Hongdae craft beer bar with dark ale and prosciutto pizza: Art Monster

Art Monster Hongdae

Where is Art Monster, the craft beer bar by Hongik Univ. Station?

I was looking for somewhere to have a light drink with friends near Hongik University Station and ended up at Art Monster, a craft beer specialist that's become a bit of a local favorite! It's only about 2 minutes from Exit 8, so it was really easy to find.

One of my friends is a huge beer lover, so this time we went with her pick — Art Monster!! It's been a while since I had craft beer, so I was pretty excited haha. They have such a wide variety of craft beers that it's worth a visit if you're a beer person.

The vibe going up was totally horror escape-room energy... haha. The stairs up were pretty dark, and my photos came out darker than I expected, but honestly I didn't mind the moody atmosphere.

Window seats, reservations and the mood at Art Monster Hongdae

Art Monster Hongdae is on the 2nd floor. We'd booked ahead through Naver reservations and got seated by the window. It felt kind of like walking into a pizza place or pub abroad, haha. They had the window open, so the autumn breeze was blowing through, and drinking a cold beer in that cool breeze felt amazing haha.

Payment is after your meal, and the wifi was strong. There were also more foreign customers than I expected — I think our table ordered the most beer of anyone there haha.

Which craft beers we picked: Woonjjang, Haekjonsim, Monk Food

With so many craft beers on the menu, I went back and forth before deciding on Woonjjang as my first beer! My friend loves ales so she went with Haekjonsim. Our second round was already decided — the dark ale, Monk Food, haha.

Each beer comes in different sizes, which I liked, since you can choose your glass size. We ordered small glasses at first since we wanted to try a bunch of flavors — if you can't drink much but want to try a variety, the 5-beer sampler is also a great option!

Food to share: arugula prosciutto pizza instead of Pizzamong

Beer means pizza — that's just the rule! They had quite a lot of chicken options too, but I'm more of a pizza person than a chicken person haha.

I was torn between the best-seller Pizzamong and the new arugula prosciutto pizza, but went with the prosciutto! If you love cheese, the Pizzamong with real mozzarella looks like a solid pick too.

What does Woonjjang taste like?

Woonjjang was smooth and clean-tasting! There were also plaques around the place noting their World Beer Championship-style awards — you could really feel the pride they take in their beer haha. With so many varieties, it's fun to hunt for the one that matches your taste.

One of my friends is a total beer person and another isn't really into beer, but even she kept talking about Art Monster afterward haha, saying the beer was so good she wanted to go back! We had Genesis last — talking about it now, it tasted like blueberry with a sour edge! I'd highly recommend it to people who don't usually like beer flavor but enjoy something like hongcho (fruit vinegar drink) haha.

Dark ale Monk Food: worth it if you like Kozel

Our second glass was Monk Food!! I'm normally a big Kozel fan, and this was pretty similar haha. Not too bitter, light on carbonation, such a smooth dark ale... loved it, loved it haha.

Cheers with the dark ale! The three of us have different tastes, but we all united over the dark ale haha. If you want to relax near Hongik University Station and try a variety of beers with friends, this is the spot to go — lots of groups come here!

Prosciutto pizza and truffle fries at Art Monster Hongdae

The prosciutto pizza dough was chewy and so good!! Salty and chewy, it paired perfectly with beer, and I kept reaching for another slice haha. This really is the classic pizza-and-beer combo!!

They give you a fork, but you've got to eat it with your hands to really enjoy it haha. I love pizzas with arugula or spinach on them haha. I wish there was a bit more ham, but overall, pizza passed the test!

You know how much I love fries, right? I've been cutting back on fries lately because of my diet, but then I saw truffle fries on the menu!! (I'm not usually a truffle fan) haha. Turns out you can actually order them without the truffle oil! If you're like me and don't love the smell of truffle, just ask for it without the oil! Great that they let you skip the oil so people like me can still enjoy it — nice touch!

Final verdict on Art Monster Hongdae

I basically inhaled everything haha. Genesis, Monk Food, Sudaseuponseo, Woonjjang, Itaewon Freedom, and more!! Everything was so good!! It was a day of craft beer to my heart's content haha. I'd definitely go back! Whenever I want a cold beer, this is probably where I'll end up again haha.