Dog-friendly Sangam DMC izakaya with 7 sharing dishes: Hanamato

Looking for somewhere to grab dinner and a drink late in the evening, I ended up at Hanamato Sangam DMC. From yakitori to oden to kushikatsu, they have so many menu items that go perfectly with a drink, and the Japanese-style atmosphere with that open-air izakaya feel makes it great for a date, a drinking session with friends, or a Sangam group dinner. (There's also a cute dog on the second floor!) Let's get into the review!

Hanamato Sangam DMC hours, parking and how to get there

Hanamato Sangam DMC is a standalone-building izakaya located at 19-12 Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul. It's open daily from 17:00 to 03:00 the next day (last order 02:00), and you can park at the Mapo World Cup Public Parking Lot No. 1.

• Address: 19-12 Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 17:00 – 03:00 (last order 02:00)
• Parking: Mapo World Cup Public Parking Lot No. 1
• Group reservations available, separate men's/women's restrooms
• Pet-friendly (small non-barking dogs allowed)

Hanamato Sangam DMC, a go-to spot for izakaya food near Sangam DMC, is a standalone building, and it's lit up so brightly even from a distance that we found it right away.

What the lively first floor of Hanamato looks like

The first floor has floor-to-ceiling windows that open all the way, so on nice weather like this it feels like an outdoor drinking spot. With its cute yet lively izakaya feel, I saw solo diners as well as groups coming in.

There were Japanese knick-knacks scattered around too, which really made it feel like I was traveling.

The second floor, where the resident puppy lives

We went up to the second floor and — oh my...!!

There was the most adorable brown poodle, fast asleep. Her name is Tori, after yakitori — so cute, right?ㅠㅠ I wanted to play with her, but since she's still a baby and sleeps a lot, she had just dozed off, haha.

Leaving that disappointment behind, we sat by the window! With the cute dog and the place's reputation as a go-to Sangam DMC izakaya, seats filled up fast as time went on — it was completely full by 10pm!

Hanamato menu and the seven dishes two people ordered

The menu came with appetizing food photos, which made it easy to choose! True to a Japanese-style izakaya, it's stocked with a wide range of great-value dishes and drinks — from oden to yakitori to salmon sashimi to kushikatsu — making it a solid Sangam DMC izakaya for a meal-plus-drinks visit.

What we ordered:

• Charcoal Yakitori Best 5 ₩13,000
• Traditional Oden 5 kinds ₩15,000
• Premium Salmon Sashimi ₩14,000
• Traditional Kushikatsu ₩10,000
• Popular Mentaiko Cheese Potato ₩10,000
• Tsukune ₩3,500
• Enoki Pork Belly (1 skewer) ₩3,500
• Sapporo draft beer ₩6,200
• Terra draft beer ₩4,500
• Kelly bottled beer ₩5,000

Neither of us usually over-orders side dishes when we're out drinking, but everything at Hanamato was so good we ended up ordering all this..

First they brought out a basic snack — shrimp chips — along with our draft beer! Shrimp chips instead of plain puffed rice crackers.. I'm becoming a regular here. The draft beer hit the spot after being thirsty, gulping it down felt so refreshing!

Traditional oden, 5 kinds: 15,000 won

Craving something hot and brothy, we ordered the Traditional Oden (Japanese fish cake) 5 kinds first. You can also add extra orders of just the types you like, and each table has its own induction burner so it stays warm the whole time. This soupy dish would probably taste even better in winter.

The fish cakes had a nice bouncy texture, so it was fun trying each different kind, and the broth had a deep umami flavor that kept me spooning it up.

Mentaiko cheese potato, the bestseller: 10,000 won

I heard the mentaiko (pollack roe) cheese potato was a popular menu item, so we ordered it — can you see how the cheese stretches out? Soft cheese, savory potato, and salty bits of mentaiko mixed in — I couldn't put the spoon down! The cheese wasn't the cheap kind either, it genuinely tasted great.

Meeting Tori, the five-month-old poodle at Hanamato

We were distracted by the delicious food when the staff, seeming to have felt bad that we didn't get to play with the dog earlier, brought Tori over to us!ㅠㅠ Thank you so much.. Tori was so cute my heart nearly hurt.

Only 5 months old, such a baby puppy, and so lovable.. those eyes were pure innocence itself. Everyone around us was going wild over how cute she was!! She's even cuter in person. Since we couldn't hog Tori to ourselves, we played with her a bit and then brought her over to a couple at the table behind us.

Tori seemed to like my boyfriend more than me. Looking at these photos of her now, I think I need to go visit again soon. Hanamato Sangam DMC, count me as a regular 🐶🤎

Premium salmon sashimi: 14,000 won

Right after that came the premium salmon sashimi! I was surprised — it wasn't fishy or watery at all, it tasted as fresh as salmon just sliced at Noryangjin. Dipped in Kikkoman soy sauce, it was as good as fall gizzard shad. The pace the dishes came out at was also nice and steady, so the flow of the meal never broke.

Charcoal yakitori best 5: 13,000 won

Hanamato's signature menu, the Yakitori Best 5 set, is made up of chicken heart, chicken with scallion, chicken skin, chicken breast, and chicken wing, all grilled and coated in their special tare sauce. They grill it fresh over charcoal in the open kitchen as soon as you order, so there was no gamey chicken smell at all — just smoky flavor filling my mouth. Delicious.

We also ordered an extra bottled beer, and they thoughtfully brought it out with a fresh chilled glass.

Tsukune and enoki pork belly skewers: 3,500 won each

The tsukune (chicken meatball skewer) came with an egg yolk to dip it in, and the enoki mushroom-wrapped pork belly had that proper charcoal-grilled flavor, making it a great extra side to keep drinking with. Every single dish was a hit, so I think this place is unbeatable whether you're starting your night here with dinner and drinks or dropping by for a casual second or third round.

Traditional kushikatsu: 10,000 won

The kushikatsu is a Japanese-style assorted fried skewer set that comes with a salad, so it works well as an appetizer too — it's made up of 1 squid, 1 potato, 1 bean, and 3 fish skewers! Crispy and fun to eat one skewer at a time.

Who should visit Hanamato Sangam DMC

Hanamato Sangam DMC has so many appealing menu items, from oden hot pot to grilled skewers, that it's a great Japanese-style izakaya to visit any time — whether for a meal or a second or third round. With weather like this, the open-air drinking atmosphere is so nice, so if you're looking for a great izakaya near Sangam DMC, I'd recommend Hanamato Sangam DMC!!

If you love dogs, or you're looking for an izakaya with that Sangam vibe, come to Hanamato Sangam and unwind with delicious food, some Japanese atmosphere, and a cute puppy to boot.