Hongdae dinner date: bacon cheese rolls & tarako-don, Jongno Donburi

I visited a hospital near Hongdae today and went looking for good restaurants nearby, haha. Luckily there was a Japanese place that looked promising close by, so I stopped in for dinner. Since I was combining a hospital visit with some good food, I went in with high expectations 😆

Where is Jongno Donburi Yeonnam, and how far is it from Hongik Univ. Station?

Jongno Donburi Yeonnam is a 9-minute walk from Exit 3 of Hongik Univ. Station! The address is 9 Donggyo-ro 46-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, B1.

There was a menu board set up outside the restaurant, so I could check the dishes and prices before even going in!

The restaurant is just down a couple of steps into the basement! The entrance was closer than I expected, so it shouldn't be hard to find 😊

Inside Jongno Donburi Yeonnam: counter seats and solo dining

The restaurant was bigger inside than I expected. Overall it had a cozy yet clean atmosphere, and my boyfriend really liked it too, haha. It had a slight Japanese feel, which made it a nice spot for a meal!

There are counter seats set up separately, so if you're looking for a Japanese restaurant near Hongik Univ. Station to eat alone, this would be a good place to try! The vibe isn't intimidating at all, haha.

Menu and service details at Jongno Donburi Yeonnam

The menu was set out on the table like this.

Even the menu design had a cute, sentimental feel, haha.

There's also a Naver review event going on, so it might be worth joining after your meal, haha. Apparently you can each join separately even at the same table, so it's a nice thing to do together with a friend.

Side dishes and soybean paste soup

The basic side dishes were pickled radish and a few kinds of pickles, along with a sauce to go with the rice bowl and a miso soup!

The miso soup in particular had such a rich, deep flavor that my boyfriend said the moment he tasted it, "This has to be made with homemade doenjang (fermented soybean paste)" lol (whether that's actually true, who knows, haha).

Even the sauce came in a cute bear-shaped dish — little touches like this were so adorable 🐻🤎

What we ordered at Jongno Donburi Yeonnam and what it cost

• Tarako-don ₩18,000
• Sake tarako-don ₩24,000
• Bacon cheese rolls ₩7,000

How the tarako-don tastes, and how to eat it wrapped in seaweed

First up was my tarako-don. The bowl itself looked like a Japanese bento box, so it was adorable the moment it arrived! 🍱✨

The presentation was seriously impressive too! It looked so delicious the moment it landed on the table that I couldn't not take a photo, haha.

It had a little of that feel of eating a rice bowl in Japan, so I loved the presentation too 👍🏻

The way to eat it: like a maki roll, put the rice and cod roe on the seaweed, then add the mayo sauce that came with it! I found it much tastier wrapped in seaweed than eaten plain, haha. The way the cod roe popped in my mouth was such a great texture too 🤤💗

What does the sake tarako-don taste like?

This one's the sake tarako-don!! You dip the salmon lightly in soy sauce and eat it with the rice 🐟 The salmon was soft and moist, which paired well with the soy sauce, and eating it with the rice gave it a clean but subtly salty flavor. The cod roe kept popping in between bites, so the texture kept changing with every mouthful — I loved that, haha. Plus the rice itself was already lightly seasoned, so you don't even need to dip the salmon in soy sauce!

Bacon cheese rolls, 7,000 won: a crisp side like chicken katsu

Last up, the bacon cheese rolls!! The outside was fried crispy, giving it a slight pork cutlet vibe! 🥓🧀 The crispy exterior with bacon and cheese inside made for a savory, salty combo that worked really well, haha. Dipping it in the bear-shaped sauce made it feel even more like a katsu dish lol.

Is Jongno Donburi Yeonnam worth a Yeonnam-dong dinner date?

From the tarako-don to the bacon cheese rolls, every single dish at this Japanese restaurant was delicious! 🍣✨ The atmosphere was cozy and there were counter seats too, so it's great for eating solo, and it would also work well as a Yeonnam-dong date spot, haha. If you're looking for a good Japanese restaurant near Hongik Univ. Station, I'd recommend giving this one a try 🫶🏻