Isu Station gastropub with 10-a-day oven jokbal: Dosi Night

When meeting friends anywhere along Line 7 — Sangdo, Anyang, Nowon — I feel like there's no better meetup spot than Isu. After finishing a book club today, I was scouting for a place to eat with a friend and found this Isu Station gem, Dosi Night.

Dosi Night is within walking distance of Isu Station and sits right in the middle of the food alley, so it was really easy to get to. There are plenty of places nearby for a second round too, which makes it a solid option for a work dinner near Isu Station or a get-together with friends.

Dosi Night

Where Dosi Night is and when it opens

🔍 What is Dosi Night?

• Hours: 17:00 – 02:00
• Address: 15 Dongjak-daero 27da-gil, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 1st floor
• About 3 min walk from Isu Station Exit 13
• Parking: Not available
• Break time: None
• Closed: None / open year-round

Dosi Night is walkable from Isu Station and sits right in the middle of the food alley, so accessibility was great. It looked like a good option not just for a work dinner or hangout with friends near Isu Station, but also for a date course or blind date spot around Isu. We visited around 5:30pm on a weekend and, aside from one large party, seats were pretty free. But by the time we finished eating and were leaving, the place had somehow filled up completely..!

Only 10 servings of jokbal a day: do you need a reservation?

For reference, jokbal (pig's trotters) is Dosi Night's signature menu item and is only sold in a limited quantity of 10 servings a day. Since cooking takes about 30 minutes after ordering, if you're visiting for the jokbal, I'd recommend calling ahead to reserve it. We didn't know this and ended up waiting 30 hungry minutes ^^;

What else Dosi Night serves besides jokbal

Looking at the menu, besides jokbal there was a wide variety of seafood dishes like sambaeche oysters, fried oysters, and shrimp. We didn't order any, but looking around at the other tables, a lot of people were ordering oyster or seafood dishes. It seems like a good place for seafood lovers too. Next time I'll have to come back for the sambaeche oysters and fried oysters!

What we ordered at Dosi Night and what it cost

🔎 Our order was

• Signature oven jokbal ₩32,000 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Marinated tomato & bocconcini ₩13,000 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Terra beer ₩6,000

That's what we ordered. That day we got the jokbal, marinated tomato & bocconcini, and a beer.

Since Dosi Night has a concept, there's a mood lamp on every table haha. The first thing to come out was a plate of nachos, on the house. They were great to pick at while waiting for the jokbal, and when we asked for more, they kept bringing them — I loved that. They were also a nice crunchy snack to reach for while drinking beer afterward.

Marinated tomato and bocconcini, 13,000 won

Next came the marinated tomato & bocconcini along with the beer. It's tomato marinated in a Japanese-style marinade, served with bocconcini cheese and basil pesto.

The combination of tangy tomato and savory cheese worked really well together. It's tasty on its own, but it was even better eaten as a palate cleanser between bites of jokbal. If you're wondering what side dish to order with jokbal, I highly recommend this combo.

Milk thistle on the house at a Seoul bar?

There was also an unexpected extra that came with the beer — milk thistle, haha. They said they give it out for the liver health of guests who are drinking. I'd never seen a bar hand out milk thistle before, so my friend and I laughed about it for a while. A place that sells alcohol but looks after your liver too...^^ These little touches gave me a real sense of Dosi Night's thoughtfulness, and it left an impression.

Signature oven jokbal, 32,000 won: how does it taste?

And finally, the jokbal we'd been waiting for arrived. The whole leg served alongside the jokbal looked absolutely mouthwatering. Dosi Night's jokbal is apparently made through a 120-hour cooking process with a special 10-ingredient blend.

It came with three sauces — teriyaki, spicy sauce, and buldak mayo — so you could dip according to your taste. I normally don't like the fatty part when eating jokbal and tend to cut it off, but here the fat was chewy without being tough, so I ate it all without trimming anything! The restaurant's recommended side pairing for the jokbal is Korean-style Japanese ramen and the marinated tomato & bocconcini. We had no idea and ordered the tomato dish anyway — turns out our instincts were pretty good, haha.

Dosi Night's free dessert event

Dosi Night also has a fun event running. If it's your birthday month, if you're an active-duty soldier or officer, an anniversary couple, or a resident registered in Sadang-dong, they'll give you a special dessert. We didn't qualify for any of those ^^; so we didn't get it.

Still, we did get an after-meal treat! Very kind of them~

Is Dosi Night worth a visit?

Overall, this is a bar with great access from Isu Station and a wide range of dishes, from jokbal to seafood like oysters and fried oysters, making it a good spot for a drink. With its rooftop-city vibe and bar seating, I'd recommend it for a work dinner or hangout with friends near Isu Station, as well as for a date course or blind date spot around Isu. The jokbal in particular is limited to 10 servings a day, so if you want to try it, I'd recommend reserving ahead. Next time I'll have to come back for the sambaeche oysters, fried oysters, and the Korean-style Japanese ramen!