Truffle chicken thigh course at Gongdeok yakitori bar Yakitori Shomong

My husband and I were walking along the Gyeongui Line Forest Trail and wanted somewhere with a good vibe for tasty skewers and a cold beer, so we headed to Yakitori Shomong, a Gongdeok favorite 🍢🍺

This place stuck with me from a previous visit because the skewers were so good. This time I wanted to try a wider variety, so we ordered the 6-skewer yakitori course plus the simmered pork jowl!

I had draft beer, my husband had cola, and we ate properly — let's get into our dinner date review ❤️

Where is Yakitori Shomong, and what are its hours?

📍 Yakitori Shomong is on the 1st floor at 291-5 Dokmak-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul. It's open Monday–Friday 17:00–23:00, Saturday–Sunday 16:00–23:00, with last order at 21:55. It sits between Gongdeok Station and Daeheung Station, an easy walk from either.

Best of all, the Gyeongui Line Forest Trail is right next to the restaurant, so it's great for a walk before or after eating 🌿 It's easy to drop by naturally while strolling with my husband, so I'd recommend it as a Gongdeok date spot! Evenings tend to get busy, so if you want a relaxed visit, I'd recommend booking ahead :)

What is the atmosphere like at this Gongdeok yakitori bar?

🤎 Yakitori Shomong had a more polished, tidy izakaya vibe than your typical loud, boisterous drinking spot.

It's the kind of place where you can slowly enjoy skewers and dishes while chatting, so it suited a date well :)

From the window seats you can look out at the Gyeongui Line Forest Trail, so the atmosphere would be even nicer on a nice day! There's a variety of seating too, so it looked good not just for dates but for gatherings with friends or a light work dinner.

What we ordered at Yakitori Shomong

• 🍢 Yakitori omakase 6-skewer course for two
• 🐷 Simmered pork jowl
• 🍺 Draft beer
• 🥤 Cola

The 6-skewer course is ordered one per person, so my husband and I each got one! I liked that we didn't have to agonize over which skewers to pick — we got to enjoy everything from juicy cuts to chewy cuts 🙌🏻

As a starter side, they brought out a cabbage salad topped with sesame sauce. The crisp cabbage with the savory sauce kept pulling my hand back even before the skewers arrived haha

A cold draft beer before the skewers arrive

I'm firmly in the camp that says draft beer must accompany yakitori... 🙋🏻‍♀️ haha

The cold draft beer came out first, so we did a light toast with my husband's cola 🍻🥤 One sip of the cold, smooth draft and I was already looking forward to the skewers even more.

My husband had cola instead of alcohol, and it paired surprisingly well with the smoky skewers and the salty pork jowl stew :)

What's in the 6-skewer yakitori omakase course?

At Yakitori Shomong, the 6-skewer course doesn't come out all at once — each skewer is served one by one at just the right temperature, so we got to enjoy every skewer warm. On our visit, the 6-skewer course consisted of chicken tenderloin, truffle chicken thigh, tsukune, heart, chicken knee cartilage, and chicken shoulder.

🤍 Juicy chicken tenderloin skewer

The first skewer to arrive was chicken tenderloin with a touch of plum-wasabi on top.

I expected tenderloin to be dry, but it wasn't dry at all — it was really juicy and tender! The clean flavor of the tenderloin combined with the tangy plum-wasabi opened up the appetite nicely as the first skewer :)

🍄 Truffle chicken thigh: the aroma hits first

Next was chicken thigh with truffle wafting off it! The moment it landed on the table, that distinct truffle aroma hit hard.

True to chicken thigh, it was juicy and moist, but with the luxurious truffle flavor added, it felt clearly different from a regular chicken skewer 🥹

This was personally the standout favorite of the 6-skewer course for both my husband and me!

🥚 Soft tsukune chicken meatball

Tsukune (Japanese-style chicken meatball skewer) is a must in any yakitori course! We dipped the glossy, glaze-coated tsukune into the accompanying egg yolk.

The savory yolk gently wrapped around the salty-sweet glaze, and that sweet-and-salty combo was so good 🤎

❤️ Chewy chicken heart and crunchy knee cartilage

The heart was simply seasoned with salt and pepper, letting its naturally chewy texture shine.

The more you chew, the more savory and smoky it gets — the kind of flavor that naturally calls for draft beer haha

The chicken knee cartilage had a clearly crunchy texture that made it fun to eat.

🔥 Chicken shoulder, the best-tasting finish

The final skewer was chicken shoulder! It was sweet and salty with seasoning soaked in, and still juicy inside. Fitting for the last course, the flavor was rich and lingered on the palate :)

Each skewer had a different texture and seasoning from the cut, which made it fun to compare them one by one — and I could see why Yakitori Shomong is such a popular skewer spot by the Gyeongui Line Forest Trail!

🐷 Simmered pork jowl between skewers

Since skewers alone felt like it wasn't quite enough, we added the simmered pork jowl!

The pork jowl's signature savory fat and chewy texture were soaked in a salty-sweet braising sauce — total rice-thief, drink-thief territory haha

The meat wasn't tough at all, like it had been slowly and gently simmered, and it was juicy. The more you chewed, the more the savory flavor came through. If the skewers were about clean, smoky flavor, the pork jowl was all about a rich sauce — and switching between the two worked really well 🤍

💛 Cherish's final verdict on Yakitori Shomong

After a walk along the Gyeongui Line Forest Trail with my husband, we visited Yakitori Shomong and tried the 6-skewer course plus simmered pork jowl!

Each skewer was served warm one at a time, so we got to properly enjoy the flavor and texture of every cut, and the subtle charcoal aroma was satisfying. From the tender tenderloin to truffle chicken thigh, tsukune, and crunchy cartilage, the variety in the course made it fun to eat through :)

On top of that, pairing it with the sweet-salty pork jowl stew and cold draft beer made it a total success as a dinner date menu with my husband 🍺❤️

• Anyone looking for a Gongdeok restaurant with a good atmosphere
• Anyone who wants properly grilled yakitori near the Gyeongui Line Forest Trail
• Anyone who loves a skewer course with a variety of cuts
• Anyone looking for a date spot after walking the Gyeongui Line Forest Trail

Give Yakitori Shomong a try 🍢✨