Bucheon Korean pub after a workout: dried pollack, highball — Yeongpo

Yeongpo, a patio pocha near Sinjungdong Station, and why I stopped by after a workout

Yeongpo is a newly opened Korean pocha (street-food style pub) on the bar street near Sinjungdong Station, with a spacious terrace patio. I wanted to cool down after a workout with a drink on the patio, so I stopped in. It was a great low-key spot to enjoy that patio vibe on a nice evening.

Yeongpo location, hours, parking

• Address: 46 Jomaru-ro 291beon-gil, 1st floor, Unit 107, Wonmi-gu, Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• A short walk from the Baskin Robbins near Sinjungdong Station, on the right
• Hours: Sun-Thu 18:00-06:00, Fri-Sat 18:00-08:00
• Parking: not available
• Pets allowed (small dogs); no separate section for outdoor tables
• Corkage not allowed

What's the vibe like inside and on the terrace at Yeongpo?

Yeongpo's indoor tables are nicely done up with pocha vibes, and true to its reputation as a great patio spot, the terrace seating stretches out wide enough to really feel that outdoor-drinking mood. The bar street near Sinjungdong Station always feels busy and lively, but since Yeongpo leans toward Korean-style food pairings, it's an easy place to grab dinner and a drink after work without feeling like a big commitment.

What we ordered at Yeongpo this time

I was craving something spicy that day, so I ordered boneless chicken feet soup with an udon noodle add-on, plus dried pollack (meokte). For drinks, I picked the blueberry housemade syrup highball and Byeolbit Cheongha. Byeolbit Cheongha wasn't on the menu, but when I asked, they brought it out separately, which was a nice touch.

Blueberry housemade syrup highball — does it actually taste like alcohol?

Yeongpo's blueberry highball has a pretty, deep purple color and a strong blueberry flavor. Sometimes highballs taste more like soda than alcohol, but this one actually had a real boozy kick, which I liked. It paired well with spicy dishes like chicken feet, and the Byeolbit Cheongha went down cleanly, matching well with the Korean-style bar food.

The complimentary twisted cracker snack

The complimentary twisted cracker snack at Yeongpo seems like nothing much, but you end up reaching for it over and over. Sweet and crispy, it was perfect for when your mouth's a bit bored waiting for drinks — it was so good I actually took the leftovers home.

What does Yeongpo's dried pollack taste like?

Yeongpo's dried pollack (meokte) shreds apart nicely along the grain and comes out grilled with a nutty aroma. The smell of it grilling filled the whole place, and just like that smell promised, it's really savory and delicious.

Rather than just eating spicy chicken feet on their own, ordering a light, savory dried pollack alongside it was great for switching up flavors as you go.

Paired with peanuts and cheongyang chili, and dipped in the sauce, it's the perfect side for beer or cheongha.

The complimentary iced bean sprout soup

The complimentary bean sprout soup at Yeongpo is also refreshing. After eating spicy chicken feet, a spoonful of this broth resets your palate, so I kept reaching for it. Rather than a hot broth, it comes with ice in it, cold and refreshing, which made it pair even better with the chicken feet.

How spicy is Yeongpo's boneless chicken feet soup?

Yeongpo's chicken feet soup comes in a deep red sauce loaded with rice cakes, boiled egg, and bean sprouts, landing somewhere between chicken feet and tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes). Being boneless means no fiddly picking around bones, and the chicken feet are tender enough to easily pick up with chopsticks.

It's on the spicy side. The heat hits you right away, but there's a sweetness in the sauce too, so you keep eating anyway.

The rice cakes soak up the sauce well, so picking them out is as fun as eating tteokbokki, and eating the egg yolk along with it softens the spiciness quite a bit.

The combo of adding bean sprouts from the soup into the chicken feet

The chicken feet here are more tender than chewy, so they go well with the soup sauce. I even added the bean sprouts from the soup in to cook further, and eating them together with the chicken feet added a crunchy texture that made it even tastier. I'd recommend adding a bit of the bean sprout soup's sprouts into the mix too.

Definitely add the udon noodles

Udon noodles are simply a must with the chicken feet soup — an unbeatable combo. The plump noodles soak up the spicy-sweet broth deeply, tasting nearly as good as the chicken feet itself, and you can polish off every last bit of leftover sauce with them. If you order the chicken feet soup at Yeongpo, definitely add the udon noodles.

Resetting the heat with yogurt-berry sherbet

I ordered the yogurt-berry sherbet to cool my mouth down while eating the chicken feet!

After eating spicy chicken feet for a while, Yeongpo's yogurt-berry sherbet instantly resets your palate. It's a soft yogurt sherbet with a strong yogurt flavor, topped with green grapes and blueberries for a refreshing touch. It did such a good job cutting the heat that I was glad I ordered it alongside the chicken feet.

So how was Yeongpo as a patio Korean pocha near Sinjungdong Station?

Yeongpo is a place where you can enjoy that patio atmosphere while filling up on hearty Korean bar food. The combination of spicy chicken feet soup with udon noodles, cool bean sprout soup, and sweet sherbet was so good that it made for a particularly satisfying drink after a workout. If you're looking for a Korean pocha with real patio vibes on the bar street near Sinjungdong Station, Yeongpo is worth a visit.