Friday-night Hongdae izakaya, frozen lemon highball: Kushino Kitchen

What kind of Hongdae izakaya is Kushino Kitchen?

Kushino Kitchen (쿠시노주방) is a Japanese-style yakitori izakaya near Hongik Univ. Station. A friend told me about it as a Hongdae izakaya with tasty snacks and a great mood. I've been about 4 times now, so I wanted to introduce this Hongdae bar. A private, Japanese-style drinking spot: Kushino Kitchen!

How to get to Kushino Kitchen

Kushino Kitchen is about a 5-minute walk from Exit 3 of Hongik Univ. Station. It's on the basement level of the Cheongnyeon Dakbal 1987 (청년닭발 1987) building.

You enter down a staircase to the basement! The entrance is decorated with poster-like pieces that give off a strong Japanese vibe.

By the way, Kushino (串の) Kitchen means "kitchen of skewers," a pub serving handmade Japanese-style yakitori in a variety of dishes. They say they reinterpret Japanese yakitori, nabe (hot pot), single dishes and fusion food picked up locally to suit Korean tastes.

How long is the Friday evening wait at Kushino Kitchen?

I went around 7:30 PM on a Friday and the place was full, with a wait T_T I registered for the waitlist at the front of the shop and waited.. There were 2 groups ahead of us, so I think it was about 20–30 minutes?

Maybe because it's such a popular Hongdae spot, I'd recommend booking ahead on Friday nights and weekends.

Inside Kushino Kitchen: atmosphere and seating

The interior has soft lighting and wood decor that really stand out! Each table has a partition, so you can eat with a private feel. Like you've really come to a Japanese izakaya??

You order on the T-order machine at each table! Chopsticks, wet wipes and tissues are all set up at every table too.

Time limit and skewer ordering rules

The space inside Kushino Kitchen isn't very big, so table time is limited to 2 hours 30 minutes..! They say they'll tell you 30 minutes before your time is up. À la carte orders of the signature yakitori (skewers) start from 5 skewers.

The fun of a seat facing the open kitchen

What's cool is that Kushino Kitchen has an open kitchen behind clear glass! You can watch the cooking inside in real time hahahahahaha

My seat happened to be (lucky?) one with a direct view of the open kitchen, so watching the flame show and the skewers being grilled was surprisingly fun~ Strangely, watching them finish a dish and send out the plate is oddly soothing (kind of like watching someone play a game...)

How do the whole-lemon and strawberry highballs taste?

Strawberry highball / whole-lemon highball. I ordered them because Kushino Kitchen's highballs are good. But hahaha, it was my first time ordering the whole-lemon highball and the lemon hahahahaha I was shocked at first

It was so funny I took a proof shot hahaha They plated it with a frozen lemon like that!! The whole-lemon highball tastes fresh and sweet, just like lemon, so yummy (jmt)

The strawberry highball was good too, with lots of what looked like strawberry syrup (cheong) inside!! I like chewing the fruit pulp in a strawberry latte, and Kushino Kitchen's strawberry highball had plenty of tasty strawberry pulp, so I personally enjoyed it haha

What does the lemon cream karaage taste like?

Lemon cream karaage (Japanese-style fried chicken) comes with house-made lemon cream, and it's another signature dish at Kushino Kitchen!!

The fresh, sweet lemon sauce goes surprisingly well with the fried chicken!! The chicken isn't greasy either, just nutty and crispy~~ It comes with a cabbage salad too, so whenever I got a bit tired of it I ate some, and the balance was great haha

How are the taste and portion of the kushino nabe?

Kushino nabe (hot pot) is Kushino Kitchen's signature: yakitori skewers in a special tomato jjamppong sauce. I ordered this one hahaha because it's a signature dish too. When I searched the shop on Naver it was already listed as the signature, so my expectations were sky-high!

The kushino nabe sauce tastes like tomato pasta! There are actually pasta noodles in it, so it feels like eating tomato pasta, and my friend who loves pasta was very satisfied. The yakitori wasn't tough either, and had a subtle smoky charcoal-grilled aroma.

The portion was way bigger than I expected, so even though I was really hungry, I ended up leaving a little T_T

Is Kushino Kitchen worth recommending as a Hongdae bar?

Kushino Kitchen is a tasty, private-feeling, good-value Hongdae izakaya. If you're looking for a good Hongdae restaurant or bar, I recommend Kushino Kitchen!