Hoegi Station izakaya bar seats and mentai yakitori: Hamaru Hoegi

Today I'm bringing a review of a lovely bar near Hoegi Station that I visited after way too long! The Hoegi area is packed with good restaurants and bars, probably because Kyung Hee University is right there. Especially in the evening, the alley in front of the university starts lighting up one shop at a time — great for a drink with friends, great for a casual date too, haha. This time I went to an adorable izakaya called Hamaru!!!!

Where is Hamaru Hoegi? 11 Gyeonghuidae-ro 1-gil, near Kyung Hee University

Hamaru Hoegi is on the 1st floor of 11 Gyeonghuidae-ro 1-gil, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul. There are so many restaurants and bars around Kyung Hee University that deciding where to go after dinner is honestly a good problem to have. Location-wise, Hamaru is perfect for a second-round stop after a meal.

Hamaru Hoegi from outside: the patio tables

There's one big reason I looked at Hamaru and thought, "I need to come back here when the weather's nice!" And that reason is… 🌙 they have an outdoor patio! A place near Hoegi where you can drink with that outdoor-patio vibe — my expectations went up just thinking about the atmosphere, haha.

(They didn't have the patio open today ㅠㅠ Looks like it only opens when the weather's even nicer, or maybe on Friday nights!?)

Inside Hamaru Hoegi: bar seats, and is solo drinking okay?

Once you step inside, you get that wood-toned Japanese izakaya feeling.

Besides table seating, there are also bar seats facing the kitchen, so if you're going solo, it's a fairly comfortable setup to sit at!

Japanese banknotes on the wall, Asahi beer, and an adorable cat plate too~ It's got that full-on Japanese feel, so if you're looking for a good-atmosphere bar near Kyung Hee University, I highly recommend this place!!!! (The spacing between tables was really nice too.)

Hamaru Hoegi menu and prices

Looking at the Hamaru menu, it's not just yakitori — there's teppan dishes, nabe hot pots, fried items, and simple snacks, quite a variety. (And most importantly, it's all so cute…)

The signature items are:

• 🍢 5-piece yakitori omakase
• 🥞 Handmade seafood okonomiyaki (Japanese savory pancake)
• 🍜 Seafood yakisoba
• 🍲 Kansai oden stew
• 🥘 Motsunabe (offal hot pot)
• 🍤 Shrimp and scallop butter grill

The menu prices are mostly in the ₩10,000s to ₩20,000s, which made it easy to enjoy several dishes shared around the table! It seemed like a great spot for meeting friends, company dinners, or group drinking sessions too!!:)

Oi tadaki: one smashed cucumber with a strand of seaweed

I ordered cucumber tadaki and three types of yakitori!:) First up, the cucumber tadaki!!

I'm a huge cucumber lover 💕 — whether it's Chinese or Japanese food, I love anything with cucumber, and this was genuinely great!!!!!!!!!!! I actually ate a bunch of that black stuff on top without knowing what it was and it was way too salty lol lol lol my friend who came with me looked at it and said, that's seaweed..?🫠

So the trick is: one cucumber, one strand of that black stuff.. eaten this way it's the ultimate crunchy-salty combo✨

Three yakitori skewers: chicken neck, heart and mentai ansim

Next up, the yakitori!!!

I ordered three types: chicken neck, heart, and mentai ansim (cod roe over tenderloin)~:)

Visually, it's a pass👏🏻 All three had a different vibe, so it was fun to eat through them. Squeezing lemon over the chicken neck was a first for me — it cut through the greasiness and dryness of the meat in a way that felt refreshingly new…!

I also didn't expect the mentai mayo to be piled that plump with cod roe.. the savory mayonnaise meeting the salty-savory roe was seriously so good, I would've inhaled it if this hadn't been a second-round stop….

The little bear hiding on the yakitori plate

And here's the super cute point✨ Do you know what this is!!?????

It's a bear 🐻 lol lol lol Is this the okonomiyaki spot too? They also decorate with cute characters like Shin-chan, but to think they hid something this cute in the yakitori.. (Kitty, you want a bite, right?!)

Haha, and of course beer🍺 is the perfect match for such tasty snacks.

Is Hamaru Hoegi a good-value bar near Hoegi Station?

Since Hoegi is a college area, price naturally matters a lot. Hamaru's advantage is that you can order yakitori by the piece along with a range of other dishes, so it's easy to order according to your group size or appetite. Order just a couple of skewers to keep it light, or if you're with a group, add okonomiyaki or nabe to share. So I think it's worth putting on the list when you're looking for a budget-friendly bar near Hoegi.👍🏻

Totally cleared our plates, mission complete✨