Mango and watermelon highballs at Kushino Kitchen, a Hongdae izakaya

What kind of izakaya is Kushino Kitchen?

Kushino Kitchen is an izakaya in the basement of 218-1 Donggyo-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, 239m from Hongik University Station Exit 3. It's open daily from 16:00 to 12:30 the next day, and there's no parking inside the building.

Round two of a former coworker's farewell party!! We headed to an izakaya for round two. It felt private, and had great nabe (hot pot), skewers, and highballs — Kushino Kitchen, a Hongdae bar. Let's skewer 🍢🍻

How to get to Kushino Kitchen from Hongik University Station, and where to park

Kushino Kitchen, a Hongdae izakaya, is about a 5-minute walk from Exit 3 of Hongik University Station, so it's easy to get to. (It's on B1 of the Cheongnyeon Dakbal 1987 building!) If you're driving, there's no parking inside the building, so you'll want to use a nearby public parking lot! Here's the info on the lot near Kushino Kitchen.

Yeonnam 3 Public Parking Lot rates and hours

• Address: 229-66 Yeonnam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
• Hours: Daily 11:00–22:00 (closed 09/24–09/26 for Chuseok, and 10/03 for National Foundation Day)
• Rate: ₩250 per 5 minutes

Down to the basement we go. At the bottom there's a Catch Table kiosk — just enter your phone number and party size! We visited around 7pm on a weekday and were waitlist #1, so we got in quickly.

How private are the partitioned booths?

The inside of Kushino Kitchen totally feels like an izakaya in Japan, right? Every seat has a partition, so even on a loud night your conversation stays clear.

The cozy, warm mood plus the partitions at every seat made it feel really private! Even though it was loud around us, we could hear each other just fine.

Each table had disposable chopsticks, which felt more hygienic, plus shichimi and other sauces, tissues, wet wipes, and even a trash bin — very convenient.

Kushino Kitchen menu and what we ordered

Kushino Kitchen's menu includes kushino nabe, sukiyaki, skewers, and drinks. Kushino (串のキ) means "skewer's kitchen," and true to the name, there's a wide range of skewer dishes! They reinterpret Japanese-style yakitori and nabe to suit Korean tastes. After some deliberation, here's what we ordered!

• Kushino nabe ₩33,000
• Add pasta ₩3,000
• Lemon cream karaage ₩15,000
• Mango highball ₩9,000
• Watermelon highball ₩9,000
• Suntory The Premium Malt's ₩9,000
• Chamisul soju ₩6,000 x2

Here's the house policy. Table time is capped at 2 hours 30 minutes, and staff will give you a heads-up 30 minutes before time's up! Skewers ordered a la carte need a minimum of 5. And if you join the receipt review event, you get a potato croquette on the house — go for it~

Watermelon highball and mango highball, 9,000 won each

The watermelon highball has that refreshing, sweet watermelon flavor. The mango highball has a rich, sweet mango aroma. Every sip had bits of mango and real juice coming through — so good! Both highballs were low on alcohol taste, more like a soft drink! A perfect pick for lightweights.

Suntory The Premium Malt's on draft

Suntory The Premium Malt's with a soft, creamy draft foam on top. Nutty malt flavor with a clean, crisp carbonation — no heavy or dry aftertaste.

Lemon cream karaage, 15,000 won

Lemon cream karaage. Karaage (Japanese fried chicken) paired with the restaurant's own house-made lemon cream! The chewy, sweet-and-sour sauce soaked nicely into the crispy karaage — delicious! And inside, it was so juicy that we kept reaching for more.

Cheers to your escape and your new job~

Kushino nabe, the 33,000 won charcoal skewer hotpot

Kushino nabe (hot pot): yakitori skewers, pasta, and mussels in a special tomato jjamppong sauce! It's Kushino Kitchen's signature dish. It came already cooked, so we could dig right in, and they kept a low flame under it so it stayed warm the whole meal. Look how packed it is! Very filling.

The skewers are charcoal-grilled, so they had a great smoky flavor — the rice cakes were chewy, and the chicken was juicy. So good!

Adding pasta to the nabe for 3,000 won

After finishing the pasta, of course we added more pasta~ Just toss it in the spicy tomato jjamppong sauce.

Is Kushino Kitchen worth it for a second-stop gathering?

• Every table has its own partition, so it feels private.
• An izakaya with a genuinely Japanese local feel
• Skewers, nabe, highballs, draft beer, karaage — everything was good
• Staff were kind
• A cozy, warm Hongdae bar that's easy to talk in

This was such a great spot for round two! The highballs were sweet with a light alcohol taste, perfect for lightweight drinkers, and every dish we ordered was delicious — leaving fully satisfied. If you're looking for a private izakaya in Hongdae, how about Kushino Kitchen, a Hongdae spot known for great skewers and nabe?