Terrace bar in Yeonnam-dong for squid muchim and soju: Ijillirya

I went back to Yeonnam-dong in Hongdae for the first time in a few years. I used to go often but hadn't been in a while — the weather's been so nice lately that I walked the Gyeongui Line Forest Trail from Gongdeok all the way to Yeonnam. While looking for a bar in Hongdae, I spotted a gorgeous terrace and that's how I found Ijillirya.

Ijillirya Yeonnam location and hours

• Address: 서울 마포구 동교로 262-8 1층 (262-8 Donggyo-ro, 1st floor, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea)
• Mon-Thu 17:00-01:00
• Fri 17:00-02:00
• Sat 16:00-02:00
• Sun 16:00-01:00
• Last order is 1 hour before closing

Korean bar food and takju on the menu

This is the menu at Ijillirya, a bar in Hongdae/Yeonnam. Since it's a Korean-style bar, the menu is all Korean food with a wide range of takju (Korean rice wines). We ordered mukeunji tuna rolls, sweet-and-tangy whole squid muchim, and a yuzu tomato marinade — I think that's what it was called.

The terrace vibe was the best part

This is the inside of Ijillirya. What I liked best was the terrace!! The terrace mood was absolutely amazing. The lighting was pretty and the whole terrace feeling was great. And you know how drinks always taste best on a terrace when the weather's this nice? With autumn slowly creeping in, the sky was so clear and bright.

Welcome drink and basic side dishes

This is the welcome drink at Ijillirya, a Hongdae/Yeonnam bar, plus the basic side dishes: mukeunji and pretzel snacks. The welcome drink tasted like cheongju. It got us going, and then soju was the main event!

Mukeunji tuna rolls and sweet-and-tangy whole squid muchim. These two together are an amazing combination. The mukeunji tuna rolls totally tame the red-sauce-based squid muchim!

Mukeunji tuna rolls: a bit strong on the sauce

The mukeunji tuna rolls have the aged kimchi wrapping the tuna, with a fine layer of rice grains around it too. There's a really generous amount of tuna. The tuna sauce is the same kind used in tuna gimbap, and there seemed to be quite a lot of it, so it was a bit too strong. It felt like the mukeunji's flavor got buried under it. I think it would've been nicer with a little less sauce. Still, I liked that they didn't skimp on ingredients and packed it full.

My top pick: the sweet-and-tangy whole squid muchim

This is my top pick, the sweet-and-tangy whole squid muchim. The squid really does come in whole, so they cut it up for me with scissors to make it easier to eat. The squid was cooked just right, nice and springy. It was loaded with vegetables too, which I loved — cabbage, cucumber, onion, and even minari (water dropwort)! The seasoning was just the right amount of sweet and tangy. Picking up a squid piece with a bite of all those vegetables is pure bliss — the minari scent especially was the real kick.

Soju on the terrace

Cheers, cheers, cheers. You can't skip soju at a Korean bar~ It tasted even better on the terrace. Drinking soju after the sweet-and-tangy squid muchim felt super clean and refreshing. Thanks to that addictive, mouth-coating seasoning, the umami just exploded and the soju kept going down nonstop.

Finishing with yuzu tomato marinade

At the end we ordered the yuzu tomato. I already really like tomato marinade, and adding yuzu made it even better! After finishing the Korean-style side dishes, ending with the yuzu tomato cleansed the palate perfectly — it was the best.

Good for a date or a blind date?

Ijillirya, a bar in Hongdae/Yeonnam, has quite excellent side dishes and, above all, a great atmosphere, so it seems perfect for a date too. That day there was a couple who seemed to be on a blind date drinking on the terrace, and the mood as they left looked really good ✨ It might just be a blind-date hotspot.

Overall, the side dishes were really well-made and the atmosphere was so nice that I lost track of time enjoying myself. It's a place where you can fully feel that distinctive Yeonnam-dong charm, so I'm planning to come back soon to try other tempting side dishes and more of the takju lineup.