Sinsa Station seafood bar for a wedding-invite get-together: Ppeol

Where is everyone going for wedding-invitation meetups these days?? Picking a place is so hard.

Ppeol (뻘), the Sinsa Station bar I visited this time, won me over completely: seasonal seafood dishes, a cozy room and a mood that really makes the drinks taste good.

Four people, four dishes! Every one had a distinct personality, so let me get right into it.

Where is Ppeol near Sinsa Station, and what are the hours and parking?

Ppeol is at 21 Gangnam-daero 154-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the basement level. It is open daily 16:00–23:00, with last order at 22:00. There is no parking at the restaurant, so use the nearby ICT parking tower.

• Address: 21 Gangnam-daero 154-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (basement level)
• Hours: daily 16:00–23:00, last order 22:00
• Parking: none at the restaurant; use the nearby ICT parking tower

It's about a 4-minute walk from Exit 6 of Sinsa Station, so it's easy to reach, and the eye-catching sign makes it super easy to find. (How could you miss it.. haha)

Ppeol's atmosphere: is it good for a wedding-invitation meetup?

The red neon sign and cute little props down the side street really catch the eye.??

Go down a few steps (the stairs are wonderfully unusual too) and you reach a cozy, comfortable space!

There are also outdoor tables, which would have a lovely open-air pub vibe on a cool autumn night. It's great for an intimate chat with friends, so I thought it would work well for a wedding-invitation meetup or any small gathering near Sinsa Station.

Ppeol menu and prices

Ppeol's menu is split into seafood dishes and pancakes, soups and snack-style dishes. Seafood dishes run from ₩30,000 to ₩49,000, and the grilled sole is market price.

Seafood dishes

• Blanched Beolgyo cockles with wild chive soy sauce ₩33,000
• Pen shell scallop and grilled brisket with chamnamul (pimpinella) salad ₩42,000
• Spring baby octopus with water dropwort muchim ₩45,000
• Octopus and pear muchim ₩30,000
• Grilled sole: market price
• Beolgyo prawn gambas with plenty of whole garlic ₩30,000
• Spicy-sour squid muchim ₩37,000
• Scallop with sea urchin ₩49,000

Pancakes, soups and snack-style dishes

• Basil cheese potato pancake ₩30,000
• Cheongdo water dropwort and Beolgyo prawn pancake ₩33,000
• Clear seafood stew packed with fresh seafood ₩42,000
• Busan fish cake tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) with Chapaguri noodles ₩33,000

Ppeol is a Korean pub that cooks around seasonal seafood.

We went with somaek (soju mixed with beer) that day, but the unlimited white wine (₩33,000 per person) turned out to be the hidden kick.

Meanwhile, the stir-fried kimchi and fried egg that come as the complimentary side were so familiar in flavor and so, so good..

Four dishes four friends ordered at Ppeol

The four of us ordered four dishes at Ppeol: the samhap (three-ingredient combo), squid muchim, gambas and potato pancake, ₩139,000 in total.

• Pen shell scallop, brisket and chamnamul salad samhap ₩42,000
• Spicy-sour squid muchim ₩37,000
• Beolgyo prawn gambas with plenty of whole garlic ₩30,000
• Basil cheese potato pancake ₩30,000

Pen shell scallop, brisket and chamnamul salad samhap

Ppeol's pen shell scallop and brisket samhap (₩42,000) pairs scallop and brisket with chamnamul salad. Scallop and brisket with chamnamul salad, seriously!

It was a combination I'd never tried, and the three together were better than I expected. No harsh seasoning, yet the saltiness was just right!

Looking around, other tables each had a samhap too. Popular dishes really are different.

Beolgyo prawn gambas with plenty of whole garlic

Ppeol's Beolgyo prawn gambas with whole garlic (₩30,000) stole the show the moment it arrived! The look alone proves it's a Ppeol signature.

The Beolgyo prawns were so springy they seemed ready to bounce right out of your mouth as you chewed, plump and big, and the flavor of the whole garlic was wonderful too. I only knew Beolgyo for cockles, but the prawns are this good? I could easily finish a whole plate alone, so sharing among four was such a pity.. haha

Spicy-sour fresh squid muchim

Ppeol's spicy-sour squid muchim (₩37,000) was the dependable scene-stealer that freshened up our palates between the earlier dishes!

Not too spicy or too sweet, it got more refreshing the more I ate, yet it still had its own punch. It was the perfect bridge to the next dish, and a bright plate we really needed in this four-dish lineup.

Truffle basil cheese potato pancake

Ppeol's basil cheese potato pancake (₩30,000) was a total twist!

We were already pretty full, but the freshly fried potato pancake came out steaming, and its size and thickness were something else. Fluffy potato texture, and the truffle and cheese flavor was way more generous than I expected!

(Purely my personal taste, but) I honestly think this one should be named a signature dish too.

How to reserve Ppeol and visiting tips

You can reserve Ppeol through Naver and CatchTable. The menu can change with seasonal ingredients, and it may close early if ingredients run out. If you're planning a wedding-invitation meetup at a Sinsa Station bar, check the party size and seating in advance.

Ppeol near Sinsa Station: final verdict

We ate four dishes at Ppeol and not one was a filler. The samhap wins with harmony, the gambas with presence, the muchim with freshness, and the potato pancake with its twist! Ppeol in Sinsa-dong has a one-syllable name, but there's no end to what you can say about its food.

Next time I'm definitely going back for the unlimited white wine..!