Sadang izakaya for a work dinner: 33cm buckwheat pancake at Cheonjan

Sadang's Cheonjan

When you're heading to a second round in Sadang, the hardest part is always deciding on the menu — especially when everyone wants to eat a little of everything. This time I found the perfect Sadang Station bar for exactly that. Here's my review of Cheonjan near Sadang Station 🍶 Let's get into it~

What kind of place is Cheonjan, the izakaya near Sadang Station? 🏮

Cheonjan is a 3-minute walk from Sadang Station Exit 10. Being this close to the station makes it a solid choice among Sadang bars, even for something like a wedding invitation gathering. Step inside and you get warm wood-tone interiors with soft, dim lighting — the kind of calm izakaya atmosphere near Sadang Station that's good for actually talking.

With a mix of 2-seat and 4-seat tables, it works both as a Sadang date spot for two and as a Sadang group dinner spot for four.

At Cheonjan near Sadang Station you order through a tablet, so we never had to call a server over — convenient. There was so much to choose from that deciding what to order was its own fun problem, in true Sadang bar-food-spot fashion.

Cheonjan Hansang A: sashimi, yukhoe and pancake on one platter

The first thing our group ordered at Cheonjan was Cheonjan Hansang A. True to its name (hansang means "one full spread"), it comes out as an entire table setting on a single tray.

Sashimi, yukhoe (raw beef) and buckwheat pancake were all on the one platter, so there was no need to pick separate menu items. This was genuinely great — even if everyone wanted something different, this one platter covered it all!

If picking dishes one by one feels like too much when you're hunting for a good Sadang drinking-food spot, this is the easiest choice! The sashimi was so fresh and every piece was firm and springy! Both the yukhoe and the fish sashimi were top-quality.

The fun part of this platter is that rice and seaweed come with it — you can eat the sashimi plain, or wrap a little rice with salmon or yukhoe in the seaweed, so you get your side dish and your meal in one go! Four kinds of special sauce were laid out too, so it was fun switching between them to dip.

The 33cm buckwheat pancake, topped with geotjeori (fresh kimchi)

The buckwheat pancake that comes with Hansang A is meant to be eaten topped with geotjeori (fresh-tossed cabbage kimchi) — the house-recommended way — so it's great to pair a bite between rounds of sashimi and yukhoe. It's said to be 33cm across, and honestly it tasted and looked like the real deal you'd order at a proper jeon (pancake) restaurant! Genuinely impressive.

Adding Nagasaki champon hot pot and fried chicken

On top of Hansang A we added two more things: Nagasaki champon and fried chicken! Cheonjan's Nagasaki champon hot pot already comes with udon noodles in it, so there was no need to add a noodle refill separately. That's how generous the portion already is!

It's a great warm soup to pair alongside a platter that's mostly cold sashimi, and it makes ordering easy even for people who came specifically for a good Sadang drinking-food spot.

True to a good Sadang drinking-food spot, there's fried chicken too, and it's the unbeatable classic pairing with beer. Great for a group to pick at piece by piece! Crispy, juicy, savory — the balance was so, so good with beer.

Is Cheonjan a good spot for a work dinner in Sadang?

We paired all this with beer, and the total came out at a price that felt totally fine for a Sadang group dinner — we already promised to come back for the next gathering~! If you've got an important occasion, or just want good food alongside a drink, I'd recommend visiting Cheonjan near Sadang Station.

When you can't decide on a Sadang Station bar, go with Cheonjan 🍶 It was great for four people sharing a bit of everything at this izakaya near Sadang Station — I recommend Cheonjan both as a Sadang date spot and a Sadang group dinner spot 🩵