Warehouse pub near Bangi Station for team dinners: pale ale at Hope So

What is Hope So near Bangi Station like?

Hope So (홉쏘) is a pub near Bangi Station that has been loved for a long time. It's in a warehouse-style building with high ceilings and even a second floor, and it's a pretty hip place. I stopped by while out for a walk in Olympic Park. The vibe alone makes you want draft beer, and the food side has good-value Italian dishes as well as Korean-style snacks like meoktae (dried half-dried pollack) - nice!

It was a weekday evening, so Hope So was full of groups there for company dinners and families with kids. Wood-fired pizza and draft beer, and dinner was done in no time ✨

Where is Hope So, and how close is Olympic Park?

Hope So is near Bangi Station, and Olympic Park is a short walk from there too. So it's easy to combine into an Olympic Park date or outing.

Hope So opening hours, closing day and parking

• Hours: 16:00 to 01:00 the next day (last order 00:00)
• Closed: every Sunday
• Group seating available, reservations, Wi-Fi, separate men's and women's restrooms, takeout
• Parking: in front of the restaurant; if full, the paid public lot on Wiryeseong-gil across from Olympic Park

Hope So atmosphere and 2nd-floor group seats: good for a team dinner?

Hope So has high ceilings and plenty of seats on the 2nd floor too. It's a popular place for company dinners and family meals. Besides wood-fired pizza, pasta and risotto, there are snacks like meoktae and BBQ wings.

At Hope So you can get a wide range of draft beers - Asahi, Stella Artois, Guinness, Paulaner, Kozel and more - and the 1st floor has separate men's and women's restrooms, so it's comfortable to stay for a long time.

Hope So also has spacious group seating on the 2nd floor. There aren't many places that can fit a big group at once, so Hope So can be a good choice for a company dinner near Bangi Station.

There's a self-serve bar in one corner of the 2nd floor where you can get water.

Hope So menu and the one-food-item ordering rule

Hope So requires at least one food item (appetizer or meal) per table, so you shouldn't plan on just drinking beer. I filmed the menu as a video.

If you write a Naver receipt review, you get a mini patbingsu (shaved ice with sweet red beans). It's the perfect dessert to finish off the meal!

How is the draft pale ale at Hope So?

At Hope So I ordered a pale ale with a lovely bitter hop aroma. Pale ale goes really well with slightly rich dishes!

Wood-fired margherita pizza at Hope So

While I was working on the beer, the food arrived. I'd ordered the margherita, one of the best-sellers among the wood-fired pizzas, and the beef soy-cream risotto, another best-seller.

The Hope So margherita is studded with mozzarella. They're also generous with the tomato sauce.

Being wood-fired, it's light and clean-tasting, just right with beer. The portion is surprisingly filling, too.

Hope So beef soy-cream risotto: better than the pizza

Personally, the margherita pizza was good, but what I enjoyed even more than the pizza was Hope So's beef soy-cream risotto.

It's like a creamy risotto topped with soy-marinated bulgogi (Korean grilled beef). There's quite a lot of thin-sliced beef on top, so scooping some up with every spoonful is just right.

The rice grains are nicely firm, too! I think they called it mantecare (creamy finishing technique), haha. It turned out really well!

Is Hope So worth it for a team dinner near Bangi Station?

Hope So was a nice space to come for a meal and add a casual glass of beer. A good place to visit around Bangi Station and Olympic Park! And after eating, an after-meal stroll through Olympic Park is great for blood sugar control, haha.