Blind date bar in Jeonpo, Busan: hearty chicken hot pot at Dorandoran

What kind of bar is Dorandoran in Jeonpo?

Dorandoran (도란도란) is a cooking pub on the second floor at 38-1 Seojeon-ro 58beon-gil, in an alley in Jeonpo-dong, Busanjin-gu, Busan. It is open Tuesday to Sunday from 17:00 to 01:00 the next day (last order 00:00) and closed every Monday. There is Catch Table for reservations, you order by QR code, and every seat has phone charging. A Naver and Instagram review event is running too, but the details can change, so check again when you visit, haha.

Today it's kind of a blind date bar recommendation? It's tucked in a Jeonpo alley, quiet but pretty, not hectic and super famous, more the kind of date bar where people will say "how did you find this place?" This is Jeonpo Dorandoran!

The sign says "ㄷㄹㄷㄹ"

At first glance the sign doesn't spell out "Dorandoran" in big letters. It just says "ㄷㄹㄷㄹ", the consonants only. Kind of cute for no reason, no? haha

There's a big awning along the Jeonpo alley, so if you've ever walked through here you might think "hey, I think I've seen this place!"

Hidden away in the alley

Half the fun of Jeonpo is hunting for pretty shops down its twisting alleys, right? Dorandoran is exactly that. It isn't a flashy bar on a big main road but sits further inside the alley, so I thought it suits people looking for a Jeonpo-style bar even more.

I love places like this. That "only those in the know" feeling.

How to get to Dorandoran, and how to reserve and order

Dorandoran is on the second floor, so just follow the stairs up.

Even on the way up, the feeling is different from the outdoor alley you saw from outside, so I was quietly looking forward to it, haha

Catch Table at the entrance

There's a Catch Table device at the Dorandoran entrance too. There may be a wait at busy times, so if you're looking for a Jeonpo date bar on a weekend or Friday evening, check Catch Table before you go.

Easy ordering by QR code

Once you sit down, you order by QR code. Just look at the menu on your phone and order, done!

What's the vibe at Dorandoran as a Jeonpo blind date spot?

The inside of Dorandoran was much tidier than I expected from outside. It isn't dark and loud with tables crammed together the way bars often are, but calm and put together overall!

So the moment I walked in I thought, "this would be fine for a blind date." It's not so bright that it's embarrassing, and not so dark that you can't see the other person's face.

The mood is just right for talking, so it looked good as a Jeonpo bar for a blind date or first date.

A charger at every seat, so thoughtful 📱

Also, every seat at Dorandoran lets you charge your phone. These days I'm out all day and by the time I reach a bar I'm at 20% battery... that's me.

The window seats especially are pretty and have charging, so they were nice for sitting a long time on a date. Little things like this matter more than you'd think.

Complimentary side: potato chips

Potato chips came out as the complimentary side while we sat. Perfect for picking at a couple before the drinks arrive, haha. Having a small starter like this means you're not bored while waiting for the main dish.

What did we order? Chicken hot pot and hotteok ice cream

My boyfriend and I first ordered the chicken hot pot (닭고기전골, ₩24,000) at Dorandoran.

But still... it feels a bit sad to leave after just one anju (food to go with drinks), right? So later we added the hotteok (sweet filled pancake) ice cream (₩13,000)!

And since they're running Naver and Instagram review events, check the event menu too if you visit!

Is Dorandoran's ₩24,000 chicken hot pot big enough?

Dorandoran's chicken hot pot is ₩24,000 and the portion was quite big. The moment it finally arrived I thought, "this is ₩24,000?!" It's seriously loaded with vegetables.

It isn't just chicken: chicken + beef belly + vegetables + nurungji (scorched rice) all go in, so the portion was way bigger than I expected. Two people coming for a first round and ordering just this will eat plenty. So I'd really recommend this dish to anyone hunting for a good Jeonpo anju spot.

A hot pot that makes its own broth as it boils

There's no broth at first, but the longer you boil it, the more the vegetables release juices and the broth builds up. The start and the end feel like completely different dishes. The vegetables wilt, the flavor of chicken and beef belly seeps into the broth and gets richer, so it was really good as drinking food!!

Nurungji turns it into chicken porridge at the end

There's nurungji inside the hot pot, and as you keep boiling it the nurungji soaks up the broth and by the end it feels like a slightly loose chicken porridge. That's delicious too. So Dorandoran seems better as a hungry first-round bar in Seomyeon than as a light second stop!

When I eat hot pot, honestly I love well-cooked vegetables as much as the meat. Dorandoran's chicken hot pot had tons of what looked like napa cabbage, and scooping it up with the broth was so good. With the beef belly in there too, the flavor is definitely richer than chicken alone. For ₩24,000 we both said, "good value!"

Hotteok ice cream, ordered like a dessert 🍨

Dorandoran's hotteok ice cream was ₩13,000, and the amount of ice cream was... huge. We ordered it because we felt a little unsatisfied.

The hotteok is warm and the ice cream is cold, and eating them together gives a sweet-salty plus temperature-contrast combo that's tasty. I don't really like sweet things, so after a bite or two I just said "oh, nice," but my boyfriend... totally inhaled it. He ate almost all of it himself. People who like sweets would probably enjoy this as an anju or a dessert.

And after we ate well and came out, my boyfriend put my shoe like that.

Wait, the date went so well today, so why is the ending like this? Anyway, with this kind of silly stuff, our Jeonpo date came to the end.

Who is Dorandoran in Jeonpo for?

What I remembered most about Dorandoran in Jeonpo was above all the atmosphere that's good for quiet talking. Many Jeonpo bars are crowded, with loud music and a lot of noise, but Dorandoran feels relatively calm, so it's nice for eating and chatting with a partner and also seems fine for occasions like blind dates where conversation matters!

• People wondering where to hold a blind date
• People looking for a quiet Jeonpo date bar
• People looking for a Seomyeon bar where you can eat well from the first round

Oh, and the place itself is tidy, so it also looked fine for a stylish get-together with friends like a birthday party. If you're looking for a Jeonpo birthday party venue, it might be worth asking ahead!

Next time I'll probably eat the chicken hot pot again. It was really good when the nurungji turned loose, hahaha. And the hotteok ice cream... I'm going to feed my boyfriend. I'll have just two bites.