Chicken and beer bar at Samgakji Station in Yongsan, Seoul: Copenhagen

After dinner near Samgakji Station, we didn't want to part ways just yet, so we went looking for a place for a light beer and ended up at Copenhagen (코펜하겐) for chicken. It's right in front of the station, so we didn't have to go far, and since we'd already eaten, chicken with a cold draft beer seemed a better fit than anything heavy.

Copenhagen runs as a café in the morning and afternoon, but in the evening the mood changes into a place for chicken and beer. That day we started light with a draft beer from among the many craft beers, and ordered half-and-half chicken so we could try two flavors. A café selling chicken was a slightly surprising combination, but after eating it, I could see why people come for the evening menu.

Chicken near Samgakji Station, right in front of the exit

Copenhagen is right in front of Samgakji Station, so it was easy to move on to after dinner. There was no need to hunt around unfamiliar alleys, and it was a simple route for having a beer until it was time to catch the subway. When you're not very hungry, sharing one chicken actually suits you better than some grand set of side dishes.

When I pick a second-round spot, I look at the way home as well as the food. In the evening especially, a place you can walk straight into near Samgakji Station was clearly more convenient than somewhere a long walk away. It's a good location to remember for days when you want to keep talking after a meal, or just have one draft beer before going home.

Café by day, chicken and beer by night

Copenhagen offers different things depending on the time of day. In the morning and afternoon it's a café where you can have coffee, and in the evening you can enjoy chicken and beer, so you can spend a completely different kind of time in the same shop. The coffee can be enjoyed too, but in the evening the atmosphere seemed to shift to something more familiar to chicken-seeking customers.

At first I expected only a simple side dish, since it's chicken sold at a café, but it was actually properly prepared as something good for sharing with beer. You can order it as a set menu too, and with several kinds of beer, it looked easy to pick a combination to your taste. Enjoying chicken and beer (chimaek) in the place where you had coffee during the day is part of Copenhagen's fun.

Seating split over two floors, with a TV upstairs

The shop is divided into a 1st and 2nd floor, so it looked easy to choose a seat depending on the occasion. The 1st floor is fine for sitting briefly with a single draft beer, while the 2nd floor seemed better when you want to eat chicken and talk at more leisure. Since the seats aren't all packed into one space, the café feel and the evening bar feel were naturally separated.

There's a TV on the 2nd floor, so you can drink beer while watching it. If you like eating chicken while watching sports or a show, it'd feel different from ordering delivery at home. I also tend to end up watching the screen mid-conversation when a good scene or match comes on, so I liked this small touch.

Craft beer and draft beer, with peanuts as the free snack

Copenhagen had several kinds of craft beer, and you could also order draft beer. I wanted something light to drink before the chicken arrived, so I chose draft beer. Since we'd already finished dinner, a refreshing glass of draft beer suited the second-round mood better than anything heavy.

Peanuts came out as the free snack with the draft beer, which was nice to pick at while waiting for the chicken. It might seem like nothing, but when the beer arrives first, you quietly need a little something to go with it, right? Chatting over peanuts made the wait feel short, and I could drink the draft beer slowly instead of finishing it too fast.

Old-style half-and-half chicken served with salad

Copenhagen's half-and-half chicken (two flavors of chicken in one order) came with a salad on the same plate. It reminded me of the plates I used to eat with family at neighborhood chicken shops, rather than today's style of chicken served on its own. The salad was served the way you often saw at old chicken places, so it was nice to eat between bites of chicken.

The chicken was closer to old-style fried chicken than something with fancy toppings or a complicated build. Alternating crispy fried chicken with draft beer naturally brought back old chimaek memories. I like new-flavor chicken too, but sometimes a familiar setup is more appealing, and I thought choosing half-and-half chicken for that night's second round was a good call.

A light chimaek second round at Samgakji Station

If you've finished a proper meal at a good Samgakji restaurant and want to keep talking a little longer, Copenhagen's chicken and draft beer combination wasn't a burden. It's in front of the station so the walk is short, and since several people can share the half-and-half chicken, it was easy to control the amount even on a full stomach. Being able to pick a craft beer or start simply with draft beer also suited the character of a second-round spot.

Above all, what stayed with me was eating old-style chicken in a comfortable, café-like space. Some days I go looking for stylish new menus, but there are also evenings like this one when you just want familiar half-and-half chicken and a cold beer, right? After a dinner appointment at Samgakji Station, it was a nice time to sit back, enjoy chimaek and end the day.