Gangnam Station izakaya to hand out wedding invitations: Goko

Why Izakaya Goko for a wedding invitation meetup near Gangnam Station?

Izakaya Goko Gangnam Sinnonhyeon Branch is the Gangnam Station izakaya I chose to give my college junior her wedding invitation. Today's post isn't a date with my boyfriend — it's a wedding invitation meetup review! I searched hard for a good spot near Gangnam Station to hand over the invitation to my one and only college junior. And the place I ended up going to was Izakaya Goko Gangnam Sinnonhyeon Branch!

When I pick a place for a wedding invitation meetup, I prioritize atmosphere + how good the food is + accessibility + whether you can make a reservation.

Where is Izakaya Goko Gangnam Sinnonhyeon Branch and what are its hours?

Izakaya Goko Gangnam Sinnonhyeon Branch is on the 2nd floor of Banseok Building, 21 Bongeunsa-ro 2-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, a 3-minute walk from Sinnonhyeon Station Exit 6. It's on the 2nd floor of the building with Dwaebong Samgyeopsal on the ground floor.

• Hours: Mon–Fri 17:00–02:00, Sat–Sun 16:30–02:00
• Last order: 00:00
• Location tip: 3-min walk from Sinnonhyeon Station Exit 6, 2nd floor above Dwaebong Samgyeopsal

Before you go: reservations and the 3-hour time limit

There's a Catch Table waiting kiosk at the entrance of Goko Gangnam Sinnonhyeon Branch, and you can also make a Naver reservation ahead of time. Keep in mind there's a 3-hour usage limit after ordering on Fridays, Saturdays, and the day before public holidays!

Do Goko's window seats really feel like an outdoor street bar?

The highlight of Goko Gangnam Sinnonhyeon Branch is the wide-open floor-to-ceiling windows. Walking up to the 2nd floor and into the restaurant, the first things I noticed were the soft lighting and clean interior. But the real highlight of this place is definitely those wide-open windows!

We got lucky and sat by the window, and looking outside while a cool breeze drifted in gave a pleasant sense of openness — like sitting at an outdoor pojangmacha (street tent bar) drinking.

Seating at Goko for dates, wedding invitation meetups and work dinners

The atmosphere was so nice it felt perfect for a date or a wedding invitation meetup, and Goko also has partitioned booth seats further inside, which would work great for a Yeoksam-dong work dinner too.

For groups, a reservation is a must.

What we ordered at Goko Gangnam Sinnonhyeon and how much it cost

That day at Goko, we ordered generously — the Goko sashimi for 2 + 7-piece yakitori set, large flounder sio samhap, and plenty of drinks — coming to a total of ₩141,000. As a Sinnonhyeon restaurant known for great side dishes, there were just so many things I wanted to try. So we ordered generously!

• Goko sashimi for 2 + 7-piece yakitori (₩65,000)
• Large flounder sio samhap (₩35,000)
• Suntory draft beer x3 (₩9,000 each)
• Jim Beam highball x1 (₩9,000)
• Soft drinks x2 (₩2,500 each)
• Total: ₩141,000

The side dishes were so good that I ended up finishing a whopping 3 glasses of Suntory draft beer (not because I'm a big drinker, I swear)

Goko sashimi for two (in the set): tuna, sea bream and sweet shrimp

The Goko sashimi for two is the main dish of the set, coming with tuna, flounder, sea bream, salmon, live octopus, sweet shrimp, and more. Finally, the main dish arrives!

The lineup of tuna, flounder, sea bream, salmon, live octopus, and sweet shrimp was really generous and so pretty and colorful it looked like a bouquet of flowers.

Unlike live-fish sashimi, this was properly aged, so it wasn't chewy at all and had a rising sweetness that made it delicious.

7-piece yakitori (in the set): choosing your own skewers

Goko's 7-piece yakitori set comes with seven different skewers, including chicken heart, pollock roe sauce skewers, and bacon-wrapped rice cake.

I'd read a lot of reviews saying the yakitori here is especially good, even among Gangnam Station izakayas.

Everything was moist, and from the chicken heart to the skewer topped with pollock roe sauce to the bacon-wrapped rice cake, all seven had different flavors, so it was fun picking through them.

Large flounder sio samhap: flounder sashimi with salted gimbap and aged kimchi

The large flounder sio samhap (₩35,000) is a dish where you wrap flounder sashimi together with savory salted gimbap (seaweed rice roll) and aged kimchi, samhap-style, all in one bite. I'd wanted to try this ever since salted-gimbap-with-flounder was trending!! And sure enough, it didn't disappoint.

Verdict: Izakaya Goko Gangnam Sinnonhyeon for a wedding invitation meetup

Izakaya Goko Gangnam Sinnonhyeon Branch was a fully satisfying choice for a wedding invitation meetup, thanks to the breeze by the window and the great food. Handing the invitation to a junior I hadn't seen in a while, with that cool breeze by the window, delicious food, and beer, blew away a bit of my wedding prep stress... (though of course there's still plenty piled up haha)

We got a discount from a campaign visit, but I still paid over ₩140,000 out of my own pocket on top of it, that's how satisfied I was — a great find near Gangnam Station.

If you're looking for a Gangnam Station izakaya with a great atmosphere and delicious food amid the bustle of Gangnam, I recommend Goko Gangnam Sinnonhyeon Branch, full of pojangmacha vibes!