Sunday day drinking at Wonang, a Korean bar near Sadang Station

Today's post is about a visit to Wonang Sadang Main Branch, partly to clear my head and partly for some day-drinking 🍻

Where is Wonang Sadang Main Branch? A short walk from Sadang Station

Wonang Sadang Main Branch, a Korean-style bar, is located near Sadang Station. It's close enough to the station that it's easy to reach by public transportation, and it was a good spot for meeting friends for tasty snacks and a drink.

Full house on a Sunday afternoon: day drinking at a Sadang Station bar

We visited on a Sunday afternoon and the place was already packed. It made me realize there are a lot of people who want to start drinking during the day too 😵‍💫😵‍💫 Wonang welcomes day-drinking, so it was a great place to relax with a drink from early on a weekend afternoon 🍶

Do you need a reservation at Wonang? Yes for groups of 4 or more

The place isn't huge, so if you're coming with 4 or more people, a reservation seems essential. We booked ahead through Naver Reservation ✅ Because we had, our table was ready when we arrived and we could sit down without any hassle — if you're planning a weekend visit, I'd recommend booking ahead!

What we ordered at Wonang Sadang Main Branch

After going back and forth over the menu, we ordered mini clam and tofu stew, charcoal-grilled ribs, raw beef bibim noodles, rib rice pot, and corn cheese kimchi pancake. And since makgeolli (Korean rice wine) is a must for day-drinking, we added strawberry makgeolli too 🍓🍶

The dishes started coming out one by one 👏👏

Mini clam and tofu stew: pollock roe is the secret weapon

First up, the mini clam and tofu stew! Being mini-sized, it was great as a side dish alongside all our other orders. It had clams in it so the broth itself was refreshing and clean, but the pollock roe on top was the real kicker ⚡️⚡️ The roe added a savory depth to the broth, giving it a completely different flavor from a plain tofu stew! 😗😗 Having a warm soup dish on the table was also nice to spoon up in between drinks haha.

Raw beef bibim noodles: buckwheat noodles with perilla leaf

Next, the raw beef bibim noodles! 🍜 This dish mixes yukhoe (Korean-style raw beef) with buckwheat noodles, and the perilla leaf mixed in added a fragrant note 🤤 The combination of the tender raw beef and chewy buckwheat noodles was great, and the distinctive perilla aroma kept the whole dish tasting clean. Eating it with noodles rather than just raw beef made the portion feel more filling, and it was also good as a shared drinking snack for the table 😋

Charcoal-grilled beef ribs: a gentle smoky aroma

Then the charcoal-grilled ribs! 🔥🔥 True to their name, they had a subtle charcoal aroma that I loved. The meat was delicious on its own, but pairing it with the vegetables served alongside made the flavor even cleaner. The salty-sweet sauce combined with the charcoal aroma made it a great match for drinking — I kept reaching for one piece after another with the makgeolli 🙌

Beef rib pot rice with truffle oil and cheese

Next was the rib rice pot 🍚 With ribs piled on top of the pot rice, it looked hearty just from the visual. This particular rib rice pot also had truffle oil and cheese, giving it a different feel from a typical version. The salty ribs, the savory cheese, and the subtle truffle oil aroma all came together. Getting to eat a proper rice dish on top of all the drinking snacks made the meal feel complete 😋😋🍻

Corn cheese kimchi pancake: the showstopper of the table

Last up, the corn cheese kimchi pancake! This one's visual was seriously insane the second it arrived 🫢🫢 With a generous heap of corn cheese piled on top of the kimchi pancake, it truly looked like a 'bomb,' living up to its name 🌽🧀 The kimchi pancake was fried crisp, topped with plenty of savory corn cheese. The salty, slightly spicy kimchi pancake combined really well with the soft, savory corn cheese.

Strawberry makgeolli at Wonang

And finally, the strawberry makgeolli we ordered alongside everything 🍓 With a sweet strawberry flavor, it was easy to enjoy lightly alongside the food. Sitting there on a Sunday afternoon with tasty Korean drinking snacks and makgeolli, it really felt like I was making the most of the weekend 🫶🌳

Review events and freebies for visitors

Wonang is currently running a visitor promotion! Write a Naver receipt review and get a free gim-bugak (crispy seaweed) beef tartare, and if you take part in the customer satisfaction survey, you can enter a lucky draw for a ₩30,000 store voucher 🙆‍♀️🙆‍♀️

Is Wonang Sadang Main Branch worth it? Final verdict

📍 Here's my overall take on Wonang Sadang Main Branch! Being a Korean-style bar, I liked that you could cover both a proper meal and drinking snacks in one visit. It's open from early in the day, so it was a great choice for weekend day-drinking, and a solid option near Sadang Station for meeting friends or enjoying good food with a drink. Since it was busy even on a weekend afternoon, I'd recommend booking ahead if you're planning to visit!

Another delicious meal today too~~😋