

I couldn't help but crack a smile at the 'Maenggu mirror' hanging on the wall haha.

It was satisfying to have a restroom inside where you could go safely.

Overall thoughts

Maenggu Pocha Gwang-an Main Branch in Gwangalli was satisfying overall — fresh seafood, butter crab, and friendly service that even swapped our menu for jjapaguri.

The food was good all around! It's perfect as a drinking side dish. I could see why the place gets so busy it fills up completely. There's no dedicated parking, so if you're driving, keep that in mind — you can use the nearby public parking lot~ If you're looking for somewhere for an evening drinking session in Gwangalli, Maenggu Pocha Gwang-an Main Branch is worth a try~