Baby-friendly 9-course izakaya dinner in Mapo: Yakitori Shomong

Yakitori Shomong Mapo Station Branch

A Mapo Station izakaya dinner with dad and a baby

Hi everyone ~~ My husband went on a trip, so for a few days it's just been me and dad doing childcare together haha. Between chasing the baby around all day, I really wanted at least dinner to be something delicious enough to properly reset my mood!

So the place I visited with dad and the baby was Yakitori Shomong Mapo Station Branch :) Honestly I was a little worried since it's a yakitori place — would it be okay to bring a baby? But the staff were so, so kind that even with the baby along, we ate totally comfortably, no awkwardness at all ♥

This time we decided not to overthink it and just properly enjoy the yakitori, so we ordered the 9-course set.

Seating at Yakitori Shomong and why we went early

The restaurant has 2-seat tables and 4-seat tables ,, we visited early with the baby, so they kindly let us sit at a 4-seat table until our reservation time — I really loved that kind of consideration .. we already decided to come back with my husband and the baby next time haha

Two bottles of soju, four bottles of beer

As soon as we ordered the 9 courses, dad and I decided to have a somaek (soju-beer mix), just a light one — and ended up going through two bottles of soju ,, and four bottles of beer lololol. The side dishes here are that good.

Before the main skewers even arrived, cheers, cheers,, more cheers,, lolol — we'd already cleared one bottle before the first skewer showed up, a little embarrassing ,,

What comes in the 9-course yakitori set

The skewers don't all come out at once — they arrive one by one in order, so you get to eat each one while it's still warm, which I loved. And honestly, the fun of wondering what chicken skewer would come next was really something haha. Normally when I think of chicken skewers, I picture the sweet-sauce-slathered street version, but at Yakitori Shomong Mapo Station Branch each cut had such a different texture and flavor that I never got bored through all 9 courses!!

From the very first skewer, a subtle smoky char smell rose up, and just catching that smell made me crave a drink lol. The outside was golden and crisp, the inside still moist — one bite in, dad and I said 'delicious' at the exact same time!

How the texture changes with each cut of chicken

Since each skewer used a different cut, some were soft and juicy, some got more savory the more you chewed, and others had a chewy texture that was its own kind of charming. It was surprising how much variety in flavor and texture could come from the same chicken made into yakitori :)

And here's where the problem starts... the skewers are so delicious that the alcohol just goes down way too easily lolol

And the most fortunate part of all — the baby was seriously well-behaved the whole time lol. We'd originally gone in thinking 'let's just have a light drink and dinner with dad~' but as each of the 9 courses came out one by one, we naturally kept refilling our glasses. A savory, slightly salty bite of yakitori followed by a cold drink — genuinely the best ♥

All the fatigue that had built up from childcare felt like it briefly disappeared in that moment haha. We rationalized it to each other — 'we worked hard doing childcare together while husband's away, we deserve this much' — and ended up drinking quite a lot lol.

Is Yakitori Shomong comfortable with a baby?

What I especially liked was that even with a baby along, the staff treated us kindly enough that we could eat comfortably.

When you go out to eat with a kid, taste matters, but honestly for parents, a comfortable atmosphere matters just as much. If you feel eyes on you or sense the staff are uncomfortable, it's hard to properly enjoy even the most delicious food ㅠㅠ At Yakitori Shomong Mapo Station Branch, they were kind from the very start, so both dad and I could eat with much more ease.

It was a dinner with a baby along, and I could finish the meal far more comfortably than I expected — that really stuck with me :) I also liked the portion of the 9-course set. Instead of everything being served at once in a big spread, eating one skewer at a time slowly meant we naturally talked more and sipped our drinks slowly too. Well, 'slowly' isn't quite the word for how much we actually drank lolol.

One skewer, one drink, next skewer arrives, another drink~ — going on like that, at some point I thought, wait, why did I drink so much today? haha. Still, pairing delicious yakitori with drinks while chatting about all sorts of things with dad, it felt like a proper mood reset after a long time, and I loved it.

Who should book a table at Yakitori Shomong Mapo

Personally, Yakitori Shomong Mapo Station Branch felt less like a place to just grab a few chicken skewers and more like a spot to slowly enjoy yakitori by the course with a drink. Especially with the 9-course set, you get to experience a variety of flavors and textures in sequence, so if it's your first visit, going for the course menu seems like a good call! It'd be great for a date, and it also suited a day like mine — wanting good food and a drink with family :)

Thanks to (?) my husband's trip, I spent a few days doing childcare with dad haha. Eating out with a baby isn't easy, but at Yakitori Shomong Mapo Station Branch the staff were kind and the food was delicious, so it ended up being way more enjoyable than I expected. Above all, every single skewer in the 9-course set was delicious, so there was real fun in waiting for the next one, and the pairing with drinks was just great ♥

If you're near Mapo Station wanting to enjoy yakitori in a nice atmosphere, or just craving good chicken skewers with a drink, give Yakitori Shomong Mapo Station Branch a try :) Next time I want to bring my husband along and properly enjoy the 9-course set with drinks again like this ~♥