Jongno bar with tteokbokki and mild dakgangjeong: Nogari Superette

I was finally meeting a friend after ages! I wondered where to go, and Jongno, where I've been hanging out a lot lately, came to mind. I was craving tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), searched around, and ended up at Nogari Superette Jongno5-ga (노가리슈퍼 종로5가점), a nice place for a drink.

Where is Nogari Superette Jongno5-ga, and what does it look like?

Nogari Superette Jongno5-ga is a 5-minute walk from Exit 1 of Jongno5-ga Station. It's close to the subway, so it's super convenient.

You can check the menu outside before going in, and there's a waiting area too, which is handy!

Seating at Nogari Superette Jongno5-ga: good for groups and work dinners?

Inside, there were quite a lot of tables, from 2-person and 4-person tables to group seating! The tables are spaced out a bit, so it's comfortable.

There are about 4 more tables further inside, and it seems like lots of people come here for company dinners (hoesik).

Why is it called Nogari Superette?

According to the founding story displayed in the shop, the owner's life changed after tasting hwangtae (dried pollack) at a gamaek (beer-and-snack pub) in Jeonju, which they happened to visit. Hooked on that flavor, they decided to start a business to pass it on, and trained at a 45-year-old Jeonju gamaek, in training "harsher than Shaolin Temple," as the story goes. That's how the shop got its name, Nogari Superette (nogari means dried young pollack)!

What's on the menu at Nogari Superette Jongno5-ga?

There were really a lot of snacks (anju), starting with the signature plump nogari set.

• Plump nogari set
• Assorted sausages
• Dakgangjeong (sweet crispy fried chicken)
• Whole fried squid set
• School-front instant tteokbokki
• Spicy jjajang tteokbokki
• Pizza
• Spicy kimchi udon
• Steamed clams in sake
• Meoktae (dried, semi-soft pollack)
• Garlic butter grilled shrimp

Drinks run from highballs to draft beer and soju! There's a tonic set too.

What two friends ordered and what it cost: 49,000 won in total

My friend and I ordered school-front instant tteokbokki, dakgangjeong, a Jim Beam highball and a nogari highball, and the total came to ₩49,000.

• School-front instant tteokbokki ₩16,000
• Dakgangjeong ₩16,000
• Jim Beam highball ₩8,000
• Nogari highball ₩9,000

You can order directly from the owner, but every table has a QR code, so we ordered with that.

Nogari Superette review event: free fried jwipo

✨ Nogari Superette Jongno5-ga gives you free fried jwipo (dried filefish) if you leave a Naver receipt review, so be sure to join in and try it!!

Is the nogari highball at Nogari Superette any good?

The Jim Beam highball and the nogari highball came out first, and I had the nogari highball! I always get disappointed by highballs, so I was worried, but the nogari highball was reeeeally good.

The complimentary snack is shrimp roe chips!

School-style instant tteokbokki: how spicy and how big?

The school-front instant tteokbokki (₩16,000) at Nogari Superette Jongno5-ga isn't spicy and comes out in a mountain-sized portion. The menu describes it as a taste that brings back memories of tteokbokki eaten in front of school as a kid, with a spicy-sweet sauce and chewy rice cakes in a wonderful balance, a flavor familiar to everyone.

I really love instant tteokbokki, and the sauce had soaked in nicely and it wasn't spicy, which I loved. And the portion was seriously a mountain… 🤎

And a ramen noodle add-on as the final kick! Aren't you being a little too generous? Do this and I have no choice but to come back often.

What comes with the mild dakgangjeong?

The dakgangjeong (₩16,000) at Nogari Superette Jongno5-ga comes with cabbage salad, french fries and rice cakes, and you can pick the flavor. The menu says the first bite fills your mouth with crunch, and the sweetness and heat of the sauce blend into an addictive taste.

Usually when you order dakgangjeong, you only get dakgangjeong, right? But this bar near Jongno5-ga Station was different. Cabbage salad, fries, even rice cakes! And I love rice cakes drenched in dakgangjeong sauce 🩷 The portion is so big I wondered whether I'd ordered fries or chicken.

• Fried
• Spicy
• Slightly spicy
• Soy
• Mild
• Cheese (seasoning)
• Bburinkle (seasoning)
• Honey butter (seasoning)

I went with mild!!

Who is Nogari Superette Jongno5-ga best for?

At Nogari Superette Jongno5-ga the portions were big and tasty, the owner was kind, and the old-school vibe made the atmosphere great. My own Nogari Superette formula: nogari highball + tteokbokki + dakgangjeong, a must!

• ✅ Big, tasty portions (nogari highball / tteokbokki / dakgangjeong are musts)
• ✅ Kind owner
• ✅ Great atmosphere with an old-school feel
• ☑️ Anyone looking for a bar in Jongno5-ga
• ☑️ Anyone looking for a bar near Gwangjang Market
• ☑️ Anyone looking for a bar near Jongno5-ga Station

Nogari Superette Jongno5-ga is at 3 Jongno 31ga-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul (1st floor). It's open Monday to Saturday 17:00–24:00 (last order 23:30) and closed every Sunday.