Yakitori at an izakaya patio table near Kyung Hee Univ: Hamaru Hoegi

A Kyung Hee University izakaya with great atmosphere, great food, and great service: Hamaru Hoegi

Saturday night, we dropped the kids off at my mom's place and my husband and I had a rare date night just the two of us, haha. While looking for somewhere near my mom's neighborhood, I heard a new izakaya had opened in front of Kyung Hee University, so we checked out Hamaru Hoegi.

Location and hours at Hamaru Hoegi

To get to this Kyung Hee University bar, come out Exit 1 of Hoegi Station and walk toward the university's front gate. Since it's open late, we could head out later in the evening and still have plenty of time. Parking is listed as available, but the space is pretty limited, so I'd recommend taking public transit.

• 📍 Address: 11 Kyunghee-daero 1-gil, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, South Korea (1F)
• ⏰ Hours: Sun–Thu 17:00–2:00 / Fri–Sat 17:00–3:00
• 🚗 Parking is limited, so public transit is recommended

What's the vibe like at Hamaru Hoegi?

The moment we walked in, it genuinely felt like we'd been transported to a Japanese izakaya. Rows of Japanese sake bottles line the walls, along with retro Japanese liquor ad posters scattered around. There's also a small display cabinet full of little figures in cubbies, which was fun to look through.

There are regular tables as well as a bar seat right facing the kitchen — if you sit at the bar you can watch the skewers being grilled right in front of you, which is a fun bit of entertainment on its own. Next time I want to sit there and watch while we eat, haha.

And outside there are about 4 patio tables, which set a perfect vibe for drinking outdoors on a nice day.

Menu and what we ordered at Hamaru Hoegi

The menu had everything from side dishes to drinks. Yakitori, teppanyaki, signature dishes, nabe — there was way too much I wanted to try! I've been to plenty of bars and izakayas near Kyung Hee University, but Hamaru's menu was exactly my style. I really regretted having already eaten dinner. Next time I'm going hungry and ordering a ton, haha.

We started with a nice cold Asahi draft beer, haha. For sides we ordered butter-grilled shrimp and scallops, chicken thigh skewers, tsukune, and enoki mushroom pork belly rolls!

• Butter-grilled shrimp and scallops ₩20,000
• Chicken thigh skewer ₩4,000
• Tsukune (meatball skewer) ₩4,500
• Enoki mushroom pork belly roll ₩3,500
• Asahi draft beer ₩8,000
• Jinro soju ₩5,000

The kindness of moving us to a patio table

We started with the complimentary cabbage that came out first, along with a refreshing gulp of draft beer, but the weather happened to be cool that day, and the AC suddenly felt way too cold. So I asked if we could possibly move to one of the outdoor patio tables, and the staff moved us right away, so kindly! That kind of thoughtful attention put me at ease from the very start.

Eating out on the patio with the cool breeze made the whole atmosphere even better. It felt much more relaxed and comfortable than being indoors, so I was glad we'd moved, haha. They didn't seem bothered at all by such a small request and handled it with a smile — that's when my opinion of the place really went up.

Butter-grilled shrimp and scallops

The first thing that arrived was the butter-grilled shrimp and scallops! Butter aroma and that charred, smoky flavor hit all at once — one bite in and I just let out a "woooow." Dipping it in the ranch-like sauce that came with it was a total win for my taste,,,, it was good enough that I immediately wanted to come back just for this. If we hadn't already eaten, I probably would've ordered a second one,,, haha. The shrimp was plump and the vegetables that came alongside were also delicious — an amazing pairing with draft beer.

Three kinds of yakitori (skewers)

We ordered three skewers, whatever sounded good to us~

The chicken thigh skewer was clean and not greasy at all, with tender thigh meat paired with scallions,

and the tsukune was a moist, finely minced meatball that got more savory the more you chewed it. Even though we'd already had dinner, we finished the skewers completely, haha.

But the one that stuck with me the most was the enoki mushroom pork belly roll! It's enoki mushrooms rolled up in pork belly and grilled, and eating them together like that was way better than eating the mushrooms alone. It made me think I should wrap enoki with pork belly like this the next time we go camping, haha.

Would go back to Hamaru Hoegi

Getting time alone with my husband without the kids for once made the whole day feel extra special. Even with the table switch, the staff's kindness actually made the meal even more pleasant. If you're looking for a bar or izakaya near Hoegi or Kyung Hee University, Hamaru Hoegi is worth a visit. With the patio seating, it'd be amazing on these cool evenings lately, haha. Next time I want to go back and try the okonomiyaki and some other skewer options, haha. Another good meal with my husband today :)