Hongdae yakitori bar with parking for 3 after pork belly: Yakitori Iyu

A skewer place for a second round after meat in Hongdae: Yakitori Iyu

Yakitori Iyu (야키토리 이유) is a Hongdae izakaya serving Japanese-style charcoal-grilled skewers, and we came here for our second round after a meat dinner. Since we'd had meat first, we said, let's have a drink with skewers next. I'd heard you can get properly charcoal-grilled Japanese skewers here, went with high hopes, and left totally satisfied, as expected.

There are lots of skewer specialty places these days, but few grill them this carefully and this well. Definitely coming back. 2000000%

Does Yakitori Iyu have parking?

Yes, you can park next to the shop. Oh my!! It even has parking... Though it's a narrow street, so checking for a spot before you visit is a must!

Shop size and seating at Yakitori Iyu

The shop isn't big, but it's not too small either. There were three of us, so we took a table instead of the counter seats :D

We started a bit early that day, and the meat restaurant got crowded later on; at Iyu too, the tables were almost all full by the time we left.

The shop was really clean, and what surprised me most was the clear shield on the skewer-grilling side. At teppan places or skewer specialty shops, that shield is often very dirty, but this one was spotless..!!!

Menu and prices: what the three of us ordered

Prices at Yakitori Iyu were decent overall. There are main dishes, but also side dishes that aren't a burden to order, which I liked! Here's what we ordered:

• 5-skewer set ₩17,800
• Brisket radish somyeon noodles (chadol mu-saengchae somyeon) ₩13,000
• Spinach butter shrimp stir-fry ₩20,000
• Soju (Saero) ₩5,000 x N bottles

Note that the only regular soju they sell is Saero and Jinro. Among the signature dishes there was also pork belly yurinki (fried chicken-style pork with sauce), but since we'd had pork belly for the first round, we picked other signature dishes instead.

They bring out cups so you can choose one to your taste.

Cucumber salad came as the otoshi (starter side). Nibbling on it with soju before the main snacks arrive ♬

What skewers come in the 5-skewer set?

The 5-skewer set at Yakitori Iyu (₩17,800) came, from the left, as chicken wing, chicken heart, chicken knee cartilage, chicken neck and pork belly.

Watching them grill, you could see they put real care into every single skewer. Ahh.. how long has it been since I had proper skewers ♬ I really love skewers as drinking snacks, but my neighborhood has no good skewer place, sob. I guess I can only get them by going to a Hongdae izakaya like this.

3 skewer sauces, and I recommend the Cheongyang chili pesto

The skewers at Yakitori Iyu come with 3 sauces: a spicy sauce, salt, and Cheongyang chili (hot green chili) pesto.

My pick is the Cheongyang chili pesto!!! That spiciness is such a sneaky temptation. The skewers were seriously sooo good ㅠㅠㅠ

Brisket radish somyeon noodles, for when you crave carbs

The brisket radish somyeon (thin wheat noodles) (₩13,000) is a spicy mixed noodle dish that comes with Iyu's own richly seasoned radish salad and brisket. My brother-in-law seemed to be craving carbs, so he picked and ordered this.

You add the mixing sauce to your taste and toss it. Mixed noodles piled with seaweed flakes would be cheating if they weren't good! Eaten with meat, this is seriously a can't-go-wrong combo, right? ♥

Spinach butter shrimp stir-fry, a soju thief I'm glad we ordered

The spinach butter shrimp stir-fry (₩20,000) is a shrimp and vegetable stir-fry cooked with spinach pesto and buttery aroma. This.. I'm really glad we ordered it. It's insanely chewy-good... It has a Western feel too, and it's a total soju thief (so good you keep drinking).

The vegetables like eggplant, onion and mushroom are chunky, and the shrimp are plump and big. The vegetables were grilled perfectly! It goes really well with the spinach pesto. It's quite mild, so I dipped it in a bit of the skewer salt too haha

Yakitori Iyu second round: overall verdict

We cleared all three dishes in our second round, and Yakitori Iyu was a really satisfying Hongdae izakaya. If you're looking for a bar with a good atmosphere in Hongdae, or want a drink with properly grilled yakitori, definitely stop by!

• Address: 20-13 Jandari-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul (basement level 1)
• Hours: 17:00-24:00 (closed Tuesdays)
• Parking: next to the shop
• Corkage: charged