Mullae blind date bar: beef intestine teppanyaki & soju, Akai Teppan

My boyfriend and I came out to Mullae-dong for dinner, and the weather has been so nice lately that we didn't want to go home yet. We were wandering the Mullae restaurant alleys when we saw the menu board outside and walked into this Japanese teppanyaki restaurant, Akai Teppan (아카이테판).

I'd walked past a few times before just looking, and it's dark inside in a way that's perfect for a blind date. The menu also turned out to be exactly our style, so even though we were full, we went in without a second thought. haha

Where is Akai Teppan in Mullae?

Akai Teppan is in the Mullae Arts Village restaurant alley, between Mullae Station and Sindorim Station. It's not all the way inside; it's fairly close to the big road with the median strip, so it isn't hard to find, but if you're not familiar with the area, it's easier to put it in your map app.

The sign is big, and there's a standing board by the door with photos of tasty food plus the menu, so it catches your eye. Once you step into the alley, the exterior stands out and you can spot it right away.

Akai Teppan atmosphere: is it good for a blind date?

The lighting inside is a little dim overall, which looked right for a blind date. It isn't noisy, and it feels like small groups chatting among themselves. The place isn't small either, so it didn't feel cramped.

Akai Teppan seating and restroom

There are quite a lot of two-person tables, so I'd guess lots of people come here for blind dates. haha There's a place to hang your coat, and a long table that can take a group, so a bigger party is fine too.

For the restroom, you go out through the back door of the shop to the one the shop manages. Only customers use it, so it was clean and not much of an inconvenience.

Akai Teppan menu and how to order

The complimentary snack at Akai Teppan is chicken drumstick crackers. I hadn't had them in ages haha. Each table has a kiosk, so you just order from your seat, which was convenient.

There's a review event and set menus, all shown with photos, so it's easy to order. Of course there's soju and beer, plus all kinds of highballs, so even if you don't drink much, it's easy to enjoy lightly.

Even with the kiosk, they also hand you a paper menu. As a teppanyaki specialist, there's okonomiyaki (savory Japanese pancake) and teppan yakisoba (griddle-fried noodles), plus nabe (hot pot) soups and quite a variety of sides.

There are hearty dishes and light ones, so plenty of items work as a meal or as drinking snacks, and I think it suits any gathering, whether a blind date or friends. For the signature okonomiyaki, there are extra toppings you can add, like grilled beef intestine or shrimp tempura! You can also choose the spice level.

Paper menu set meals: check before you order

The paper menu at Akai Teppan also listed set menus. They seem to bundle the best sellers. We were torn between okonomiyaki and yakisoba, and since we fancied the hormone teppanyaki more than the cuttlefish and mushroom tempura, we picked the yakisoba set.

The kiosk didn't show it as a set, so we just ordered two separate dishes, and then we were told that set no longer exists. We should have asked first haha. Things may change, so if it's not on the kiosk, check before you order. T_T lol We were such fools..

How does Akai Teppan's beef intestine hormone teppanyaki taste?

The first dish out at Akai Teppan was the hormone teppanyaki (₩18,900): beef intestine stir-fried with plenty of bean sprouts in a secret sauce and given a smoky, flame-grilled flavor.

It's a best seller, and once you taste the sweet-salty sauce you can see why. I don't think it divides opinion, so if you need to add one dish besides the signature, on a blind date or with friends, this one seems like a good pick.

There were generous amounts of bean sprouts and bonito flakes, and I enjoyed watching the dancing bonito flakes, which I hadn't seen in a while. The pieces of intestine are small, but there are lots, so they were easy to pick at together, and the texture was chewy.

But while writing this review I looked at Akai Teppan's notice, and it says available dishes may change depending on ingredient supply, so it might help to take a quick look before you go when choosing what to order.

Is the spicy seafood yakisoba very hot?

The second dish was the seafood yakisoba. Akai Teppan lets you choose spice separately, so we went spicy. Since the hormone teppanyaki is on the meat side, we picked seafood, and we went spicy to cut the richness, but it isn't very hot. If you have the same combo, even people who can't handle spice should be fine, so give it a try. haha

The cute runny-yolk egg on top of the yakisoba has to be broken, that's the best part. I guess it cooked a bit while I was taking photos lol. Still, you can dip the noodles into the yolk like a sauce.

It comes with pickled ginger and onion, like basic side dishes. On a blind date, eat just a little of the onion ^.^

Akai Teppan verdict: a good Mullae bar for blind dates and dates?

Overall Akai Teppan has a calm atmosphere, pretty-looking food and dim lighting, which makes it ideal for a blind date. The staff were kind too. The portions are small and dainty like in Japan, which you may notice, but it's enough for two people to enjoy.

We'd had a full dinner beforehand, but with snacks like these we drank a lot of soju too.. ha. We finished almost everything. We drank about this much on our first blind date, too.. haha

It's good as a round-two finish and for dates, and walking hand in hand through the Mullae alleys after a drink, once the sun had set a little, made it even better. The prices are good value and the snacks are tasty, so when you're craving Japanese food near Mullae-dong, or need a blind date or date spot, I recommend Akai Teppan.

• Address: 1st floor, 34 Dorim-ro 125-gil, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul
• Hours: Mon–Thu 17:00–24:00
• Fri 17:00–01:00, Sat 15:00–01:00, Sun 15:00–24:00