Pangyo bar for spicy seafood tteokjjim: Bacha

We usually go on dates on the weekend, but yesterday my boyfriend came to pick me up in Pangyo when I got off work, haha. So we decided to have a weekday dinner date nearby, and headed to Bacha Pangyo Branch (바차 판교점).

We arrived at around 7 p.m. on a Monday, and it was full! We would have had to wait if we hadn't reserved. I guess bars near Pangyo Station are much busier on weekdays than weekends because they're in an office district.

Bacha Pangyo Branch: location, hours, and reservations

Bacha Pangyo Branch is on the first floor of Samdo Building, near the Pangyo Station bar street. The address is 101, 1F, Samdo Building, 151 Bundangnaegok-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea (경기도 성남시 분당구 분당내곡로 151 삼도빌딩 1층 101호).

It is open daily from 17:00 to 02:00, with last orders at 01:20. You can reserve through Naver and Catch Table, too. It gets busy even on Monday evenings, so I think reserving ahead would give you peace of mind if you're visiting on a weekday.

Parking

If you bring a car, you can use the building's underground parking. You get one hour of parking support for every ₩50,000 spent; after that, it is ₩4,000 for the first hour and ₩4,000 per additional hour. I had a parking voucher for Hyundai Department Store, an eight-minute walk away, so I used that and enjoyed a more leisurely meal.

A look around Bacha in Pangyo

The name was so unusual that I looked it up, and apparently Bacha comes from the programming term VARCHAR.

For a bar near Pangyo Station, they have quite a wide range of drinks, from beer and highballs to cocktails, whisky, and wine. Paid corkage and private venue rental are available, and the restroom is inside the restaurant, which is convenient!

We came for dinner rather than a second round that day, so we ordered two substantial dishes: instant beef brisket seafood tteokjjim (spicy braised rice cakes) and seafood red gambas. Plus a Tsingtao non-alcoholic beer.

Instant beef brisket seafood tteokjjim, ₩28,000

While you're snacking on the complimentary pretzels,

a big pot arrives with a whole squid, scallops, clams, beef brisket, rice cakes, fish cakes, and mung bean sprouts. We were hungry, so I loved how generous the portion was.

There is an induction burner on the table, and they set the pot on top of it.

They told us there were ramen noodles at the very bottom, so we should eat those first before they get soggy; then, once the squid is cooked, we could dig into everything else right away.

At first there was plenty of broth, so we spooned it up like soupy tteokbokki. As it kept simmering, though, the broth reduced nicely and took on the flavor of the brisket and seafood, becoming really savory, haha.

When I think of seafood jjim in Pangyo, I normally picture heaps of seafood on top of bean sprouts, but this instant beef brisket seafood tteokjjim is a little different.

With rice cakes, fish cakes, and even ramen noodles, it kind of felt like Chadol Tteokbokki from Cheongnyeondabang with seafood added, hahaha. It was such a hearty bar snack and tasty enough that I think I'd order it again next time! It paired well with beer, and it was moderately spicy and sweet, so we both really enjoyed it.

Seafood red gambas, ₩25,000

We were both craving something bold that day, so our second dish was spicy too! We ordered the seafood red gambas.

Unlike regular gambas, which only has shrimp and garlic, this one also came with shellfish such as scallops and Manila clams.

Seeing rosemary and bay leaves on top, I could tell it was proper gambas! Shellfish can sometimes taste fishy, but there wasn't even a hint of that. That day was the first time I realized clams go so well with gambas oil, haha. Bacha's gambas near Pangyo Station has a house red sauce along with olive oil.

Maybe because it is based on chili oil, it is red from the start and slightly spicy. It reminded me of a spicy vongole sauce as I ate it. I thought the oil sauce was nicely lightly seasoned because the seafood was seasoned too, but my boyfriend thought it could have been a little saltier. I think seasoning will taste different depending on your palate.

And because my boyfriend said he was hungry, he added garlic bread when we ordered! (Extra garlic bread is ₩4,000.) But when the food arrived, we found out two slices of bread already came with the dish 🤣 With the extra garlic bread, we ended up with six pieces total... It was crispy and delicious, but there was just too much, so we left a little behind. Such a shameㅠㅠ

A weekday dinner date at Bacha Pangyo Branch

Bacha in Pangyo has a hip atmosphere, and with its doors wide open, it feels a bit like a semi-outdoor pub!

The food was tasty and the location is great, so it is clearly a popular place—there were so many people. Tables were packed even at 7 p.m. on a Monday, so I plan to reserve in advance next time too.

If you're looking for a bar near Pangyo Station for a drink with delicious food after work in Pangyo, keep Bacha Pangyo Branch in mind!!