Jongno anju bar in Seoul: black sesame cucumber salad at Ari Gyegok

Why picking a bar near Jonggak Station is tricky

Looking for a bar around Jonggak, I kept running into the same problem. I didn't want the kind of light, second-round snacks — I wanted something that could double as a meal and as a drinking snack. But if the prices are too high, it gets awkward going with a group.

Just looking at the menu at Ari Gyegok Jonggak, the lineup was pretty varied — salads, stir-fries, pancakes and fried items, and chicken hot pots. It's also close to Jonggak Station, so it's worth checking out for a gathering or dinner appointment in Jongno.

Ari Gyegok Jonggak: location, hours and parking

Ari Gyegok Jonggak is on the 1st floor at 41 Ujeongguk-ro 2-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 188 meters from Exit 4 of Jonggak Station. According to the posted image, last order is at 1:30 AM the next day, and reservations and group dining are both available.

• Address: 41 Ujeongguk-ro 2-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 1st floor
• 188m from Jonggak Station Exit 4
• Last order 1:30 AM the next day, per posted image
• Reservations available
• Group dining available
• Wi-Fi available

It's about a 3-minute walk from Exit 4 of Jonggak Station, so it's easy to reach by public transit. And Jongno is convenient for meeting up since a bunch of subway lines converge there — a nice bonus.

What the entrance of Ari Gyegok Jonggak looks like

Ari Gyegok Jonggak sits in an alley close to Jonggak Station, making it a handy spot for dinner or a drink after work.

Especially in Jongno, when you're looking for a spot for a company dinner or a friend gathering, it's annoying if it's too far from the station — but at 188m, that's not really a burden.

Inside Ari Gyegok Jonggak and seating for groups

The listing for Ari Gyegok Jonggak notes that group dining and reservations are both available, so it's worth considering not just for a casual visit with one other person but also for a bigger gathering.

Ari Gyegok's menu itself has a lot of dishes that are good for sharing plate by plate, so personally I think the fun of picking the menu is bigger with a group than with just two people.

Get one hot pot and add a pancake or stir-fry dish and it's easy to put together a spread that works as both a meal and a drinking session.

What is on the Ari Gyegok Jonggak menu?

The menu at Ari Gyegok Jonggak is roughly divided into salads, stir-fries, pancakes and fried items, and signature dishes. It's not just one style — there's everything from light bites to a filling hot pot, so it looked easy to choose from whether you're between a first and second round or just settling in.

Three chicken hot pots and their prices

The signature dishes center on the chicken hot pots. Original chicken hot pot ₩22,900, spicy hangover chicken hot pot ₩23,900, perilla chicken hot pot ₩23,900. The price difference isn't huge, so you can just pick based on preference — original if you like the classic style, spicy hangover if you're craving something fiery, and perilla if you want something nutty and rich.

Perilla chicken hot pot, 23,900 won

We ordered the perilla chicken hot pot and the black sesame cucumber salad. The perilla chicken hot pot really tastes like a restorative dish, that rich, familiar perilla hot pot flavor. It was thick and rich, and genuinely delicious.

Black sesame cucumber salad, 7,900 won

The black sesame cucumber salad was honestly a flavor I'd never tried before! Definitely order it :) It was nutty and spicy at the same time — genuinely special.

There's also a wide range of pancake and fried dishes, plus stir-fries and salads, so if a hot pot alone feels like not enough, it's easy to order a side dish alongside it.

Based on the menu, quite a lot of dishes are in the ₩10,000s, so among bars near Jonggak it seemed like a good option for a group to order several dishes and share.

Honest verdict on Ari Gyegok Jonggak

Ari Gyegok Jonggak first catches your eye with its location — 188 meters from Exit 4 of Jonggak Station — and the wide variety of dishes makes it easy to pick a menu for a gathering or drinking session. In particular, with the chicken hot pots priced between ₩22,900 and ₩23,900, anyone looking for a soup-based dish should have an easy time choosing.

With salads, stir-fries, and pancakes and fried items all available too, it seems like a good fit for a Jongno company dinner or friend gathering where you want to share several different dishes at one table.