Gopchang hot pot at 30% spice in a Wangsimni bar: Rainbow Pocha

Today I visited Rainbow Pocha's Wangsimni Station branch — a bar that's great for company dinners near Wangsimni Station, but also has plenty to do like board games and a punch machine, making it a solid date spot too. It's a neighborhood bar with such a wide, delicious range of side dishes that I never get tired of coming back. Here's my review as a Wangsimni local recommending Rainbow Pocha~

What Rainbow Pocha in Wangsimni is like, and what there is to do

Rainbow Pocha's Wangsimni branch is on the 2nd floor at 26 Haengdang-ro 17-gil, open daily from 4pm to 5am. On one side of the restaurant there's a big rabbit full-length mirror that's really great for photos. The soft lighting makes the pictures come out even prettier — every time I visit, I make sure to get one killer shot there haha.

They also have board games ready to go, which is perfect for when the conversation and drinking start to lag a bit — pulling one out really changes the mood. There was also a punch machine, and my partner and I even had a little scoring contest lol. The machine itself gives pretty low scores across the board, but having these little extras to play with made it fun.

Why Rainbow Pocha works as a Wangsimni room bar: 120-plus seats

The inside of Rainbow Pocha has over 120 seats, so it can easily handle group gatherings, company dinners, and large parties. The soft lighting and comfortable atmosphere are a real draw.

There are also private rooms for a more intimate experience. We booked ours in advance through Naver, and it was great to eat without noise, in a quiet setting!

The Rainbow Pocha menu and what we ordered

I snapped a photo of the menu too — it's massive, right?! I've visited multiple times and still haven't tried everything. It's so varied that it works whether you're here for round one, two, or three of the night. Last time I came I ordered the chicken feet set, cheese potato nurungji (crispy rice), and Rainbow bingsu (shaved ice), and the cheese potato nurungji was amazing — I almost ordered it again, but decided to try something new this time, so I went with the gopchang jeongol and chicken rosé pasta!

They were also running a receipt review event — writing a review gets you a no-lose draw, and following them on Instagram gets you one free drink!

The free snack: sweet potato fritter crisps, refillable for 4,000 won

The basic side dish at Rainbow Pocha is sweet potato fritters. These are genuinely a drink accelerator — you can pay an extra ₩4,000 for a refill. I refilled once lol. When you refill, you get triple the amount shown in the photo — super generous!

Cheers with a drink alongside the sweet potato fritter chips~

Gopchang hot pot: which spice level should you pick?

Rainbow Pocha's gopchang jeongol (beef intestine hot pot) came loaded with daechang (large intestine), gopchang (small intestine), and chadol (thinly sliced brisket). I added glass noodles too, and it tasted so much better with them in.

The vegetables were so generous the pot was completely full. For spice level, you can choose between 10% mild, 30% spicy ramyeon-level, or 50% for spice maniacs — I went with 30% spicy ramyeon, which landed right around Shin Ramyeon spice level, pleasantly sharp without being too much.

The gopchang and daechang were mixed together — the daechang was plump and the gopchang was tender with absolutely no off smell, so the drinks kept flowing.

Along with the gopchang and daechang, there was chadol too, and maybe because the meat juices mixed in, the broth had a much deeper, savory flavor.

I ate the glass noodles together with the daechang. The chewy noodles and springy daechang combo was insane — especially since the broth soaked so well into the noodles, the texture was way better than eating the noodles alone.

Rose chicken pasta: how it pairs with the gopchang hot pot

The rosé chicken pasta we also ordered arrived. After the sharp, spicy gopchang jeongol, switching to the rich, creamy rosé pasta was actually a really nice combo.

There was chicken on top too, savory and salty, and eating it together with the pasta noodles here and there made it feel much more filling than pasta alone.

There was also a side of baguette, which we dipped deep into the rosé sauce and even piled with pasta noodles — it had a fun fusion-dish feel to it. We used the bread to clean up every last bit of leftover sauce, haha.

Is Rainbow Pocha worth a visit near Wangsimni Station?

A place with delicious side dishes and drinks that just keep going down easy — we got so deep into conversation that we lost track of time. We wrapped up the night having eaten well enough to keep our condition in check too. Rainbow Pocha ❤️ is a place I keep coming back to in Wangsimni as my go-to spot for great side dishes. If you're looking for a relaxed drink with friends, a group gathering spot, or a go-to place for great bar food in Wangsimni, I recommend Rainbow Pocha's Wangsimni Station branch.