Anime poster bar in Sadang, Seoul: fried chicken skin at Hiku

Hiku, an izakaya near Sadang Station

I was looking for somewhere to have drinks with friends near Sadang Station and ended up at Hiku! There are so many bars around Sadang that it was hard to pick, but the menu here was so varied — everything from mala hot pot to fried dishes — that I decided to give it a try.

We really ordered a ton that day. Sichuan mala hot pot, yurinji, butter fries, chicken skin, plus a berry highball, draft beer, and a cheonjan highball 🤤 basically conquered the whole menu... haha

Where is Hiku, and when is it open?

• 📍 Address: 49 Dongjakdae-ro 7-gil, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, 1st floor
• 🚇 Location: Sadang Station Exit 10
• ⏰ Hours: Daily 17:00–02:00
• Separate restrooms for men and women

Inside Hiku: anime posters and a dim, cozy bar

Hiku is an izakaya located in an alley near Sadang Station!

Once inside, the lighting is fairly dim overall and the atmosphere is cozy — great for drinking. And there was something here that hit right at my taste: the walls are covered in a ton of Japanese anime posters haha

Attack on Titan, Demon Slayer, One Piece, and other familiar anime were plastered all over the place! I'm a bit of a semi-otaku, so seeing this made me happy.

There are quite a lot of tables too, enough for 7–8+ groups of four to visit at once!

Compared to an izakaya that's just decorated in a generic Japanese style, these little details made it fun to look around!

What we ordered at Hiku

We ordered Sichuan mala hot pot, yurinji, butter fries, chicken skin, a berry highball, draft beer, and a cheonjan highball.

🌶️ Sichuan mala hot pot

Of everything we ordered that day, the Sichuan mala hot pot was the best!

It was seriously so good. I'm a mala tang lover, and the broth had that salty, spicy, super rich mala hot pot (mala huoguo) feel from the very first sip.

The fillings were also pretty substantial. There were lots of vegetables and a generous amount of meat!!

The drinks just kept going down easy with this.

🍋 Yurinji (fried chicken in citrus sauce)

Second up was yurinji (fried chicken with tangy sauce).

The yurinji had a proper tangy sauce flavor. The fried chicken was deeply soaked in the sour sauce, so it wasn't greasy and worked really well as a drinking snack.

Ordered alongside a bold dish like the mala hot pot, the flavors didn't clash at all — the combo worked great.

🧈 Butter fries

Butter fries are a classic drinking snack haha. The portion was bigger than expected, which was great.

After finishing the hot pot and yurinji in round one, we kept the butter fries around while chatting and sipping the remaining drinks, picking at them the whole time!

🐔 Fried chicken skin

And then, an unexpected favorite. The chicken skin!! This was seriously delicious!

Totally crispy, with that distinctive rich, fatty savoriness of chicken skin — dipped in the sauce it was insanely good. The yellow sauce was amazing. If the mala hot pot was the best main dish of the night, the chicken skin was the most memorable snack.

🍓 Berry highball

We also ordered a variety of drinks.

The berry highball is sweet and fruity, so it'll suit anyone who prefers a highball without a strong alcohol taste.

Totally refreshing, like a soft drink!!!

⭐️ Is Hiku worth a visit in Sadang?

• 🍺 Atmosphere → Dim and cozy, great for drinking / Japanese anime posters everywhere make it fun to look around
• 🌶️ Sichuan mala hot pot → Recommended if you love mala huoguo / Fillings like meat and vegetables are generous too
• 🐔 Chicken skin → Crispy and rich / The sauce was especially good
• 🍋 Yurinji → Tangy with a bold sauce flavor, really tasty
• 🧈 Butter fries → Generous portion, a solidly good drinking snack
• 🍻 Drink variety → Good range from highballs to draft beer to pick from
• 📍 Overall impression → A great izakaya for drinks with friends near Sadang Station!!

Totally recommend it for when you want a dim, cozy atmosphere, a bunch of snacks ordered, and drinks flowing!!!