Solo drinking and rosé tteokbokki at Art Monster, a Hongdae beer pub

Where is Art Monster Hongdae?

I visited Art Monster, a craft beer spot near Hongik Univ. Station.

It's 5 minutes from Exit 8 of Hongik Univ. Station. Come out of the exit and head into the alley, and you'll find it among the shops around the square where there's lots of busking.

Art Monster is on the 2nd floor of a building. It's a Korean craft beer brewery and beer pub, a craft beer specialist that has won a range of awards at many international beer competitions.

Atmosphere and seats for drinking solo at Art Monster

I stopped by for a drink around 7pm, and there were already quite a few people, but by about 9pm it was almost full. The tables are spacious and the mood is nice.

I came to drink alone and sat at a window seat, which was just right. After sunset the lights in the place turn a slightly reddish glow, kind of like this.

Art Monster menu, prices and tablet ordering

Art Monster is a Korean craft beer brewery. It has won awards at competitions around the world, and the beers come in a really wide range of flavors and styles.

There are 12 Art Monster craft beers in total, and they're described pretty well. Prices differ by size, so you can choose to suit your taste.

You order on a tablet, and it shows the ABV and bitterness too.

By the way, there's a sampler so you can try several beers, which is worth a go. There are plenty of snacks that pair with beer, too.

Pizza and chicken are the main ones, and there are others, but it seems most people eat pizza.

You can also take canned beer and more home with you.

What I ordered: Sampler A and rosé tteokbokki with boneless chicken

At Art Monster in Hongdae, I ordered Sampler A (₩19,900) and rose tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes in a creamy tomato sauce) with boneless chicken (₩21,000).

A five-beer craft sampler plus rose tteokbokki with boneless chicken made for a hearty solo drink.

Rosé tteokbokki with boneless chicken

The rose tteokbokki and boneless chicken come together as one combo. Radish pickles come along to eat with it.

The rose tteokbokki has a familiar flavor and tastes good, and the chicken is boneless, so it's a perfect match for beer.

Wheat-flour rice cakes in rose sauce, with a little cheese sprinkled on top.

The rice cakes are nicely soft wheat ones, and the rose sauce isn't spicy and has that familiar rose flavor, so it was simply delicious. There's fish cake and sausage in it too, which makes it easy to eat.

It's a bit soupy and the sauce is so good that I grabbed a spoon from the self-serve bar, and eating with it tasted even better than with a fork. The rose sauce is delicious, haha.

The boneless chicken comes too, soaking in the rose tteokbokki sauce. It was freshly fried and crunchy. It's lightly seasoned, and the coating isn't thick, more like it's stuck tight to the meat. It's thigh meat, so it's fairly tender. Dunking it in the sauce is fine too. As expected, a great beer snack.

Which five beers come in Sampler A?

The Art Monster sampler comes with five craft beers at 220ml each. There are three types, A, B and C, and I chose Type A.

Numbered 1 to 5 starting from the far right, all in a row. I tried every one and it was fun to taste such a variety. But since the sampler arrives all at once, the later beers can go warm, so if you're a repeat visitor, it may be better to order one glass of your favorite at a time.

1) Cheongdam-dong Myeoneuri (청담동며느리)

The first craft beer I drank was Cheongdam-dong Myeoneuri (청담동며느리). It's said to be a Vienna lager, though I don't know exactly what the difference is. It's a fizzy, cold lager, but a little bitter. It has a distinctive aroma, a bit like a dark beer and similar to Red Rock too, but with little sweetness and a bitter finish.

Chicken with beer ~

2) Monk Food (몽크푸드)

A pitch-black dark beer, described as a Czech-style dark lager. The smoky, charred flavor stands out a lot. The body is a light, fizzy lager, but that charred taste and bitterness are strong.

3) Itaewon Freedom (이태원 프리덤)

Itaewon Freedom (이태원 프리덤) is described as a German-style wheat beer. It has a smell similar to Hoegaarden, kind of sausage-like, if I had to say? It has that wheat beer aroma, but the body is quite light and the carbonation is fairly strong. There's a little sourness too, I think?

4) Nomsabyeok (넘사벽), the IPA

My personal favorite was No. 4, Nomsabyeok (넘사벽). It's an IPA, so the fruity aroma is strong. The smell, taste and texture are so much like orange juice that I could hardly tell the difference. Being an IPA, a little bitterness comes up at the end, but it's delicious.

5) Haekjonsim (핵존심)

The last beer in the sampler is Haekjonsim (핵존심), a Belgian strong ale style. Maybe because of the word "strong," the alcohol smell feels stronger than in ordinary beer, and it's kind of like a beer version of somaek (soju mixed with beer)? It definitely felt strong.

I tried all five different glasses, and if I had to pick just one, it would be No. 4, the Nomsabyeok IPA.

Service and parking at Art Monster Hongdae

The staff at Art Monster Hongdae are friendly. It's in Mapo-gu, Seoul, a 5-minute walk from Exit 8 of Hongik Univ. Station. Parking is not available.