Daegu yakitori bar date night with charcoal skewers: Toriaejeu

Today, my friend and I decided to have a low-key drink somewhere quiet after work. Here’s my review of Toriaejeu (토리아에즈), a great spot for a casual visit in Sangin-dong, Dalseo-gu, Daegu :)

It’s in Sangin-dong, Dalseo-gu, Daegu, 306 m from Exit 3 of Sangin Station on Daegu Metro Line 1. It is open daily from 18:00 until 02:00 the next day, with last orders at 01:00, and is regularly closed on the fourth and fifth Tuesday of each month. For parking, you can use the paid Lotte Cinema Sangin Parking Lot.

Sangin-dong izakaya exterior with a softly lit sign

Rather than flashy neon, the exterior had a softly lit sign, giving it that Japanese alleyway feel -

There was a menu outside too, so we could read through it before going in.

Inside, from counter seats to four-person tables

Outside, there was an L-shaped counter seating area. The doors were wide open, so we could enjoy the izakaya atmosphere with a cool breeze :) There were hangers and boxes for storing belongings, plus two-person tables.

There were seats farther inside too - another area with its own atmosphere :)

There were two-person and four-person tables, and cute little figures were displayed along the side, making it feel like we’d stepped into a local Japanese pub ••

How do you order the skewer sauces?

Toriaejeu’s skewers came in a wide range, starting in the ₩1,500 range and going up to the ₩5,900 range.

You write your order on the slip right in front of you and hand it to a staff member •• There were three flavor options like this, and you just marked your choice on the slip!

• Circle: salt-grilled
• Triangle: spicy-grilled
• No mark: original tare-grilled (Japanese-style sweet soy sauce)

For first-time visitors, they recommended the 10-skewer yakitori platter! Apparently, it comes with about a ₩1,000 discount, but we had specific things we wanted to eat, so we ordered other items.

Cabbage came out as the basic drinking snack. I seriously love this cabbage that comes with izakaya visits! At Toriaejeu, an extra serving of cabbage was ₩1,900 -

What the Tori Highball and Lemon Highball tasted like

▪️ Tori Highball ₩6,500 ▪️ Lemon Highball ₩6,000 The Tori had a stronger liquor flavor, while the Lemon was fresh and light! Highballs that are just right even for light drinkers ✌🏻

Once you order, they grill everything right in front of you - the kitchen is open, so it was a treat for both the eyes and nose :) It also made the food feel trustworthy from a hygiene standpoint!

At Toriaejeu, cooking starts as soon as you order, so it took a little time. But while you snack on cabbage and chat, the skewers make their entrance!!

• Mentaiko rice ₩5,900
• Negima ₩2,500 · skirt steak ₩2,700
• Whole pork belly ₩5,900 · whole chicken thigh ₩3,800
• Chicken knee cartilage ₩2,600 · enoki mushroom ₩3,200
• Tsukune ₩4,900 · mochi ₩3,400

Everything we tried, from mentaiko rice to whole chicken thigh

▪️ Mentaiko rice ₩5,900 I was hungry, so I tried the mentaiko rice first, and the mentaiko was honestly such a rice thief. It was nicely salty and went surprisingly well with drinks too -

⭐️ Negima ₩2,500 Such a perfect pairing of scallion aroma and chicken! We ordered it salt-grilled, and it felt mildly seasoned and a little dry. I recommend the tare sauce instead.

⭐️ Skirt steak ₩2,700 It was a mild cut that became more flavorful as I chewed. The spicy sauce was soooo spicy though..? A little hotter than Buldak, so I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who can’t handle spice - the meat itself was tender, making it nice as a basic skewer.

⭐️ Whole pork belly ₩5,900 It was chewy and subtly sweet in a strangely addictive way.

⭐️ Whole chicken thigh ₩3,800 The thigh was my friend’s and my top pick -! It was tender and juicy, just perfect with drinks. I really, really recommend trying it at least once. We loved it so much that we ordered it again with the spicy flavor. Personally, the tare sauce was insanely good. ⭐️ Chicken knee cartilage ₩2,600 This knee cartilage was great for its crunchy texture. The charcoal aroma had soaked in nicely, so highly recommended.

⭐️ Enoki mushroom ₩3,200 This skewer wraps enoki mushrooms in pork belly. Meat and enoki together can’t possibly be bad, right~? The texture and all that juice were sooo good. ⭐️ Tsukune ₩4,900 It tasted a little like eating dumpling wrappers! Dipping it in egg yolk brought out even more savory flavor.

▪️ Mochi ₩3,400 Looking at it, I thought they’d served us pork fat, haha. But it was crispy outside and chewy inside, so it was perfect as a dessert and final bite.

The restroom was farther inside; go into the inner seating area and keep going to the right. Even the restroom was decorated with that Japanese vibe, so the atmosphere was lovely -

There was even a slushie prepared on one side, which was nice for a refreshing finish as the drinks wound down. The slushie tasted like Tank Boy pear ice pop!! 🍐

Would it suit a quiet date or a casual second round?

It had the atmosphere of a local Japanese pub, with each skewer carefully charcoal-grilled, plus plenty of mood. An all-purpose drinking spot for a quiet date, drinking alone, or a casual second round! If you want a day that starts lightly and ends happily, I highly recommend Toriaejeu Sangin Daegu Branch ⭐️⭐️⭐️