Sindang Station chicken-and-beer pub: gizzard fry at Gyeryugwan

Today I'm sharing my visit to Gyeryugwan (계류관) in Sindang, a well-known Hwanghak Market restaurant famous for its oak wood-fired chicken and its long waits.

Gyeryugwan location, hours and parking

Gyeryugwan is at 15-17 Toegye-ro 87-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul (Units 102–103). It's open 16:00–23:00, with last order at 22:00. For parking, use a nearby public parking lot.

This Hwanghak Market chicken spot is right in front of Sindang Station Exit 2, just a 1-minute walk, so it's easy to reach on foot. A lot of people come here for family gatherings or dates.

Gyeryugwan is known for chicken grilled over oak firewood, and there was a stack of oak logs at the entrance. Because the chicken is cooked over oak, it has a faint smoky aroma, and that's said to be the secret behind its deep flavor.

Gyeryugwan waiting: when can you walk right in?

There's a waiting machine in front of the restaurant. I avoided dinner time, so I got in right away, but the wait at dinner is huge. I'd recommend going early and putting your name down.

Inside Gyeryugwan

The inside of this Sindang-dong Hwanghak Market restaurant is clean and warm, and plenty of people were there for dates or family gatherings in Sindang.

Gyeryugwan menu and how to order by QR code

The menu includes oak neungi wood-fired chicken, assorted chicken jeon (pan-fried patties), fried chicken gizzards with green onion, meat doenjang makguksu (buckwheat noodles with soybean paste), dakgaejang (spicy chicken soup), chicken neck tangsuyuk (sweet and sour fried pork-style dish) and more. True to a wood-fired chicken place, the menu is built around grilled chicken, with plenty of variety.

We ordered four of the signature dishes.

• Oak neungi wood-fired chicken
• Meat doenjang makguksu
• Chicken neck tangsuyuk
• Fried chicken gizzards with green onion

You order with the QR code on each table. You don't have to call a staff member, so you can take your time deciding, which was convenient.

Gyeryugwan side dishes and the white sauce

The basic side dishes go nicely with the wood-fired chicken, and the white sauce in the middle was addictively good when I dipped the chicken in it ;)

All our dishes arrived :) From the main to the sides, everything went well together and made great beer snacks, and I immediately understood why this place is so famous in Sindang.

How is Gyeryugwan's oak neungi wood-fired chicken?

The oak neungi wood-fired chicken is the signature dish you have to eat if you come to Gyeryugwan. The firewood aroma is subtle, and the flavor is clearly different from ordinary grilled chicken. The skin was golden and the meat inside was moist, so it was tender with no dryness.

The golden chicken skin and juicy meat looked really appetizing from the first glance.

Gyeryugwan chicken neck tangsuyuk

The chewy texture of chicken neck meat plus the crispy batter made the texture really good, and the sweet and sour tangsuyuk sauce went well with it too.

The chicken neck is crispy outside and moist inside, and the juices kept coming the more I chewed, so it was even more enjoyable.

Meat doenjang makguksu: how about it as a finisher?

Gyeryugwan's meat doenjang makguksu was a different kind of makguksu, with a nutty doenjang base and a generous topping of meat.

Eaten together with the oak neungi wood-fired chicken, it cut the richness, so it was a really good dish to finish with.

My favorite: Gyeryugwan's fried chicken gizzards with green onion

The crunchy bite of the gizzards went really well with the crispy fried green onion.

It's not greasy and has a clean, mild taste, so it was great with the wood-fired chicken, and the batter was seriously crunchy, so even though I was full I kept reaching for it until the end. If I go back to Gyeryugwan, this is the one I'd definitely order again. It's my favorite :)

Overall verdict on Gyeryugwan near Sindang Station

I was satisfied with everything, from the wood-fired chicken with its faint oak aroma to each of the side dishes. If you're looking for a nice date spot near Sindang Station or a good place for chicken and beer, Gyeryugwan should suit you well.