Hoegi izakaya for groups: flat iron steak, house sake — Hamaru Hoegi

Today I'm sharing a review from a place near home that I hadn't visited in a while — the Hoegi Station izakaya, Hamaru!

Hamaru Hoegi location and hours

Hamaru Hoegi is located at 11 Kyunghee-daero 1-gil, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, 1st floor. It's open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday from 17:00 to 2 AM the next day, and Friday and Saturday from 17:00 to 3 AM the next day.

Storefront

Hamaru izakaya is about 616m from Hoegi Station Exit 1! The exterior sign gives off Japanese izakaya vibes right away, so it was easy to find!

When you go in, there's this space that feels outdoors but you open a door like it's indoors! There were lots of cute little props too, so the interior felt very much like something out of a Japanese anime, like My Neighbor Totoro, haha

Seats great for group hangouts — is a reservation a must?

Hamaru Hoegi has this outdoor-feeling patio table space, and the interior is also surprisingly spacious and comfortable! There are bar seats and tables good for sitting as a group! We went on a Saturday evening and there were a lot of people! If you're planning to visit, it might be a good idea to call ahead and reserve just in case! We also made a phone reservation ahead of time before visiting~

Hamaru's menu and what we ordered that day

The menu has a front and back side — the food side is mainly divided into yakitori, teppanyaki, single dishes and nabe (hot pot), and the drinks side has Japanese shochu, sake, tokkuri, highballs, plus other basic drinks and beverages! I personally love izakaya menus, so just looking at it made my mouth water — the lineup was so good haha ><

So our picks were

• Hamaru 8-piece omakase ₩26,000
• Nagasaki champon ₩20,000
• Skirt steak ₩25,000

Order complete!

Cabbage came out as the basic side dish~ Since it was raw cabbage, it was great to pick at as a drinking snack while waiting for the food!

House sake by the glass: cold or warm?

For drinks we ordered a glass of house sake, beer and soju! I ordered the house sake glass warm, and it actually felt like the alcohol flavor came through less that way! Sake can be ordered either cold or warm here!

Hamaru 8-piece omakase ₩26,000

First the Hamaru 8-piece omakase came out, and the visuals were mouthwatering, right? ㅠㅠ The skewers weren't served on one platter but came out on separate plates individually! Overall the skewers were grilled just right and had that smoky char aroma, so good! Dipped in the mayonnaise that came with it, it was savory and salty and made me crave a beer right away.. Especially the one topped with pollack roe was savory and really tasty!

Nagasaki champon ₩20,000, the portion is enormous

The Nagasaki champon (Japanese-style seafood noodle soup) portion was enormous! Everyone gasped the moment they saw it,, huge portion and packed with ingredients! The broth was savory and just the right seasoning, so it was great to scoop up as a drinking snack!

Skirt steak ₩25,000 and the free pickled cucumber

Next was the skirt steak! The visuals were great, and I liked that the vegetables were grilled alongside it!! The meat was tasty, but the grilled veggies were great too!

This is the pickled cucumber they gave us as a free extra, and it was also a hidden gem, so we kept picking at it as a snack and finished it in no time haha. The staff were kind and the menu was varied, so I really enjoyed it and would love to visit again!