Spare Chair Visitor · 50 stories
I write about restaurant visits around Seoul, one meal at a time. · Writes about: Restaurants · Bars · Things to do
Midnight Lounge is a whisky bar on Seongmisan-ro in Yeonnam-dong, Mapo, Seoul, with black interiors, purple lighting and a rooftop. The writer drank Balvenie 12 Doublewood, Ardbeg Ten, Arran 10 and 1792 Small Batch neat by the glass at around 20,000 won each, and the owner's friendly explanations made the whiskies easy to enjoy properly. Midnight Lounge is a good bar in Yeonnam-dong for a quiet whisky and conversation.
Eosa Chulto Hongdae Branch (어사출또 홍대점) is a seasonal sashimi restaurant on Donggyo-ro 27-gil near Hongik Univ. Station in Mapo, Seoul. Two friends shared the small seasonal sashimi platter (48,000 won) of flounder, rockfish, mullet and sand flounder, added sushi, and finished with the complimentary spicy fish stew (maeuntang) topped up with kalguksu (knife-cut noodles) for 2,000 won. There was no table setting fee, the side dishes were generous, and a receipt event earned a free bottle of soju. Eosa Chulto Hongdae Branch is a wallet-friendly spot in Hongdae for sashimi and a few rounds of soju.
Sinjuokmi Gildong Direct Branch (신주옥미 길동직영점) is a 24-hour sundaeguk (Korean blood sausage soup) and hot pot restaurant near Gildong Station Exit 1 in Gangdong, Seoul. A regular who usually orders sundaeguk had the pork gopchang (pork intestine) hot pot for ₩35,000 with a bottle of soju for ₩5,000 this time, and found the broth spicy and the gopchang free of any gamey smell, an ideal match for soju. With self-serve side dishes and free rice, the meal was so filling that the ramyeon noodles served with the Sinjuokmi hot pot never made it into the pot.
Ondogye Bangi is a charcoal chicken BBQ restaurant in Bangi Food Alley, Jamsil, Seoul. The writer, who had been to the Cheonho branch a few times, visited Ondogye Bangi on a rainy day for 2 portions of spicy marinated chicken (17,000 won each), veggie skewers and rice balls, paired with bokbunja makgeolli, Baengnyeon makgeolli and Terra draft beer, while staff grilled everything from start to finish. Juicy marinated chicken and a subtle charcoal aroma make Ondogye Bangi worth a return visit.
Izakaya Goko Seolleung is a shoe-off izakaya (Japanese pub) with private booths and rooms on the 2nd floor on Seolleung-ro 86-gil in Gangnam, Seoul. The writer paired a 6-skewer yakitori set (23,000 won) and Nagasaki nabe (29,000 won) with Suntory Premium Malt and Hanmac draft beer, and a companion added a single chicken neck skewer. If you love brothy bar snacks, the seafood-packed Nagasaki nabe at Izakaya Goko Seolleung is worth ordering.
Mihyang Mungtigi Dongdaegu Station branch is a mungtigi (fresh raw beef) and chadol sashimi (thin-sliced raw beef brisket) restaurant on Dongbu-ro 32-gil in Dong-gu, Daegu. A diner who often ate mungtigi in Seoul took a window seat on a rainy day and ordered the small mungtigi-and-chadol half-and-half set (45,000 won) and beef ramen (7,000 won), and was won over by the sticky-fresh mungtigi, generous side dishes and beef radish soup. The verdict: mungtigi eaten locally in Daegu is clearly different from Seoul's.
Jjuksami (쭉삼이) Cheonho Main Branch is a jjukkumi (baby octopus) restaurant in the baby octopus alley by Cheonho Station in Gangdong, Seoul. At lunch, the writer ordered 2 servings of basic baby octopus (₩14,000 per serving) with a ₩2,000 cheese pan. They enjoyed the free nurungji-tang (scorched rice soup), corn cheese and steamed egg, the staff stir-frying at the table, and the moderately spicy sauce. Verdict: with the cheese pan added, Jjuksami is a Cheonho baby octopus spot worth returning to whenever the craving hits.
Oneuldo Gajami (오늘도가자미) is an ocean-view raw fish restaurant right in front of Yeongildae Beach in Pohang, with outdoor tables out front. Instead of Pohang's famous mulhoe (cold raw fish soup), the writer ordered flounder sashimi for 50,000 won and a bottle of Saero soju, ate the 2 grilled flounder that come with the basic spread, and finished with spicy flounder stew (maeuntang). Verdict: the writer's first-ever flounder sashimi at Oneuldo Gajami was chewy, nutty and not fishy at all, better than expected.
Jjuksami (쭉삼이) is a baby octopus restaurant in Cheonho Baby Octopus Alley in Gangdong, Seoul, open since 2006. On a weekday evening, a regular and a friend ordered 2 servings of jjusam (spicy stir-fried baby octopus with pork belly, ₩16,000 per serving) with soju and beer, picked the free spaghetti noodles for the first time instead of the usual glass noodles, and finished with flying fish roe fried rice (₩3,500). With free steamed egg, nurungji soup and corn cheese, plus generous jjusam cooked by staff at the table, Jjuksami remains a regular's go-to.
Chowon Restaurant Jongno 3-ga Branch is an outdoor Korean BBQ restaurant beside the Tapgol Park stone wall path in Jongno 3-ga, Seoul, serving 1++ hanwoo striploin and pork belly. After about a 20-minute wait through the Tabling app, two servings of naengsam (frozen pork belly) and one bottle of Saero soju came to ₩41,000 in total, and the outdoor tables facing the stone wall path were the highlight. Chowon Restaurant is a great pick for frozen pork belly and soju outdoors in Jongno 3-ga on a nice-weather day.
Ondogye is a charcoal-grilled chicken galbi (marinated grilled chicken) restaurant near Cheonho Station in Gangdong, Seoul, run as a separate main branch and annex. Having eaten at the Ondogye annex before, the writer returned to the old-school main branch for garlic salt and spicy chicken galbi (16,000 won each), salt-grilled chicken neck (16,000 won) and grilled vegetables (6,000 won), and was happy with the staff grilling everything to the end plus free chicken gizzards and doenjang (soybean paste) stew. Choose the Ondogye main branch for atmosphere and the Ondogye annex if you need roomy seating.
88 Nogari Bangi Branch is a beer bar in the Bangi-dong food alley in Songpa, Seoul, spread from the 2nd floor up to a 4th-floor rooftop. On a weekday evening, for a second round, the writer sat on the 2nd floor with a Guinness stout (8,000 won) and a San Miguel (7,000 won), plus the 88 Ice Cream (8,000 won) a friend picked as a bar snack. 88 Nogari Bangi Branch is a good second-round bar in Bangi-dong for enjoying the beer itself and talking for hours without heavy food.
