Gyeongju yakitori izakaya with non-alcoholic highballs: Yakitori Sogi

If you're looking for an atmospheric izakaya for dinner on Hwangridan-gil, I recommend Yakitori Sogi, a Gyeongju yakitori spot. It's a Gyeongju bar where you can enjoy yakitori as a course alongside a wide range of drinks. Here's my review after enjoying Course A and grilled rice cake with Kirin draft beer, Sogi highball, and non-alcoholic oolong highball. This time I went with mom, for whom it was her first time doing an izakaya course meal ❣️

• ⏰ Hours 18:00–24:00 (Fri/Sat/Sun 17:00–01:00)
• * Closed every Tuesday
• 🍺 Drink order required (🍾 corkage available for a fee)
• 🚫 No-kids zone
• 🚻 Unisex restroom
• 🅿️ No parking

Where is Yakitori Sogi, and which Hwangnam Market entrance should you use?

Yakitori Sogi is a Gyeongju yakitori spot located inside Hwangnam Market. The market has several entrances, but if you go in through the north B entrance, it's right there! (Near the Gyeongju 1st branch of Dotori Caricature.)

Inside Yakitori Sogi: counter seats and whether solo drinking works

The inside of this Hwangridan-gil izakaya has dim lighting and warm lamps, making it a great atmosphere for a bar visit. There's a counter seat (dachi) great for jumping right into the yakitori course and for solo drinking, quiet window-side bar tables, and tables for four good for chatting in a group. There are 2 window tables for two, 2 tables for four, and 8 counter seats.

Yakitori Sogi has a wide variety of drinks 🍶 — beer, soju, highballs, wine, sake, cheongju, all prepared in variety. Corkage is also available for a fee. (₩20,000 per bottle; ₩30,000 for spirits/whisky/25%+ ABV.)

We sat at the counter table, great for enjoying the course right away. Counter seating at a bar can sometimes be inconvenient, but you can hang bags on hooks behind the chair, and there's also a coat rack at the left wall for outerwear.

Course A vs Course B at Yakitori Sogi, and how ordering works

At Yakitori Sogi, one course per person is required, and the course takes about 1.5 hours. A drink order is also required, but there are non-alcoholic options, so it's fine even if you can't drink. If there's a waitlist, usage time is limited to 2 hours.

Course A is the full course, including a meal item at the end (sous-vide chicken breast salad, cheese tofu, 6 kinds of yakitori, tsukune, 1 grilled vegetable, marinated tomato, chicken karaage, chicken gomtang [chicken soup], shiso sherbet). Course B is a shorter course, good for a lighter meal (sous-vide chicken breast salad, cheese tofu, 4 kinds of yakitori, tsukune, marinated tomato). You can also add à la carte and side dishes. The drink menu is varied too, with sake, whisky, and wine available by the glass.

You order via the QR code on the table. Just add items to your cart and tap 'Order'.

• ✅ Ordered: Course A for two
• Grilled rice cake
• Sogi highball
• (Non-alcoholic) oolong highball
• Kirin draft beer

🎉 Naver receipt review event — writing a review of this Hwangridan-gil izakaya gets you 1 free glass of Kirin draft beer. 🎉 Instagram story tag event — tag Yakitori Sogi for a free grilled rice cake.

There's shichimi, sansho pepper, and salt on the table to season to taste, and they'll also give recommendations. Water sits on the shelf above, and the yakitori is also served up on that shelf. There's a spring-shaped holder to collect your finished skewers.

Kirin draft beer and the non-alcoholic oolong highball for a non-drinking companion

Course A and the drinks arrived. It takes about 1.5 hours. The starter banchan (side dishes) were pickled takana greens and pickled peppers. The pickled peppers were spicy, good eaten on their own partway through or alongside the yakitori.

The Kirin draft had a soft foam and a smooth finish. My companion ordered the non-alcoholic oolong highball. At first it tastes like a highball, then a bitter oolong tea aftertaste comes through.

Sous-vide chicken breast salad and cheese tofu

The sous-vide chicken breast salad was a great starter to whet the appetite. Lettuce and moist chicken breast came with an oriental-style dressing. The cheese tofu looked like a firm pudding, and inside was a rich cream cheese flavor. Eaten with the wasabi that came alongside, there was no sharp nasal hit — it went well together. Felt like Japanese mochi-ridofu (mochi-like tofu)!

Sitting at the counter and watching the skewers being grilled while waiting 🍢🔥 — so much care goes into making sure they don't burn and the juices don't escape 👍

Which six yakitori skewers come with Course A?

Chicken tenderloin skewer

The first skewer was chicken tenderloin, already seasoned. This tenderloin part was exceptionally moist! It tastes good plain since it's already seasoned, but adding a bit of shichimi for spice makes it even better! * They give you a kushinuki (skewer-removing tool) so you can easily push the meat off.

Chicken thigh and scallion skewer

Scallion and grilled chicken thigh is a classic combo anywhere! The golden-brown chicken thigh brushed with tare sauce comes topped with wasabi. The thigh meat is served in a generously plump size, giving a great bite and lots of juice. Brushed with tare sauce, it also has a salty-savory taste. It pairs well with the sweet flavor of the scallion. Since it's a fatty cut, it also went well with wasabi. Eating this, how could you resist a 🍺 beer...

Chicken karaage with the Sogi highball

The karaage, served 2 per person, comes with a soft potato salad! The chicken is crispy outside, juicy inside, topped with a sweet and tangy sauce. Eating it together with the creamy potato salad balances out the chicken's oiliness and the tangy sauce, making it feel light.

The Sogi highball I added has Maker's Mark whisky in it. The oak aroma and bitter taste are strong, so for someone who doesn't know much about drinking like me, it's a seriously boozy-tasting highball..😅

Chicken heart skewer

This is the plumpest chicken heart I've ever had. You can feel the springy texture with every bite. They recommend eating it with shichimi for extra flavor, so I paired it with the spicy shichimi.

Chicken neck meat skewer

I can't believe you get such a big portion of chicken neck meat like this..! Topped with mustard seeds. The tender neck meat pairs well with the tangy mustard, and topping it with the pickled pepper adds even more savory depth.

The grilled vegetable: shiitake mushroom

The mushroom comes with a butter garlic sauce and chopped scallion. The combination of the savory-sweet sauce and the moisture from the mushroom is so delicious. The shiitake's flavor and aroma are still intact! I love mushrooms already, so I really enjoyed this one 🍄

Chicken skin and chicken wing skewers

The chicken skin comes rolled up like a horong-gui (rolled skewer). Brushed with tare sauce multiple times while grilling, it's crispy yet sweet and salty. They recommend pairing it with sansho pepper.

The chicken wing is flattened as if filleted. This was the skewer with the strongest charcoal aroma. There's a bone in it, but the meat comes off easily while staying moist.

Tsukune and the complimentary chicken cartilage

The tsukune included in Course A came out along with a complimentary chicken cartilage skewer. I expected the cartilage to be crunchy, but it was surprisingly moist — must be from around the cartilage area. Tender and juicy.

I think tsukune (chicken meatball skewer) is the highlight of yakitori 😆 It was the tastiest skewer I had at Sogi, a Gyeongju yakitori spot! It comes with a poached egg and sauce to mix together. It tastes like a fancy, juicy version of dongeurangttaeng (Korean pan-fried meat patty). It was the best tsukune I've had — moist, packed with juice, no fishy taste at all, and completely clean without any of that miso-like flavor sometimes added to mask gaminess.

The marinated tomato comes out after finishing all the skewers, as a finishing touch. In Course A it comes before the meal course; in Course B it comes as the very last item. Fresh, sweet tomato for a refreshing finish.

Finishing Course A with dak-gomtang and shiso sherbet

The warm chicken gomtang (chicken soup) served as the meal course tastes rich, like it's been simmered a long time, with a peppery kick. Inside is grilled rice that you mash into the soup. Eaten together with the chewy grilled rice, rich broth, and generous chopped scallion — pure honey!

The shiso sherbet is the dessert that finishes Course A. Japanese shiso leaf is a love-it-or-hate-it flavor, but this shiso sherbet is made closer to an apple flavor. It has a refreshing green apple taste with a clean, minty finish at the end. I didn't think I'd still be hungry after the full yakitori Course A, but I was totally full! Satisfying!!

Is the grilled rice cake worth adding when you are already full?

The grilled rice cake we added is a dish you can't resist even when full. It comes with golden-brown grilled garae-tteok (long rice cake), seaweed, and honey. They recommend wrapping it in the seaweed and dipping it in honey. The grilled rice cake itself is crispy outside, chewy inside, so it's already delicious plain. Wrapped in seaweed and dipped in honey, you get a sweet-salty, chewy bite. If you love grilled rice cake, order this without a doubt!

Yakitori Sogi is a Gyeongju yakitori spot I enjoyed thoroughly on my Gyeongju trip. It's an izakaya with a great atmosphere among Hwangridan-gil bars, recommended for anyone who wants to enjoy a yakitori course. I also think it'd make a great date spot!