Wangsimni Station pub: perilla hot pot and highball bottle, Ari Gyegok

I found the perfect place for a drink on these cool evenings, so I'm sharing it with you :) It's Ari Gyegok Wangsimni Hanyang University Branch (아리계곡 왕십리 한양대점), a pub near Wangsimni Station. The food is good value and the atmosphere is great, so students and office workers around here both seem to love it 😄

Ari Gyegok Wangsimni Hanyang University Branch: hours and location

It's open Sunday to Thursday from 16:30 to 02:00 and Friday and Saturday from 16:30 to 03:00, with last order one hour before closing. Corkage is available for a fee, reservations and group seating are possible, restrooms are separate for men and women, and there's no parking.

It's a 4-minute walk from the Hanyang University main gate entrance and a 5-minute walk from Wangsimni Station Exit 6.

What is the atmosphere like at Ari Gyegok in Wangsimni?

Here's the exterior. It has a distinctive look that reminds you of a traditional Korean pub, and with the lights on it looked really nice^^

Inside, a toad figure catches your eye right at the entrance, tables sit on both sides of it, and from the lit-up spot in the middle you can hear the sound of a flowing valley stream, haha

The ceiling is decked out with colorful infused-liquor jars, just perfect!^^ No wonder my eyes kept drifting upward, lol

There's also a second floor, which is bigger than the first. It was already full of customers so I couldn't take detailed photos, but the window seats looked really nice!

Ari Gyegok menu and drinks

The signature dish at Ari Gyegok is chicken hot pot (dakjeongol), in three versions: original, spicy hangover, and perilla.

There are also seasoned dishes, stir-fries, pancakes and fried dishes, plus set menus, so check the menu board!

True to a traditional pub, the drinks include makgeolli (rice wine), refined rice wine and fruit wine, distilled traditional spirits, and unusual options like the omija infused-liquor highball, raspberry-watermelon highball and yagwanmun highball. They all caught my interest.

How to order the Wongi Set for two at Ari Gyegok

• Wongi Set (for 2) - perilla chicken hot pot (+₩1,000) - bubbling cheese potato pancake (+₩8,000) - black sesame cucumber salad
• Omija infused-liquor highball (bottle)

You order through the QR code on the table, which is convenient 😄

We ordered the Wongi Set for two, switching the chicken hot pot to the perilla version and the pancake to the bubbling cheese potato pancake. A black sesame cucumber salad comes with it too :)

The perilla chicken hot pot and the omija infused-liquor highball bottle came out first! The hot pot still needed more cooking, so they set it to boil on the stove~

What does the omija infused-liquor highball bottle taste like?

The bottle serves 4 glasses. We figured we'd each drink at least two, so we ordered the bottle :) First thing, I opened it up.

The bottle, filled with highball, has ginseng and jujube inside, and pouring it into glasses yourself is half the fun, haha

They say the omija highball is made with omija (five-flavor berry) and pear. It tasted of subtle omija with ginseng aroma slowly rising up, a totally Korean kind of highball!

Bubbling cheese potato pancake and black sesame cucumber salad

Next came the bubbling cheese potato pancake! It's the swap that cost ₩8,000 extra on the Wongi Set, and I picked it because I was so curious about cheese meeting potato pancake. It really arrived all bubbly and bubbling, and I was surprised, haha

There's potato salad inside the pancake too, so with the crispy pancake you get a mix of textures, which I liked :)

They cut the crispy pancake into bite-size pieces with scissors, and the cutting was my partner's job, lol

I went straight for a piece with cheese and corn, haha. The rich cheese flavor fills your mouth and the corn pops with a sweet touch.

+ I added cheese onto the potato salad too, haha

The black sesame cucumber salad came out as well. The crunchy cucumber coated in black sesame sauce was so addictive that I kept eating it, haha

How do you eat the perilla chicken hot pot?

The perilla chicken hot pot has big pieces of chicken thigh, and the tenderloin is set up so you can enjoy it shabu-shabu style~ While we ate the cheese potato pancake, we let the hot pot boil well :)

The thigh pieces are big, so cut them with scissors. The eomnamu (prickly ash branch) simmers along with everything and you fish it out later.

As it boils, the broth deepens and the whole thing starts looking appetizing :) With the perilla hot pot especially, the generous perilla powder sinks to the bottom, and if you keep stirring you get a thick, rich broth 😋 I recommend it for perilla lovers!

And both the thigh and the tenderloin are boneless, so it's so easy to eat. It's tender, mild and tasty on its own, and also good dipped in the spicy sauce served alongside!

It was my first time having chicken cooked this way. Being a broth dish, it's filling and just right as drinking food!^^

We ate and drank happily and cleaned it all up^^

Who is Ari Gyegok Wangsimni Hanyang University Branch for?

Being near a university area, the prices are reasonable and you can try distinctive dishes, which I liked. I recommend it if you're looking for a drink in an unusual atmosphere, or a good pub near Wangsimni Station and Hanyang University!