Gangnam cocktail bar with ABV on the menu: Gin Fizz at Ugly

After dinner near Gangnam Station, my friend and I wanted a light drink while catching up, so we visited a cocktail bar for the first time in a while! We're not big drinkers and don't hold our liquor well, so we like places that are tasty and quiet enough to talk. Ugly turned out to be perfect for people like us. The soft lighting and generous space between tables would make it great for a blind date or a regular date too.

Where is Ugly near Gangnam Station, and what are the hours?

Ugly is a cocktail bar on the 5th floor of a building at 5 Gangnam-daero 96-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. It's open Monday-Friday and Sunday from 18:30 to 02:00, and Saturdays from 18:30 to 03:00 — so every night from 6:30pm to 2am, except Saturday nights, which run until 3am (technically Saturday into Sunday). It's less than a 3-minute walk from Exit 11 of Gangnam Station.

Take the elevator up to the 5th floor!

When there's a wait, it seems people wait outside. There's also a spot to hang up your coat, so it's great to visit in autumn or winter too.

Ugly's menu: every cocktail's ABV is printed on it

There's the Signature Ugly, Berry Ugly, and Moai, plus lighter, sweeter options like Peach Crush, Mojito, and Long Island Iced Tea. You can also do hookah here, which would make for a fun, unusual date too.

I don't know much about cocktails or whiskey, so I always worry a drink will be too strong or too bitter for me. But here, the menu clearly lists what liquor and mixers go into each drink and roughly what ABV it is, which really helped with ordering. You can also guess what a drink will look like from the illustrations.

We ordered a Gin Fizz, a China Blue, and Melon Prosciutto. We'd already eaten dinner, so this was just the right amount. All together it came to ₩48,000!

Inside Ugly: sofa seats and bar counter

The interior has that upscale, well-put-together vibe. You can watch the bartenders mixing cocktails right in front of you, which was pretty cool.

There's a bar table like this, and sofa seating further back!

We sat at an inner sofa table. The seats were plush enough for a long conversation. Even the ceiling was decorated with a lot of atmosphere, giving me the feeling of being somewhere special — almost like tarot-card vibes, honestly.

How did the Gin Fizz, China Blue and Melon Prosciutto taste?

Pretzels come out as a complimentary side.

Nutty and salty, they were really good. The staff kept an eye on us and refilled them before we even asked, which I really appreciated.

China Blue (6% ABV)

China Blue. A cocktail made with grapefruit juice, lychee liqueur, and blue curaçao! ABV is 6%. You barely taste any alcohol — just a gentle grapefruit-and-lychee flavor that's really pleasant.

Gin Fizz (12% ABV)

Gin Fizz. Made with gin, lemon juice, and soda water. ABV is 12%. Lemon flavor with a hint of alcohol — a clean taste that pretty much anyone would like.

Melon Prosciutto

Melon Prosciutto. The sweet-and-salty balance here is spot on... seriously, where do they get melon this sweet?

The portion was pretty generous too, and it didn't feel like a token side dish — it tasted genuinely upscale and delicious. Every so often you'd bite into a whole peppercorn, and the combination of soft ham, sweet melon, and that clean peppery kick was great! If you're coming without having eaten dinner, ordering a pizza or one of the food items alongside would probably be just right.

Verdict: why Ugly works for a date or a first meeting

I visited around 7pm and stayed for about 1-2 hours. The atmosphere was really nice and it's a comfortable place to talk, so I plan to come back whenever I have an evening plan near Gangnam Station.

Under dim but atmospheric lighting, every sip made me feel a little better — that was Ugly near Gangnam Station! Between the flashy yet sentimental interior and cocktails that were more delicate than I expected, I lost track of time and just got pleasantly tipsy.

Thanks to the friendly explanations, I was able to find a drink that really suited my taste, which made the whole experience satisfying. Whether it's a romantic date on a special occasion or just unwinding happily with people you care about, this is a place I'd love to come back to.