Guro, Seoul bar for Sichuan kkanpunggi and cream shrimp: Eulji Pocha

Today I dropped the kids off and went on a date with my wife to Eulji Pocha, a bar near Guro Digital Complex Station. It's been ages since I've been to this area, and probably five years since I've been to a pocha (Korean street-style bar)! Let's get into the post.

Eulji Pocha Guro Digital Complex Branch: hours and parking

Eulji Pocha Guro Digital Complex Branch is open daily from 5:00 PM to 6:00 AM, with last order at 5:00 AM. No parking on-site. It's a huge, 110-pyeong bar in Guro, so it's great for company dinners or dates.

It's on the main street just past Guro Station's Kkalkkal-geori alley. It's the main commercial strip, and being a restaurant-and-bar district, parking is tough — I ended up parking for free at the nearby Jowon-dong Public Parking Lot No. 2. The payment machine happened to be broken, so I got lucky and parked free 🤗

Eulji Pocha has a clean blue sign and a retro interior. The entrance was wide and packed with people. Since it was the weekend, it was really crowded — shoulder-to-shoulder crowds, so probably not a great fit if you're bringing kids.

What kind of food does Eulji Pocha serve?

Even among pochas, the main dishes really differ! Personally I'm not a big fan of nogari (dried pollack) or jwipo (dried filefish) type snacks, and I'm not into the older-crowd vibe some pochas have — but Eulji Pocha mainly serves dishes younger people like. Chicken feet and cream shrimp, which women in particular tend to love, seemed to be the signature dishes.

The 110-pyeong retro interior and selfie spots

The interior feels like a throwback to old neighborhoods from childhood. At the entrance there are lights and Instagram-worthy decorations set up for photos. There's even an old-style TV that reflects you back, so it's fun to snap pictures there too 😁

Most bars around Guro Digital Complex are cozy, small-sized spots, but Eulji Pocha was huge. They said it's 110 pyeong, which made me nervous just thinking about the rent. Filling such a huge space with no gaps in the decor isn't easy, but they nailed the concept — lots of nostalgic props that reminded me of the corner stationery store from school days.

How Eulji Pocha's coin system works and what coins buy

• Dish ₩20,000–30,000 = 3 coins
• Dish ₩10,000–20,000 = 2 coins
• Drink + dish under ₩10,000 = 1 coin
• Instagram post = 2 coins
• Naver review = 4 coins

With the coins you earn, there's a lot you can do inside — from playing at the various corners to ordering snacks! One coin is worth ₩500.

A bookstore corner you can actually read in

A real bookstore corner you can actually read from, stocked with a bunch of books. Not exactly adult reading material — more like the childhood "Why" series, Greek and Roman mythology books, and school reference books. It reminded me of passing around comics like Pian-do and Bleach with friends behind the teacher's back during class. My wife, who only ever studied, says she doesn't get that culture, but for me, books were what made school days fly by!

Claw machine for 1 coin

For 1 coin, you get Eulji Pocha's own claw machine — a nice touch. I thought you'd need real cash to play, but it turns out you use the tokens you get from ordering food! I have terrible luck with claw machines so I didn't try, but I'll explain more below!

Four-cut photo booth for 4 coins

For 4 coins, you can do a four-cut photo booth session! Personally I think this is a great idea — instead of just drinking and chatting, you leave with a photo memory, which makes this feel like a genuinely special bar. That alone is a real selling point.

Snack corner for 1 coin

For 1 coin, there's a corner where you can get various snacks. Pop in 1 token and you're set. Unlike other bars that only make margin on food orders, it's nice that you can grab free snacks here. Perfect for when your mouth feels bored or you're too full to order more.

Kiosk ordering and Eulji Pocha's most popular dishes

Ordering is done via kiosk, with all sorts of dishes on the menu. Eulji Pocha's three signature bestsellers are the rosé-broth chicken feet, 1++ grade yukhoe (beef tartare), and cream shrimp! Since a lot of the drinking crowd here is women, the menu seems tailored to that age group.

What we ordered: Sichuan kkanpunggi (crispy sweet-and-spicy fried chicken), cream shrimp, and a lemon highball. Chicken feet weren't calling my name that day, so I wanted something crispy fried instead. Ordered a lemon highball too in case things got greasy.

Eulji Pocha's event: an Instagram-participation roulette wheel. Apparently you can win up to 1++ grade Korean beef! I don't use Instagram, so I skipped it.

The basic complimentary snacks. I'm not really a snack person, but my mouth was bored so I picked at a few 😇

Lemon highball, 6,900 won

🍹 Lemon highball ₩6,900. The first thing to arrive. It wasn't too sweet and had a moderate alcohol content, so it didn't feel too much like a soft drink. The price was also reasonable — other places charge ₩7,000–8,000, so ₩6,000-something felt like a deal! Since it's a drink under ₩10,000, we got 1 coin for it.

Cream shrimp, 19,000 won

🍤 Cream shrimp ₩19,000. The overwhelmingly popular signature dish. Great that it comes with various vegetables, and the sauce — cream plus a touch of balsamic — instantly turns what could be a greasy flavor into something rich and savory. The batter wasn't thick and stayed nice and crispy — really delicious. Highly recommend as a beer or highball pairing!

I've eaten it with lettuce plenty of times, but this was my first time with tomato. Unusual, but it worked really well — felt like I got to enjoy two different dishes in one, which was great!

Sichuan kkanpunggi, 19,000 won

🍗 Sichuan kkanpunggi ₩19,000. The second dish to arrive. Unlike other bars that just toss it carelessly in chili oil until it goes soggy, this one was generously loaded with red chili and cheongyang chili — so good!!! The batter was thin but incredibly crispy, almost like eating a chip. Highly recommend for spice lovers.

See all that chili seasoning on the Sichuan kkanpunggi? They really didn't hold back, so there was never a boring bite. At under ₩20,000 given today's prices, this feels like a total bargain.

38,000 won for two: the final bill

₩38,000 worth of happiness. At a mediocre spot, spending ₩40,000 usually leaves you walking out with a frown, but we had a genuinely happy day. The food was delicious and the space was spacious, so next time I need to meet up with friends after a while, I'll pick Eulji Pocha 🤗

Finishing with coin-bought ice cream and cotton candy

For 2 coins, ice cream to cleanse the palate. We spent 4 coins to pick two. It's a great strategy — leaves you with a lingering good feeling even after you've left. (We picked two Cherry Marus.)

2 coins for cotton candy, 1 coin for dalgona (honeycomb candy). It looked like you make it yourself, but the staff seemed busy so I didn't get to ask. If you've got some time to spare, I'd recommend giving it a try.

Walking back to the car, fully satisfied with the meal and the Cherry Maru on top, my wife and I had a really satisfying dinner. This place would also work great for dinners with nearby IT companies or other businesses.