European dining bar by Sadang Station: Balvenie highball at Dophan

Today I visited Dophan (돕한), a European-style dining bar in Sadang that's great for a wedding-invitation get-together ("cheongmo")! With its clean atmosphere and tasty small plates, it works for group dinners and company outings too, and as a cheongmo spot it's a guaranteed success. Highly recommended~

Where is Dophan in Sadang, and what are the hours and parking?

Dophan is a 5-minute walk from Sadang Station, at 19 Bangbaecheon-ro 6-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 2nd floor. The entrance is in the side alley, so make sure you find the right way in!!

• Address: 19 Bangbaecheon-ro 6-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul, 2nd floor
• Hours: Mon–Thu 17:00–01:00, Fri–Sat 17:00–02:00, Sun 17:00–24:00
• Parking: use nearby public parking lots

What are Dophan's interior and seating like?

The inside is done in black tones, with lighting giving off a glow, and the mood was really good for a date or a cheongmo. The movie playing on the wall from a projector had a nice feel too~

Seating is tables for four plus bar-style seats, which looked great for get-togethers and dates.

There are coat hangers too, so it should be comfortable to visit in the seasons when you're carrying a jacket around.

The name Dophan is said to combine the American slang "DOPE," meaning cool and excellent, with a Korean adjective, and there was a celebrity's autograph in the shop too.

Dophan's menu and what we ordered

The menu covers cold dishes, pasta, mains, soup, sides and desserts, and the bar side has plenty of wine, whisky and other drinks. Here's what we ordered that day.

• Perilla oil cappellini with geotjeori (fresh-seasoned salad) ₩22,900
• Gochujang cream gnocchi ₩20,900
• Blue Lemon highball ₩9,900
• Whisky highball (Balvenie) ₩15,000

The cutlery and small plates were set out neatly, which I liked, and I loved that they gave us bokbunja wine as a welcome drink, haha. It was sweet but you could still feel some alcohol in it, which was nice.

How do the Blue Lemon highball and Balvenie whisky highball taste?

The Blue Lemon highball (₩9,900) was sweet like a soft drink, which I liked, and the Balvenie whisky highball (₩15,000) had a subtle whisky aroma and was refreshing, perfect for a hot summer day.

And then the food came out...! At European dining pubs the plating is usually pretty but the portions small, but Dophan's dishes..! The portions were quite generous and the plating was really pretty, which I loved.

Is the perilla oil cappellini worth recommending?

Dophan's perilla oil cappellini with geotjeori (₩22,900) is cappellini tossed in perilla oil, served with well-grilled brisket slices (chadolbaegi) and bomdong (spring cabbage) geotjeori. It's like a Korean bibim noodle dish, but because it uses pasta noodles it has a different charm.

Passes on looks~~ and the amount of meat was really generous, so another pass~ I recommend this one.

The meat wasn't tough, the texture was really tender, and the rich, nutty fat flavor was great.

The bomdong geotjeori was spicy with a tang, balancing out the richness of the meat and perilla oil, and its crunch added texture. I really enjoyed it, haha.

Eating them together feels like having a Korean ssam (wrap) in your mouth: you can feel each ingredient's texture, and the flavors blend without any one standing out. A really balanced combination.

With a cool highball alongside~~~ I didn't used to look for alcohol much, but these days having a glass with tasty small plates like this is so good, haha.

What does the gochujang cream gnocchi taste like?

Dophan's gochujang cream gnocchi (₩20,900) had plenty of gnocchi and a really generous amount of roasted vegetables. The base gochujang (chili paste) cream is very thick and rich, and if you break the egg yolk and mix it in, the yolk's richness makes it even better, haha.

Scoop up the gnocchi together with the cream, but it's really hot..! Be careful, lol.

The gnocchi was soft yet dense and filling inside, and you could really taste the potato.

The roasted mushrooms, zucchini and onion kept a good bite and had a nice vegetable sweetness, so I enjoyed them a lot, haha.

Dophan as a Sadang cheongmo spot: overall verdict

At Dophan, the European dining bar in Sadang, I really liked the friendly staff member who welcomed us and the bokbunja welcome drink, and I also loved the interior, which is dark overall but has a soft mood from the lighting~~ The small plates were beautifully plated, generous and excellent in taste, so I was very satisfied, and the pairings with the various drinks worked well. Dophan is a bar with a mood that would be great to visit for a cheongmo in Sadang.