Drink Companion · 35 stories

Over a Drink

I write about bars I visit in Seoul. · Writes about: Cafés · Bars · Restaurants · Hair & beauty salons

PlaceNamyangju, GyeonggiRestaurants

Loach soup and black rice pot rice in Jinjeop, Namyangju: Chuojeong

Chuojeong Namwon Chueotang (추오정남원추어탕) is a chueotang (loach soup) restaurant in Jinjeop-eup, Namyangju, at the E-Mart Everyday intersection just before Neulbom Wedding Hall. The writer ordered mud snail loach soup (14,000 won) and octopus loach soup (15,000 won) with a fish cutlet (10,000 won) on the side, and enjoyed the black rice pot rice, sungnyung (scorched-rice tea) and lotus root braised in citron sauce. With solo seats and a self-serve side dish bar, Chuojeong Namwon Chueotang is a good spot for a hearty, restorative meal even on your own.

Written Oct 4, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Mapo brunch café with a QR-only menu and seafood salad: HEOD Gongdeok

HEOD Gongdeok is an all-day brunch café on the Gyeongui Line Forest Trail between Daeheung and Hongik University stations in Mapo, Seoul. It is the Seoul branch of a brand once known for French toast in Jumunjin, Gangneung. The writer wanted something tangy for the summer heat, ordered the seafood salad (18,800 won) with added mashed potatoes (5,500 won), and found dishes such as eggs in hell listed only on the table QR menu. HEOD Gongdeok will soon be renamed HEOD Mapo, but the location stays the same.

Written Aug 3, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

First-visit tonkatsu in Yeonnam-dong, loin vs fillet: Katsu Monster

Katsu Monster Yeonnam Main Branch is a tonkatsu (pork cutlet) restaurant in a Yeonnam-dong alley near Hongik Univ. Station Exit 3 in Seoul, serving katsu dry-aged for 200 hours. On a first visit, the writer ordered the two classics, loin katsu (₩14,000) and fillet katsu (₩16,000), and the set of kelp rice, miso soup, kimchi, gangjeong (sweet crispy dessert) and plenty of cabbage meant no other side dishes were needed. Katsu Monster Yeonnam Main Branch is a solid, classic katsu spot for filling up before a Yeonnam-dong date.

Written Oct 2, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Hongdae restaurant date, orange wine and three-tender salad: Hey Joji

Hey Joji is a Western restaurant in Yeonnam-dong, Seoul, near Exit 3 of Hongik University Station, serving pasta, risotto and steak. On this visit the order at Hey Joji was a glass of orange wine for 8,000 won, the sweet potato fries every review recommends for 8,000 won, and a chicken tender salad for 13,000 won that came with three tenders and the Caesar dressing served on the side to add as you like. Hey Joji works for dates, blind dates and solo meals alike.

Written Aug 10, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeongdong, SeoulCafés

Seongsu café with a 40-minute wait for salted taiyaki: Childish

Childish is a salted taiyaki and seasonal bingsu café on the second floor of a building on Yeonmujang-gil, near Seongsu Station in Seoul. The salted taiyaki (4,500 won) is baked the moment you order, so on this visit the drinks and taiyaki arrived 40 minutes later, with iced americano and decaf cold brew at 4,500 won each. The wait at Childish is long, but the crisp shell and red bean filling make it a Seongsu date stop worth the time.

Written Sep 27, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeocho, SeoulRestaurants

Gyodae Station gimbap restaurant diet menu: konjac minari roll, Halls

Halls Gimbap Main Branch (홀스김밥본점) is a home-style gimbap (seaweed rice roll) and handmade dakgangjeong (sweet crispy fried chicken) snack restaurant on Seocho-jungang-ro 22-gil near Gyodae Station in Seocho, Seoul. The meal was konjac minari gimbap for 6,500 won and protein tteokbokki without rice cakes for 10,000 won, plus a carbonara fire noodle cup ramyeon and bonito broth from the self-serve bar. Halls Gimbap is a snack restaurant where you can order vegetables and protein and still leave full.

Written Aug 11, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Hapjeong Indian restaurant without curry: cauliflower wings at Mandala

Mandala Indian Lounge is an authentic Indian restaurant on an upper floor of a building near Hapjeong Station Exit 6 in Mapo, Seoul. Skipping curry altogether, the order here was a plain lassi at 4,000 won, shrimp salad at 14,000 won and the vegan cauliflower wings at 12,000 won, all three satisfying, plus a surprisingly large plain naan given for a Naver receipt review. Mandala Indian Lounge proves Indian food can be light and worth a return visit even without a single curry.

Written Aug 19, 2026Sponsored
PlacePaju, GyeonggiRestaurants

Paju Heyri restaurant for mul-makguksu and mandu soup: Bubyeokjeong

Bubyeokjeong Pyeongyang Mandu is a Pyeongyang-style dumpling restaurant on Jimok-ro in Paju, near Heyri Village. On a day off spent shopping at the Paju outlets, the writer ordered Pyeongyang mul-makguksu (12,000 won) and Pyeongyang mandu soup (11,000 won), and found the 1++ Korean beef broth deeply savory and the mild, lightly seasoned mandu easy to enjoy even for first-timers to Pyeongyang cold noodles. With a large parking lot and a self-serve bar of side dishes, misutgaru (roasted grain drink) and old-fashioned snacks, Bubyeokjeong Pyeongyang Mandu is an easy meal stop on a Paju outing.

Written Aug 18, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Time-attack event at a Hongdae chicken restaurant in Seoul: Goobne

Goobne Chicken Hongdae Red Road is a two-floor chicken restaurant on the Red Road strip by Hongik University Station in Mapo, Seoul. A whole Gochu Basasak (spicy crispy chicken) costs 22,900 won and cheese balls add 6,000 won, while a time-attack special event and 4,900 won Budweiser draft beer were both running. Because Goobne bakes its chicken instead of frying it, Goobne Chicken Hongdae Red Road is an easy protein-heavy pick among restaurants in Hongdae, Seoul.

Written Sep 26, 2026Sponsored
PlacePaju, GyeonggiCafés

Paju café: fig bingsu with mango swapped for blueberry, Fruit Forest

Fruit Forest Paju Direct Store (과일의숲 파주직영점) is a fresh-fruit bingsu café on Dolgoji-gil in Paju, Gyeonggi, next to the Simhaksan foothill plaza. The August seasonal fig bingsu costs 28,000 won, and because blueberries were hard to source, Fruit Forest topped it with mango instead, making one bowl taste like two bingsu with honeycomb, fresh figs and mango. Two adults finished it comfortably, and the fruit tasted like fruit, with no forced sweetness.

Written Aug 18, 2026Sponsored
PlaceEunpyeong, SeoulRestaurants

Eunpyeong ramen with a shorter wait than the flagship: Oreno Ramen

Oreno Ramen Eunpyeong is a tori paitan (chicken broth) ramen shop on Bulgwangcheon-gil near Saejeol Station in Eunpyeong, Seoul. One bowl of tori paitan and one of karai paitan cost 13,000 won each, plus a 1,000 won extra egg and 3,000 won tsukune (chicken meatball), finished off with free rice and free broth and noodle refills. The wait is shorter than at the Sangsu Station flagship, so Oreno Ramen Eunpyeong is an easy place to come for a restorative bowl.

Written Aug 17, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYeongdeungpo, SeoulBars

Yeouido izakaya weekend counter seat, 20,000-won Jinro Oak: Sodam

Robadayakki Sodam Yeouido Branch is an izakaya on the first floor of Yeouido Seorin Building, between Saetgang Station and Yeouido Station in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul. A Naver reservation secured the dead-center seat at the dachi (counter) with no waiting, and the weekend order was Set 4, which pairs sashimi with assorted skewers, at 52,000 won plus a bottle of Ilpum Jinro Oak at 20,000 won that already includes tonic water and lemon slices. In the middle of Yeouido, that lineup at that price is clearly good value.

Written Sep 26, 2026Sponsored