Blind date bar near Jeongja Station: onion chicken with fries, Bacha

Why I came to Bacha Jeongja after work at Jeongja Station

Bacha Jeongja (바차 정자점) is a Korean pub-style bar near Jeongja Station that has built a name as a good place to drink. You know those days after work when you just want a drink somewhere with a nice mood? This was one of them. I didn't want to head straight home, so I went looking for a good bar around Jeongja Station and found Bacha.

Maybe because it has such a reputation as a Jeongja bar, there were couples on blind dates sitting on both sides of me, haha. I'd heard it has a great atmosphere even among the bars in Jeongja-dong. I'd been looking for a place with a good highball in Jeongja, so the timing was perfect.

• Hours: daily 17:00–02:00
• Address: Unit 110, 1F, 6 Jeongjail-ro 156beon-gil, Bundang-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, South Korea
• Group seating, reservations, separate men's/women's restrooms, simple mobile payment, parking

Location and exterior: is Bacha Jeongja easy to find from Jeongja Station?

Bacha Jeongja is in a spot you can easily walk to from Jeongja Station, so getting there was convenient. If you're looking for a bar near Jeongja Station, you won't have much trouble finding it.

Inside Bacha Jeongja: a good mood for a blind date?

Inside, the space is roomier than I expected, and the tables are spaced out enough that it's easy to talk comfortably. It felt just right for anyone looking for a bar with a nice mood near Jeongja Station, and there were indeed lots of couples and groups of friends.

Bacha Jeongja menu and what I ordered

The menu had a really wide range of dishes. They felt like properly cooked food rather than just basic bar snacks, so choosing was fun.

Lots of dishes would go well with a Jeongja highball, so after some agonizing I ordered the onion boneless chicken and the instant brisket seafood tteokjjim. You could feel why this is a famous bar near Jeongja Station just from the menu.

Ordered: instant brisket seafood tteokjjim / onion boneless chicken / Sprite

Instant brisket seafood tteokjjim: how was the whole-squid broth?

Bacha Jeongja's instant brisket seafood tteokjjim is a spicy broth dish with whole squid and seafood. It wasn't salty but clean, so it was great with drinks.

Loaded with torching!

The broth and seafood caught my eye first, and the spicy but deep color was impressive. When I tried a spoonful, the savory depth from the seafood really came through, and the natural sweetness of the whole squid had soaked nicely into the broth.

The squid wasn't tough; it was tender yet still springy, so I kept reaching for more. The broth wasn't salty and finished clean, which made it perfect with a Jeongja highball. It's good before you start drinking and doesn't feel heavy in the middle of the night either. Seafood lovers will definitely be satisfied.

There are rice cakes in it too, so you get that chewy texture as well.

Onion boneless chicken: chicken with fries on the side

Bacha Jeongja's onion boneless chicken is boneless fried chicken piled with onions, served with french fries. It's crisp outside and juicy inside, so the texture was really good.

Next I tried the onion boneless chicken. It was piled high with onions, so I was excited before even taking a bite. When I did, it was crisp outside and still juicy inside, and the texture was great.

The batter isn't thick, so it wasn't greasy and was easy to eat, and the sweetness of the onions made the whole thing well balanced. The sauce is mild rather than intense, so I could keep eating without feeling weighed down. If you want chicken at a bar near Jeongja Station, the quality is more than satisfying. Even among Jeongja bars, I felt the food quality is on the high side.

It comes with french fries on the side too. Crispy and nutty, they're absolutely delicious.

Verdict: is Bacha Jeongja worth it for dates and nights out with friends?

I'd happily recommend Bacha Jeongja to anyone looking for a bar near Jeongja Station. The mood and the food quality are well balanced, so it suits both dates and get-togethers with friends.

Among bars in Jeongja-dong, it's a place where you can stay comfortably and enjoy drinks with tasty food, so I was very satisfied. If you like Jeongja highballs, you'll probably like it even more, and if you're still deciding on a bar near Jeongja Station, it's worth a visit. It's a place I'll naturally think of again, so I'd definitely go back.