Sinnonhyeon izakaya counter seats and Suntory draft beer: Goko

Today I'm sharing Goko, a Gangnam Station-area izakaya where every single side dish was delicious! From the large flounder sanhap to the yakitori platter, this is a great date-course spot — plus Suntory Premium Malt's beer! Recommending it as a Sinnonhyeon restaurant pick!

Where is Izakaya Goko? Closer to Sinnonhyeon than Gangnam Station

Izakaya Goko is on the 2nd floor of Banseok Building, 21 Bongeunsa-ro 2-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. As a Sinnonhyeon restaurant, it's actually closer to Sinnonhyeon Station than Gangnam Station! If you just search "Goko" it doesn't come up well — you need to search "Izakaya Goko" (turns out it's written ごこ in Japanese).

It's on the 2nd floor with floor-to-ceiling windows! I figured grabbing a good spot by the window would be competitive.

Waiting at Izakaya Goko on a Monday — do you need a reservation?

Izakaya Goko takes waitlist entries via CatchTable and can seat up to 8 people. We booked ahead through Naver Reservation! At the time there were about 4 parties waiting!

Waiting is handled through CatchTable and it seats up to 8. There was a wait even on a Monday... I'd recommend reserving ahead if you're a larger group!

Inside Izakaya Goko: counter seats, tables and restrooms

Wait, the place was completely full even on a Monday... yep, definitely a real Sinnonhyeon restaurant.

There are table seats including a terrace, and separate counter (dachi) seats.

We sat at the counter seats! You can watch the chef cook right in front of you.

It wasn't spacious, but each seat had its own dish, soy sauce, utensils, and a call bell — nice touch!

The restrooms at Izakaya Goko are inside the restaurant, separated for men and women!

Izakaya Goko menu, drinks list and corkage fee

The side dishes at Izakaya Goko are genuinely, genuinely delicious — so the menu doesn't sprawl, it just has exactly what it needs! Sashimi + yakitori + nabe (hot pot) are the main menu. And the drink lineup ranged from draft beer to sake — we came for the Suntory Premium Malt's!

There's also a highball review event running, and corkage is allowed! For liquor not carried in-store, one bottle is corkage-free; after that it's ₩20,000 per bottle regardless of type!

(Wild to think there are over 300 izakayas around Gangnam Station, and equally wild that this is the 0.3% chance you'd end up at this one.)

Suntory draft beer, 9,000 won, and the free starter snack

Izakaya Goko's Suntory draft beer is ₩9,000 a glass. It came with a starter snack.

The Suntory draft with the starter snack! It's honestly top two among all the Suntory Premium Malt's I've had! The starter snack was crispy and salty like fried popcorn — I couldn't stop reaching for it.

Large flounder sio sanhap, 35,000 won — the white kimchi is the kick

Izakaya Goko's large flounder sio sanhap (salt-cured flounder combo) is ₩35,000.

Eek, only the name is mixed with Japanese — it's basically Kang Min-kyung's flounder salt gimbap. There's no way a Korean person could dislike this taste....!!!!

They also gave us salmon, white kimchi, flower salt, and wasabi, so it was great to mix and match to taste. The white kimchi is the real kicker...!!!

At first I thought, isn't this flounder a bit thin? But it was so nutty, chewy, and well-aged... ah, I want it again already, drooling. And the sanhap comes with plenty of salt gimbap, so it's great mixed with other sashimi too!

Goko sashimi for two plus seven kinds of yakitori, 65,000 won

I felt like if I ordered sashimi the yakitori would be sad, and if I ordered yakitori the sashimi would be sad, so I got the sashimi + yakitori set. Good eater, right? Goko sashimi for 2 + 7-type yakitori: ₩65,000.

It's labeled sashimi for 2, but they basically gave us almost 3 servings' worth.... insane value, insane composition.

They even gave us seared fin, abalone, sweet shrimp, and squid sashimi — too much. So well-aged I nearly cried eating it, seriously, and I didn't leave a single bite. And they didn't skimp on wasabi at all — as a wasabi addict, I loved that.

Six yakitori skewers tasted — chicken skin is the winner

Izakaya Goko's yakitori lineup is chicken skin, neck meat, chicken thigh, tenderloin, chicken cartilage skewer, and bacon-wrapped rice cake.

Since it's not a dedicated yakitori specialty spot, the skewers didn't come out one at a time — they all arrived together.

(We ordered so much the table kept getting more cramped...) This place isn't even a yakitori specialty shop, so why is it this good...? Top pick among Gangnam izakayas honestly, even the mayo was delicious, nothing to throw away.... I really want to come back here!!!!!!!!!!!!

The lineup was chicken skin - neck meat - chicken thigh - tenderloin - chicken cartilage skewer - bacon rice cake. The yakitori seasoning is a bit strong, but with a lot of that grilled char flavor, which I loved!! Not frozen — they grill it fresh in front of you. Cabbage underneath was great for cleansing the palate, and honestly even the cabbage was so good I wanted to ask for more.

My mouth exploded after eating the chicken skin...!!! If you claim to dislike chicken skin, honestly, try this one before you say that + they also have a menu called cheese tsukune, which only exists at Izakaya Goko, so I'd recommend that too!

Verdict: a no-fail drinking-food spot near Sinnonhyeon Station

Went to Izakaya Goko Gangnam branch just for drinks and ended up having a full meal..!! Every single side dish was genuinely delicious. The fact that it was fully booked from a Monday says it all, doesn't it? If you're looking for a no-fail side-dish spot near Sinnonhyeon Station, Izakaya Goko works great as a date course or as a second-round bar. My return-visit intention is 1000%!!