Jonggak bar with stone walls, wood-fired pizza and soju: Sudowonui

What kind of bar is Sudowonui Bimil Jeojanggo near Jonggak Station?

Sudowonui Bimil Jeojanggo (수도원의 비밀 저장고) is a basement bar near Jonggak Station that serves craft beer and wood-fired pizza. After a first round that was basically a second round already, I wanted one more drink with my younger sister, who was free for the night (a "free woman," as we say), so we headed to Jonggak and went looking for it.

Honestly the name sounded strange to me, so I looked it up when I noticed the place, and it turned out to be a bar with a fantastic atmosphere. The interior really does look like a monastery's secret cellar, with craft beer and wood-fired pizza on top. I'd been meaning to go someday, and this was the day.

The entrance feels like heading down to a secret cellar

From the outside, you can't really tell what the entrance is like, right?

But the way down to the basement already has a feel to it. It really feels like going down to a secret cellar. Kind of mysterious. So I took photos, haha.

What are the interior and seating like?

Inside, the walls are done up like stone, so it felt like walking into a cave. There were bar seats too.

It's funny, but some of the staff were foreigners, and I thought they suited the place perfectly. You'll see what I mean when you go, haha. And of course they all spoke Korean really well, lol.

Jonggak has a lot of offices, maybe that's why, but there were several group seating areas. It looked good for company dinners too. This area had a medieval feel as well, lol.

Next to our table, wine bottles were set out as decoration, and the wall had a brick look.

The tableware had a medieval feel too, and even the coasters were made of stone, which was a nice touch. Same with the forks and plates, haha.

How do you order, and what did we drink?

You order on a tablet, and it can be moved around, which was handy. There are lots of wood-fired pizzas, and pizza and beer always go together so well.

Plus I've been craving wood-fired pizza lately, so: wood-fired pizza, dark beer, and of course the indispensable soju, lol. It's a craft beer place and they still sell soju, and I can't tell you how grateful I am, haha.

The soju comes in a special vessel

Guess what this is? I didn't know either, but at Sudowonui Bimil Jeojanggo they poured our soju from this, lol. Maybe that's why the soju was a little pricey, but I felt it was worth it. Honestly, I'm just thankful they sell it at all~~

Dark beer and Chum Churum (처음처럼), lol. They even gave us pretty soju glasses. You're right, a green bottle wouldn't fit this atmosphere.

How was the garden arugula jambon pizza?

The wood-fired pizza we got that day was the garden arugula jambon pizza (수도원 텃밭 루꼴라 잠봉 피자), piled high with arugula. All that arugula made me very happy. Doesn't the dough look good too?

Pickles came with it, and I moved a slice onto my plate. I just ate it with my hands. The dough was chewy and nutty, and the bitterness of the arugula went nicely with the saltiness of the jambon (Korean-style ham).

Garlic sauce for dipping the dough, and Tabasco too

There are 3 sauces at Sudowonui Bimil Jeojanggo, and garlic sauce was recommended for the pizza dough. The dough was so good that I asked about a sauce for dipping. Buying a sauce costs ₩1,000, but they said that's a lot of sauce, so they'd just give us a little, aww ㅠㅠㅠ

Thanks to that, we dipped the dough, and the garlic flavor was very strong and delicious.

It was also tasty with Tabasco sauce sprinkled on top!! Goes really well.

How were the counter, the beer care and the restrooms?

At the payment counter, the toothpicks were individually wrapped, which felt hygienic, and there were menthol candies, so I grabbed some, lol.

There was also a "Draft Beer Quality Control Master" (생맥주품질관리마스터) nameplate, a sign of a place that's good at beer~~ It made me think maybe that's why the beer tasted so good, haha.

The restrooms are indoors and separate for men and women. I don't know about the men's side, but the women's side has 2 stalls, so even though you're bound to go often when you drink, there was no problem~~ haha.

Is it good for a date or a group dinner near Jonggak Station?

Judging by just what I ate, Sudowonui Bimil Jeojanggo has tasty wood-fired pizza, tasty beer, and even soju. Thanks to that great interior, I think it works well both for people looking for a Jonggak Station date spot and as a Jongno place for group dinners~