Sunday night chicken nanban at a Sinnonhyeon izakaya: Izakaya Goko

The address is 21 Bongeunsa-ro 2-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 2nd floor of Bansuk Building. It's open daily from 4:30 PM to 2:00 AM, with last order at midnight.

Today I want to introduce a Gangnam Station bar in Sinnonhyeon — Izakaya Goko :) There are honestly so many izakayas between Gangnam Station and Sinnonhyeon Station, so I went looking for one where I could enjoy sashimi, fried food, and soup all in one place, and ended up at Goko 🪽

Where is Izakaya Goko? Between Gangnam Station and Sinnonhyeon Station

Izakaya Goko sits right between Gangnam Station and Sinnonhyeon Station! A lot of people looking for a Gangnam Station bar also check out Sinnonhyeon, and this area has such a great mix of restaurants and bars that it works well as a dinner meetup spot too haha

Izakaya Goko was full even at 9pm on a Sunday

Walking up to the 2nd floor and into the store, the wood-tone interior and soft lighting blended together nicely! I visited past 9pm on a Sunday, and figured it'd be quiet since it was getting late and the next day was Monday, but there were so many customers..👍🏻 I snapped the interior photos in a hurry right before leaving haha

The window seats had the windows open, which gave a nice open feel. Not stuffy at all, great for a refreshing drink haha There's also a standing counter table and a private space, so it's good for a cozy drink too 🫶🏻

What we ordered at Izakaya Goko

From the Izakaya Goko menu we ordered flounder sio sanhap, chicken nanban, a Goko highball, and a Suntory highball! The menu lineup was so varied it seemed like a great place to do a full first-round-to-second-round night in one spot lol

• Flounder sio sanhap
• Chicken nanban
• Goko highball
• Suntory highball

It was great being able to enjoy sashimi and fried food together 💟 Sashimi plus fried snacks made a great pairing, and with the highball on top, the drinks just kept going down smoothly!

Goko highball vs Suntory highball: which one wins?

The highballs we ordered came out first, along with complimentary popcorn 🍿 It was salty-sweet and easy to snack on. The Goko highball is the signature drink named after the shop, so I was curious and ordered it — and it was actually tastier than the Suntory! The whiskey scent wasn't too strong, so I'd recommend it to lightweights too 👍🏻

Soon after, the flounder sio sanhap and chicken nanban arrived! They looked delicious from the start, and with sashimi and fried food both generously laid out, the table felt completely full 💛

What does flounder sio sanhap (flounder sashimi with salt gimbap) taste like?

I'd wanted to try flounder salt gimbap ever since seeing it on Kang Min-kyung's YouTube channel, and it turned out to have a totally different charm from regular sashimi ✨ I was curious what the combo of flounder and gimbap (seaweed rice roll) would taste like, and I loved being able to enjoy sashimi and rice together — the flounder felt different eaten alone versus with the rice, so it was fun to mix it up depending on the mood!

Gimbap + flounder + rinsed aged kimchi + Maldon salt combo 🤍 The clean flounder, savory gimbap, tangy rinsed aged kimchi, and Maldon salt all came together really well! The flounder's clean flavor plus the kimchi's bright tang plus the subtle salty edge from the Maldon salt made for real umami...👍🏻

The gimbap portion was generous too, so it was easy to keep pairing it with the flounder. Clean and salty with the tangy kick from the aged kimchi made it taste better than eating either alone haha The flounder fin had such a chewy texture that it felt like a waste to eat with gimbap, so I just ate it plain lol the fin is my absolute favorite part..🫶🏻

Chicken nanban piled with tartar sauce

Chicken nanban, Japanese-style fried chicken, came out with crispy fried chicken piled high with tartar sauce! There were also fried peppers alongside the chicken, which I loved haha

One bite and you could really feel the crispy outside, tender inside texture of the chicken, and since it's fried, it paired perfectly with the highball! Enjoying the clean flavor of the flounder and finishing off with the chicken nanban left me full and satisfied :) If you're looking for an izakaya near Gangnam Station with great food and a great vibe, I'd recommend Izakaya Goko 🪽