Corkage-free Gongdeok izakaya with window seats: Yakitori Shomong

Let me introduce a Gongdeok izakaya favorite, Yakitori Shomong's Mapo Station branch, which reinterprets authentic Japanese yakitori (grilled chicken skewers) with a modern twist~!

My husband and I have a memory of sipping highballs together at the Yakitori Shomong location on Gyeongui Line Forest Park during our second date back when we were dating, so when I heard there was also a branch near Mapo Station, I visited during the holidays.

Yakitori Shomong Mapo Station Branch: hours, address and how to get there

• Address: 26 Dohwa-gil, 1st floor, Mapo-gu, Seoul
• Hours: Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Sun 17:00–23:00 / Fri, Sat 17:00–24:00
• Reservations available via Naver and Catch Table
• No parking (use nearby public parking lots)
• Corkage free with orders over ₩30,000

Yakitori Shomong's Mapo Station branch is a 7-minute walk from Exit 3 of Mapo Station. The original branch is located on Gyeongui Line Forest Park, so be careful not to mix them up~!

The exterior is identical to the original Gyeongui Line Forest Park branch.

It seems a lot of foreigners visit too, since the Google rating is really high.

They're selling a 'mango highball' as a summer seasonal drink, and I thought it would pair perfectly.

Where to park near Yakitori Shomong in Gongdeok

On Friday and Saturday evenings there are a lot of customers, so you might need to join a real-time waitlist. Since parking isn't available, here's info on nearby public parking lots.

• Samsung Plaza Parking - 32 Dohwa-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul / ₩3,000 for the first 30 min, ₩1,000 per additional 15 min
• Dohwa Public Parking - 37 Dohwa-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul / ₩6,000 for 120 min, ₩12,000 for 240 min

But once you start eating, it'll be hard to resist pairing it with a highball. I'd recommend leaving your car at home and taking public transportation instead, just to be safe.

Inside Yakitori Shomong Mapo Station Branch and the window table

The interior was a carbon copy of the Gyeongui Line Forest Park original too. With wood-toned tables, a clean interior, and comfortable spacing between tables, there were lots of customers who looked like couples.

Tables for two and four were arranged neatly,

and there were also tables facing the window, so we sat there to eat.

Since it's a corkage-free restaurant, all sorts of wine glasses were set up, and there was a wide variety of sake to go with it too.

There's also a bar table where you can watch your food being grilled right in front of you.

Since it's a grill restaurant, there's space under the chairs to store your clothes or bag so they absorb less smell.

Which course to order: the 3-, 6- and 9-course yakitori sets

The à la carte dishes at Yakitori Shomong are tasty too, but personally I recommend the yakitori course. The skewers aren't huge in portion, so if you order them one by one it'll feel frustratingly slow.

• 3-course: chicken tenderloin, negima, tsukune
• 6-course: chicken tenderloin, pork neck, tsukune, heart, chicken cartilage, skirt meat
• 9-course: chicken tenderloin, negima, tsukune, heart, wing, shoulder meat, gizzard, breast cartilage, knee cartilage

Looking at the menu, there were a lot of unfamiliar cuts, so please refer to the diagram below.

(Us humans... really do take out every last part, huh haha)

You order via the QR code on the table.

Don't miss the Naver review event, and try the summer-limited cocktails too~! I'd had the 6-course before, but it wasn't as filling as I expected, haha.

• 6-course + à la carte dishes
• or the 9-course

It's probably best to choose one of these two options.

Tasting the 9-course yakitori, cut by cut

There's 'shichimi' you can dip into when the yakitori starts to feel a bit rich. It's not very spicy, so dipping a little at a time tastes great~

Chicken tenderloin

The most tender of all nine cuts. All the seasoning is basically on the saltier side!

Negima (chicken and scallion skewer)

A skewer alternating chicken thigh meat and scallion, grilled over charcoal. The chicken thigh meat has a nice springy texture.

Tsukune (chicken meatball)

Shomong's signature dish. It's a chicken meatball you dip into a poached egg, and like tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patty), it was packed full of juices inside.

Dipping it deep into the poached egg is so good. (Looking at this again is making me hungry all over...)

Chicken heart

Is a chicken's heart really this small...? It was chewy and delicious.

Chicken wing

The only cut of the nine that has a bone, so you'll need to debone it yourself. It's fatty and tender, so if you love chicken wings, this is a must.

Chicken shoulder meat

This was our unanimous favorite — mine and my husband's. Does a chicken really have this much meat on its shoulder? It was incredibly springy, with a texture similar to thigh meat.

Gizzard

This tastes like the gizzard everyone knows. You know gizzard isn't actually a poop sac but a stomach muscle, right? Haha.

Breast cartilage

The last two cuts are cartilage. First up was breast cartilage, which had a crunchy texture like odol-ppyeo (crunchy soft cartilage) and tasted great.

Knee cartilage

The long-awaited final cut is knee cartilage! It has the same crunchy texture as the breast cartilage, but felt like it had a bit more meat attached.

By the time we finished eating, quite a pile of skewers had built up. It reminded me of seeing a mountain of odeng (fish cake) skewers at old street food stalls, which always somehow made me feel even fuller and more satisfied — this was a hearty, delicious meal.

What could have been better at Yakitori Shomong

I strongly recommend Yakitori Shomong's Mapo Station branch as a Gongdeok izakaya favorite, but if there's one thing that fell short... it's that due to personal circumstances, I couldn't have a draft beer or highball that day. Since the yakitori is all seasoned on the saltier side, you'll definitely crave a beer as you eat, so next time I'll be sure to have one.