Bar seating and Korean beef motsunabe at Gatpo Karin, Apgujeong Rodeo

A review after visiting Gatpo Karin, an izakaya in Apgujeong with a great atmosphere! With private rooms, bar seats, deep rich Korean beef motsunabe, and crispy chili shrimp, it's a perfect spot for dates and gatherings around Apgujeong Rodeo.

I was looking for a nice-atmosphere izakaya in Apgujeong to catch up comfortably with a friend I hadn't seen in a while, and heard about a spot in Apgujeong with great food quality and even private spaces — so I went right away. It's Gatpo Karin, which is getting quite hot these days!

Gatpo Karin's location, hours, and parking

• Address: 12 Seolleung-ro 155-gil, 4th floor, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 17:00 – 02:00 (last order 00:30)
• Parking: Valet parking available (₩5,000)

It's a quick walk from Apgujeong Rodeo Station, and even if you drive, comfortable paid valet parking is available, so accessibility was really satisfying.

What's the atmosphere like inside?

The moment I stepped through the door, the upscale, cozy atmosphere instantly put me in a good mood. The lighting and interior overall were so clean that I thought there couldn't be a better space for chatting and eating comfortably.

Thanks to the quiet, tidy feel, it's a space well suited for dates with a partner, small gatherings, or even more formal occasions.

Rooms and dachi (bar) seating

The seating is well arranged, with private room-style spaces as well as clean table seats and dachi (bar) seats.

If you want privacy, go for a room; at the bar seats or tables, you can watch the chef cook right in front of you, which feels more reassuring hygiene-wise and is fun to watch too. We took a seat at the bar so we could watch the cooking directly.

Gatpo Karin's signature menu and prices

• Sashimi Moriawase (per person) — an assortment of aged sashimi made with the tastiest seasonal fish, ₩34,000
• Special Sushi Platter — sushi hand-pressed with seasonal fish, ₩58,000
• Abalone Innard Pasta — Japanese-style pasta with a French touch, made with abalone innard sauce and boiled abalone, ₩35,000
• Karin Futomaki — a roll wrapping over 10 seasonal ingredients in seaweed, ₩37,000
• Korean Beef Striploin Gyukatsu Sando — fried Korean beef striploin between grilled brioche, ₩39,000
• Uni Sweet Shrimp Perilla Oil Soba — soba tossed in a special perilla oil sauce with uni, sweet shrimp, and mountain yam, ₩39,000
• Whole Freshwater Eel (salt/sauce) — eel grilled over charcoal with a glaze made from eel bones and vegetable stock, ₩48,000
• Uni Korean Beef Striploin Steak — charcoal-grilled Korean beef striploin steak topped with top-grade uni, ₩58,000

We ordered Korean beef motsunabe (hot pot, with added udon noodles), chili shrimp, and cold beer. As soon as we ordered, the chef started cooking right there on the spot, and watching the careful cooking process from the bar seats meant the wait wasn't boring at all.

A little while later, the food came out neatly plated, and I couldn't help but let out a gasp at how it looked!

How was the chili shrimp?

The chili shrimp we tried first was an easy-to-love dish that anyone could enjoy without complaint.

The shrimp's characteristically bouncy, snappy flesh was fully intact, and the thin, crispy batter wrapped in the sticky sauce showed a textbook example of crispy-outside, juicy-inside. Even with the eyes of someone who's been cooking for years, I could tell from the first bite that the shrimp itself was truly fresh, high-quality seafood.

The shrimp were also generously sized, so the bite was satisfying. The chili sauce, leaning more sweet-and-sour than spicy with a strong umami kick, was the real highlight, pairing perfectly with the cold beer we ordered alongside it. Thanks to clean oil handling like you'd find at a proper Japanese restaurant, we could enjoy it to the last bite without any greasiness.

Korean beef motsunabe with added udon noodles

And the signature soup dish I was most looking forward to, Korean beef motsunabe, was more than enough to warm and soothe the stomach.

The rich, savory fat rendered from fresh Korean beef daechang (beef intestine) blended with the clean broth to create a deep, robust flavor. The chili flakes, garlic, and chives kept the daechang fat — which could easily turn greasy — well balanced, giving the broth a heavy yet spicy, clean finish.

Every sip of the broth had me letting out an involuntary 'ahh! ohh!' — that's how good it was.

The daechang, savory and tender, was also generously portioned, with no funky smell at all — chewy on the outside and bursting with savory flavor on the inside.

Dipping it in the special sauce that came alongside doubled the umami. The balance with the chives, cabbage, tofu, and other vegetables that had soaked up the broth was excellent too, and adding the chewy udon noodles at the end made it a perfect drinking snack as well as a hearty full meal.

Would I recommend it as an Apgujeong izakaya?

Thanks to the kind service from the staff and the chef, I could relax and enjoy myself the entire meal. From the atmosphere of the place to the quality of every single dish, everything exceeded expectations — it's become my go-to Apgujeong izakaya that I'd want to return to without hesitation whenever I feel like a drink.

If you want to spend a special day enjoying delicious Japanese-style dishes in an upscale atmosphere, definitely pay it a visit!