Izakaya near Gunja Station for solo drinking after work: Irow

Hi! It's Fancy! Just how far do Gunja's blessings go... Our neighborhood, where all the cool new spots keep gathering these days — the chicken place where residents used to have chimaek disappeared, and after some renovation work a hip izakaya opened up. It's been so packed since the soft opening that even though it's right by my house, I hadn't managed to visit until now. Finally made it!

Where is Irow izakaya near Gunja Station, and who drinks there?

Irow, a Gunja Station restaurant, is about a 7-minute walk from Exit 8 — or is it? Weekends it's just always packed, buzzing atmosphere. Even on weekdays there are plenty of solo drinkers around quitting time, and the crowd is mostly pairs of friends, whether two women, two men, or lively groups — it also seems to rank high as a date-night izakaya for couples.

Irow's signature dishes and the move from Seongsu to Gunja-dong

This is a photo of the menu board out front that I'd only ever walked past because there was never a seat — everything on it looks delicious, and I heard this izakaya was already well known in Seongsu before relocating here to Gunja.

Inside Irow: a room that suits solo drinks and dates alike

Passing by, I never realized it was this big and open inside — brighter and more spacious than I expected, with a great atmosphere and a place that felt good to visit alone too...! (There really were a lot of solo drinkers.) On top of that, it's a really nice date spot.

Gunja has been booming all year, but a lot of the popular spots are surprisingly small and cozy, so waits are basically mandatory — not just the new trendy places but even old-school joints tend to be small in scale, so naturally, with this boom, crowds gather and waits happen, which even confuses me as a resident. Still, I think this might be the biggest izakaya in Gunja!

Irow's menu and drinks lineup: beer, shochu, sake and soju

* Draft beer / shochu / sake all available * The menu has all the izakaya basics — sashimi, nabe, karaage, pasta, that sort of thing — plus simple side dishes, and a fairly wide range of drinks!

The complimentary starter at Irow: seasoned pickled radish

The basic side dish is seasoned pickled radish, cool and crunchy — it was tasty.

Mackerel bou-zushi at Irow: easy even for cured-mackerel beginners

I went back and forth to the very end between sashimi and mackerel bou-zushi, but ended up ordering the mackerel bou-zushi since I was hungry after work!

Each piece is quite generous, and the top of the mackerel comes seared crisp with a good amount of doneness, so even people new to cured mackerel could eat it without hesitation. I'm a fan of firmer rice, and the rice underneath wasn't mushy and had a nice bite to it, which I liked — sometimes the fish is great but the rice is a soggy mess...

Black chicken karaage with black sesame, the draft beer match

This is another one of the signatures here, and since I'm very much a grandma-taste person, I was really curious about the karaage tossed in black sesame sauce.

It's salty enough that it pairs better with draft beer than with shochu or soju — comes out piping hot, with meat inside that's moist and tender...!

I thought beer might get too filling, so I ordered something new (Korean soju is available too, of course) and that combo wasn't bad either! Just watch out — you'll end up laughing red-faced with black sesame sauce stuck to your teeth.

Fried tofu on the house, and why Irow is worth going back to

This is the fried tofu they gave us on the house while we were eating — honestly, this isn't just a place with good vibes; the staff all had genuinely warm smiles and were so kind that alone would make me want to come back again, huh. These days you visit a lot of trendy, aesthetic-driven places where the service feels clumsy, whether that's the concept or not — and one wrong word can make you swear off ever returning. But here, the kindness alone made me want to come back, on top of the food being delicious and the atmosphere being great! As a local, I recommend it without hesitation!

Gunja Station restaurant @Irow — a great-atmosphere izakaya