Euljiro bar for umami oil pasta and highballs: Hey Jinny

Hey Jinny, a great Euljiro spot for wine or highballs

I've been going to Euljiro pretty often lately, so my list of good places just keeps growing... If you're looking for a bar in Euljiro where you can casually have a glass of wine or a highball, I really want to recommend Hey Jinny (을지로 헤이지니)! The reviews were so good that I got curious, made a reservation in advance, and went haha.

It has Euljiro's signature hip feel, but it is also perfect for a casual drink of wine or highballs on a date or with friends!! And because the lighting is dim without the place being loud, I totally recommend it for a blind date in Euljiro!!! There was actually a blind date happening at another table when I visited...

And the food here is seriously delicious.... The Osaka Nibo Ale Oil Pasta is an absolute must!!! An explosion of umami—so good.

The fish-fragrant eggplant was also tastier than what I've had at plenty of Chinese restaurants... Hey Jinny is such a genuinely great spot that I'm already curious about the other dishes and think I'll be back ⭐️

Hey Jinny location, parking, and hours

Hey Jinny is just 117 m from Exit 10 of Euljiro 3-ga Station, so it is incredibly easy to get to haha.

• J-Mecro Tower underground paid parking is recommended
• ₩1,000 for the first 10 minutes
• ₩1,000 for each additional 10 minutes, maximum ₩1,000
• Tuesday–Friday, 17:00–24:00
• Saturday–Sunday, 15:00–24:00
• Last order at 23:30
• Closed every Monday

Here is the entrance!! I'd only ever passed by and looked at it before, but I finally made it here ㅠㅠ Just head up the stairs haha.

It is not a huge place—around six or seven tables, maybe? Most people were couples on dates, though there were also groups hanging out haha.

Most of the menu is Western food: steak, pasta, gambas, risotto, and more! There was also a wide range of drinks, including highballs, wine, whisky, Jinro, soju, and beer. During dinner, one alcoholic drink per person is required!

The fish-fragrant eggplant looks insane.

We ordered: ✔️ Osaka Nibo Ale Oil Pasta ✔️ Fish-fragrant eggplant ✔️ Peach highball ✔️ Earl Grey highball

Highballs that were not just sweet

Peach and Earl Grey highballs!! I don't really like highballs that are only sweet and packed with fizz, but these were not that style, which I loved haha. Clean through and through.

I got the Earl Grey and my friend got the peach highball, and the Earl Grey was insanely good. It was nicely sweet, tasted like an actual drink, and finished clean~~ My friend said the peach one was sweet and delicious too haha 🍑

Oil pasta with anchovies, shrimp, and white pollock roe

Osaka Nibo Ale Oil Pasta (₩21,000)

This pasta recreates in Euljiro a flavor the restaurant fell for in an Osaka back alley, combining anchovies, shrimp, and white pollock roe to bring out oceanic umami. It is a flavor that is hard to find elsewhere, so ⭐️please order it⭐️. Think of it as one big bundle of umami haha.

You mix the anchovies, shrimp, and white pollock roe together before eating. The smell was a little like Shrimp Crackers haha.

I loved the bite from the anchovies and dried shrimp...

So savory-salty.

It had the clean flavor unique to oil pasta, plus a salty, deep flavor from the seafood, so it was great with wine or highballs haha.

My friend and I kept exclaiming over it as we ate... I can't believe there was a hidden gem like this... We had it with highballs this time, but it would probably have been even better with wine ㅠㅠ The pasta is the real deal.

Crispy fish-fragrant eggplant with a bright sansho kick

Fish-fragrant eggplant (₩18,000)

A sansho pepper kick! Crispy fish-fragrant eggplant. It has an addictive flavor with the scent of sansho pepper popping up.

I tend to order fish-fragrant eggplant whenever I go to a Chinese restaurant or lamb-skewer place, and this was the best one I've had recently.

The sauce was like kkanpunggi, Korean-style spicy fried chicken haha. The subtle fragrance of sansho pepper came through, adding so much umami 👏🏻

The eggplant was cut into easy-to-eat pieces and fried so well—crispy outside and tender inside—that it melted in your mouth like cotton candy...

It was sweet, salty, and a little spicy too, making it perfect drinking food haha. I think it would be a perfect match with beer.

It has been a while since I found a wine bar this serious about its food... The prices are so reasonable that I think I'll visit again. The oil pasta was intensely umami-rich and great as both a meal and a drinking dish, while the fish-fragrant eggplant had a crispy texture plus that sansho fragrance—perfect with drinks! With the peach and Earl Grey highballs too, it made for an evening where we could set the mood and talk slowly haha.