Guro izakaya set menu no. 1 with grilled jjamppong: Robatayaki Sodam

Eating dinner out every single day this week lol. Met a friend after work for dinner in Guro Digital Complex. Can't drink much, but the menu had so much variety that I checked out this Guro bar, Robatayaki Sodam Guro Digital Complex Branch — and it was genuinely delicious. Here's the review.

Where is Robatayaki Sodam in Guro Digital Complex, and can you reserve?

Robatayaki Sodam Guro Digital Complex Branch is an izakaya at the end of Kkalkkal-geori in Guro Digital Complex. The original store is apparently in Yeouido, and this Guro branch is the second location.

Robatayaki Sodam Guro Digital Complex

Guro is always packed with office workers, so a bar you can actually reserve on Naver is precious. We booked ahead on Naver too, choosing bar-counter seats.

We'd booked for 6:30, and even then the place was already pretty full. Do people just sprint over the moment the clock hits six ,,,

Seating at Robatayaki Sodam and booking for groups

4-person tables seemed to be the most common, with a 6-person table in the inner room. Groups of up to 12 seem possible too, but that's not bookable through Naver — you'd need to call and ask.

Swapping the oden hot pot in set menu no. 1 for grilled jjamppong

True to an izakaya, Robatayaki Sodam Guro Digital Complex Branch has a huge range of menu items. Their frequently-paired combos come as set menus, which made ordering super easy since I didn't have to agonize over choices lol.

We got set menu no. 1 — assorted skewers (13 skewers) + oden hot pot — and swapped the oden hot pot for grilled jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup). The upgrade costs an extra ₩3,000, and it was the best decision.

The complimentary side dish was a fried egg sizzling on a hot plate. Great way to start with some protein :-) haha. My friend couldn't resist and ordered a Kirin draft beer. At least one of us gets to enjoy a cold one ~~~

Grilled jjamppong: loaded with seafood and smoky wok flavor

The grilled jjamppong came out faster than expected. The noodles were the medium-thick kind I love ,,, and it was absolutely packed with seafood — 4 shrimp, 4 baby octopus. So much seafood plus that killer smoky flame flavor made the broth the kind you just want to dump rice into.

The vegetables in it were delicious too, and I kept raving about it the whole meal. With broth this good, you can't not drink soju, so my friend ended up ordering some too ^^,, jealous.

13 assorted skewers grilled at the open kitchen by the bar counter

While still marveling over the jjamppong, we waited for the skewers. Right in front of us, they were grilling beautifully. Grilled fish and skewers are cooked open-flame at the open kitchen right by the bar-counter seats. Watching it made me want the grilled fish too ,,, but I decided to hold off for now.

The 13 assorted skewers included heart, garlic, ginkgo, king oyster mushroom, bacon-wrapped tomato, rice cake, shrimp, and various chicken cuts ,,, lol. They were seriously delicious. I feel like you could keep ordering more infinitely.

Third dish: yurinki (fried chicken with soy dressing)

In the end we couldn't resist a third dish. Torn between the grilled fish and yurinki (crispy fried chicken with tangy sauce), we went refreshing (?) and finished with yurinki lol. Eaten with the salad ~ ^^ The sauce is really good, and the yurinki itself is delicious too.

One downside at Robatayaki Sodam: no rice

Honestly, if there'd been rice, I would've scraped that broth clean to the last drop. Unfortunately, this Guro favorite izakaya, Robatayaki Sodam Guro Digital Complex Branch, isn't a rice-focused place — no rice on the menu ..... nearly cried .....

Stopwatch event: up to 33,300 won off

Leaving a Naver receipt review or following them on Instagram seems to enter you into a stopwatch event, but since one of us was drinking moderately and the other not at all, we were being shy girls and skipped it. If we'd been tipsy we probably would've gone for it excitedly lol. Up to ₩33,300 off sounds like it'd actually be fun lol.

We ended up visiting this Guro favorite izakaya, Robatayaki Sodam Guro Digital Complex Branch, on a night we barely drank, but the food was so good it exceeded expectations. 'This is amazing' kept coming out of my mouth all through dinner!! I'm definitely coming back here. Now I'm curious about the Yeouido location too.