Soft-lit Yeongdeungpo izakaya for an after-movie date: Nani Byeolgwan

Looking for a Yeongdeungpo izakaya with atmosphere

Nani Byeolgwan Yeongdeungpo Branch is an izakaya on the 1st floor of 183 Munnae-ro, Yeongdeungpo-gu, mentioned in several reviews as easy to reach from near Times Square. When you make dinner plans in Yeongdeungpo, there are honestly way more options than you'd expect.

Especially around Yeongdeungpo Station, there are so many bars that it's oddly hard to pick one with good atmosphere rather than just decent food. This time, instead of a loud, rowdy bar, I was looking for a Yeongdeungpo izakaya where I could order a few tasty side dishes and just talk comfortably — that's how I found Nani Byeolgwan Yeongdeungpo Branch.

Above all, three things mattered to me: good atmosphere, tasty skewers, and drinks that wouldn't feel like a splurge.

Picturing the walk there, it seemed like a place where you could step slightly away from Yeongdeungpo's bustling energy and enjoy that cozy feeling unique to Japanese-style pubs. Several visit reviews repeatedly mentioned satisfaction with both the exterior and interior. Thanks to the Japanese-inspired space and soft lighting, I could expect a somewhat different mood from a typical Yeongdeungpo bar.

A 3-minute walk from Times Square: why Nani Byeolgwan fits a date

The location of Nani Byeolgwan Yeongdeungpo Branch was another thing I really liked. Several reviews note that it's an easy walk from Times Square, and also walkable from Yeongdeungpo Station. One review put it at about 3 minutes from Times Square and about 10 minutes from Yeongdeungpo Station.

So personally, it's not just somewhere you'd go out of your way for a meal — a date route like Times Square browsing → a movie → skewers and drinks at Nani Byeolgwan felt like it would flow pretty naturally.

You know that moment right after a movie when you're not quite ready to say goodbye? Rather than a heavy meal, a few skewers with a soju or highball, chatting about the film or the day, seemed like the perfect fit.

What I came to Nani Byeolgwan for: the charcoal skewers

While looking into Nani Byeolgwan Yeongdeungpo Branch, what caught my eye most wasn't the variety of side dishes but the skewer menu. Existing reviews of this Yeongdeungpo izakaya often mentioned the assorted skewer platter, pork belly scallion skewers, chicken thigh skewers, and beef intestine skewers — with especially positive reviews for the pork belly scallion skewer and chicken thigh skewer.

There's something I quietly care about at skewer places: portion size. If a skewer is too small, you can enjoy it and still feel oddly shortchanged.

Looking through various reviews, though, Nani Byeolgwan seems like a place where you can expect satisfying portions, not just good visuals or composition — so in this post I want to go beyond just saying "it's delicious" and talk in detail about the flavor and texture of each skewer.

First impressions of Nani Byeolgwan: soft lighting, bar seats and a private 2F

What I liked most about Nani Byeolgwan Yeongdeungpo Branch was, again, the atmosphere. I assumed any Yeongdeungpo izakaya would automatically mean dark and rowdy, but Nani Byeolgwan kept coming up in reviews as cozy, with soft lighting, Japanese-style interior — a space suited for dates and blind dates.

Reviews also confirmed that the first floor has bar-style seating, while the second floor offers a more private space. So on a day you want to sip a quiet drink alone, the bar seats work; on a day you want to talk more comfortably with a partner or friend, a table or the private space seems like the way to go.

The lighting isn't too bright, so I imagine the mood really comes alive in the evening. That kind of soft lighting has a way of putting you at ease — your voice drops a notch without you noticing, and you end up focused on the food and drink right in front of you.

So while it's fine for a loud, chatty table with friends, I felt it would suit a quiet conversation on a date with a partner even better.

These days, tasty food matters, but so does how it photographs, right? On dates especially, you end up snapping a photo or two of the food, and in places with overly bright lighting, the food's mood often doesn't come through well.

In a calm, composed space like Nani Byeolgwan, photographing the food together with a drink seemed like it would really bring out that signature izakaya feeling.

Pork belly scallion skewers or chicken thigh skewers?

Looking through the skewer menu at Nani Byeolgwan Yeongdeungpo Branch, the one I was personally most curious about was the pork belly scallion skewer. Pork belly and scallion is a combination that's familiar yet hard to mess up — the scallion adds its distinct aroma and freshness against the rich, savory pork.

The other menu worth noting is the chicken thigh skewer. Even calling it a "chicken skewer" can mean quite different textures depending on the cut used — thigh meat has more fat than breast, so grilled it tends to stay relatively moist and tender.

How big are the skewer portions at Nani Byeolgwan?

There's one thing I want to specifically address about the skewers here: portion size. At skewer places, you sometimes order based on price alone and think "huh, that's smaller than expected" when the food arrives.

But Nani Byeolgwan seems like a place where you can expect that generous feel I care about with skewers. When several kinds of skewers come out, there's the fun of trying one at a time, and it's nice for slowly eating while sipping a drink.

Especially at a drinking table, if the food disappears too fast, the conversation gets cut off while you rush to order the next dish — with a comfortably sized skewer serving, you can talk and eat slowly instead.

A clean restroom is also a big plus among Yeongdeungpo izakayas.

Nani Byeolgwan Yeongdeungpo Branch: address, hours and prices

• Name: Nani Byeolgwan Yeongdeungpo Branch
• Address: 1st floor, 183 Munnae-ro, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 17:00–02:00 (last order 01:00)
• Closed: No fixed closed days announced (check before visiting)
• Parking: No dedicated parking lot
• Signature menu: Chicken thigh skewer, beef intestine skewer, shin ramyun risotto, assorted skewers and sake
• Price range: About ₩20,000–40,000 per person