Sinnonhyeon bar with rooftop terrace, raw shrimp platter and crab

The weather is finally perfect for drinking on an outdoor terrace! And it's fall, which means all the savory shrimp you can eat!! So let me introduce Yeongdong Pocha, where you can down soju with shrimp on an outdoor terrace near Yeongdong Market.

I honestly just stopped by planning to drink lightly, you know? But between the vibe and the insanely good side dishes, I ended up pouring soju down my throat like there was no tomorrow haha. Here's my hyped-up review of Yeongdong Pocha, which is blowing up lately for its outdoor terrace vibes near Yeongdong Market!!

Yeongdong Pocha location and basic info

• Hours: Tue–Sat 16:00–6:00 next day, Sun–Mon 17:00–6:00 next day
• Signature dishes: vongole sul-jjim (clam soju stew), flower crab stew, basil baeksuk (herb chicken soup), Yeongdong Samhap, raw shrimp platter
• Reservations & groups: Naver reservations available
• Corkage: ₩20,000 flat fee regardless of alcohol type, free after that
• Parking: paid lot right next to the restaurant (₩3,000 for first 30 min, ₩1,000 per additional 10 min, max ₩60,000)
• Highlight: 2nd-floor outdoor terrace & spacious indoor area! Totally recommend it for a work dinner or second round near Nonhyeon Station!

The 2nd-floor terrace and indoor space — what's it like

The layout here is really unique and charming! Climb the outdoor stairs to the second floor, and right in front is an outdoor terrace with that classic street-tent vibe that's perfect for weather like this!!!

Then if you turn left after the stairs, there's a big, comfortable indoor space! We admired the terrace vibe for a bit and then settled in indoors haha.

Tables are spaced generously and the atmosphere is great, so it seems like a good spot for a noisy group hangout or work dinner.

The menu lineup

The menu had such a wide range, and everything looked delicious, so we deliberated hard over what to order haha. Yeongdong Samhap, basil baeksuk, flower crab stew, vongole sul-jjim, Yeongdong suyuk (boiled pork slices), jjukkumi (baby octopus), cheese potato pancake, Yeongdong bossam platter, raw shrimp platter, seasoned crab, and even beef sashimi — I couldn't wait to see what the chef could do!!

The feast: our review

I'm not usually the type who needs hangover cure drinks haha, but the youngest of our group brought some to take care of us old folks that day. Thank you so much!!

The basic side snack was, of all things, those nostalgic uncooked ramen-turned-snack packs haha. Remember being starving the second you turned around back in school? (Honestly still kind of feels that way haha.) Anyone else ever crush up a ramen packet, dump in the seasoning, and shake it all up? Time to book that health checkup, folks haha, we're at that age now haha.

Fall-season flower crab stew

What does fall mean?? Crab season!! Now that I'm getting older, hunting down seasonal food has become genuinely fun haha. We immediately ordered the flower crab stew!! I was startled the second it arrived haha — wait, TWO whole crabs, what are you two even doing??? haha. Two hefty flower crabs piggybacking on each other in there. Plus clams, shrimp, and more — packed to the brim!! You know flower crab stew only gets better the longer it simmers, right?? It kept bubbling away until we'd polished off two bottles of soju haha.

Myeongran mayo rice balls

I live for carbs haha. So we ordered the myeongran (pollock roe) mayo rice balls to refuel. Roll one in your hands and pop it in your mouth — instant carb recharge!!! haha It's an impossible-to-mess-up combo haha. Add a slurp of the crab stew broth on top and you can immediately down another shot of soju!!

The signature raw shrimp platter

It's fall, and we've conquered the crab, so now it's shrimp's turn haha. The dish I was most looking forward to, and the restaurant's signature — the raw shrimp platter — arrived!! And again, whoaaa haha. The composition is insane: raw shrimp + grilled shrimp + fried shrimp heads + spicy seasoned raw shrimp!! Not even counting the seasoned shrimp, just the raw and grilled shrimp alone come to about 13–15 pieces, and with the seasoned shrimp added it's easily over 20! (Such a steal!!!!!!!!!!)

I actually can't eat raw shrimp — I'm allergic. But the visual was so insane it overrode my allergy haha, so I ate one raw shrimp anyway!!! (Sure enough, the itchy reaction kicked in!!)

Immediately disinfected with soju!!

As someone with a shrimp allergy, here's my honest review: despite the allergy, this is a taste that makes you want to eat just one more!!!!!!!!! Plump and chewy with zero fishy taste, just this sweet flavor that comes through — insane!! This isn't even a raw fish restaurant, so how is the raw shrimp sashimi this good?? (These days even raw fish restaurants make you self-prep the shrimp haha.) The grilled shrimp and fried shrimp heads are beyond words too — savory, chewy, and soju just flows.

Final thoughts on Yeongdong Pocha

The plan was definitely a quick one-round drink, but it turned into a full-blown soju party haha. Flower crab stew + raw shrimp platter is a very dangerous combo. Heading to Yeongdong Market for a terrace + shrimp night? You need to go right now!! Once it gets colder we'll be shivering and drinking soju instead, which honestly isn't bad either haha.