Jongak non-alcoholic bar with ube parfait and Cass Zero: Sudowonui

My review after visiting Sudowonui Bimil Jeojanggo (수도원의 비밀 저장고, "the monastery's secret cellar"), a Jongak bar and restaurant inspired by a European medieval monastery 🤍

Sudowonui Bimil Jeojanggo hours and corkage fees

📍 Business info

• Hours 17:00-23:00
• Last order 22:30
• * May close early if there are no customers

🍾 Corkage fees

• Per 750ml — Wine ₩20,000 / Whiskey ₩30,000 / Other liquor ₩10,000
• Per 1L — Wine ₩30,000 / Whiskey ₩40,000 / Other liquor ₩20,000

How to get there from Jongak Station, and where to park

Sudowonui Bimil Jeojanggo is near exit 4 of Jongak Station, so it's easy to reach by public transit, but there's no dedicated parking space, so if you're driving you'll need to use a nearby public or paid parking lot 🚗

Since the bar is on the basement level of the building, you just head down the stairs at the building entrance

Inside the medieval monastery interior and the private rooms

True to a Jongak bar inspired by a European medieval monastery, there's a proper medieval knight right at the entrance 😆

Inside, the interior is a stylish monastery concept that's hard to find anywhere else in Korea

It has such a distinctive, exotic feel that it seems like a great date spot near Jongak Station

On one side there's a private room that fits up to 16 people, so it also seems good for group gatherings or company dinners

For smaller groups, there's another open-entrance room on the other side that fits up to 10 people — seems like a nice option too 😚

In front of the kitchen there's a bar table set up like this, which seems great for anyone looking for a spot to drink alone in Jongak 😆

One drink per table: does non-alcoholic count?

Sudowonui Bimil Jeojanggo is an atmospheric bar and dining pub where ordering a drink is required (non-alcoholic included), but only one drink is required per table — everyone else can just order beverages, which makes it really easy to enjoy without pressure 😆

At Sudowonui Bimil Jeojanggo you can try a variety of dishes developed by a chef who previously worked at the Hilton in New Zealand

8 draft beers and 5 craft beers on the list

Since modern beer traces its origins to European monasteries, this place has a surprisingly wide beer selection too 😏

They pour 8 kinds of draft beer, which is hard to find even at dedicated beer bars in Korea, plus 5 craft beers

Besides beer, they also sell wine, soju, vin chaud, and non-alcoholic beer, so there's plenty to choose from depending on your taste 🍺

If you write a Naver receipt review, you can spin a roulette wheel for a free menu item, so don't forget to take part ✨

What we ordered and what it cost

• Arugula jambon pizza ₩25,900
• Ube parfait ₩9,800
• Cheese cake ₩7,800
• Non-alcoholic Cass Zero Lemon ₩6,000
• Total: ₩49,500

Monastery-garden arugula jambon pizza, 25,900 won

The first thing we tried was one of Sudowonui Bimil Jeojanggo's signature dishes, the arugula jambon pizza (₩25,900)

As the name suggests, it's a pizza loaded with arugula and jambon (dry-cured ham)

The salty, tender jambon combined with arugula's signature bitter aroma made for a really well-balanced flavor 🤤

A combination that's tasty even on its own, but baked in a wood-fired oven so the edges came out subtly crispy and the inside was chewy — that made it even better

Silent cheese cake, 7,800 won

Ordered as a dessert-slash-snack, this was the silent cheese cake (₩7,800)

With strawberry jam added to the cheesecake, it's a sweet-and-salty-plus-sweet-and-salty combo that's just too good..

And on top of that, there's the currently trendy ube powder?!

With soft cheesecake and that sweet-and-salty combo, if you usually like sweet desserts there's no way you won't like this 🍰

Ube Parfait at Dawn, 9,800 won

Wanting to try one more currently trendy ube dessert, we ordered the ube parfait of dawn (₩9,800)

The ube parfait of dawn is a parfait with pudding-like, plump and soft ube layered with Oreo, cream, and strawberry jam

Overall it has a soft, sweet feel, almost like a cake you eat with a spoon

In a single spoonful you get the nuttiness of ube, the rich flavor of Oreo, the freshness of strawberry, and the softness of cream all at once — personally this hit my exact taste 🥰

Non-alcoholic Cass Zero Lemon, 6,000 won

To go with the tasty food, today's drink of choice was non-alcoholic Cass Zero Lemon (₩6,000)

Beers I usually drink lean strongly toward a barley-and-carbonation flavor, but with the non-alcoholic Cass Zero Lemon, the lemon's freshness comes through more than the barley, so it feels more like drinking a beer-based highball. Since Sudowonui Bimil Jeojanggo doesn't have a separate highball menu, I'd recommend this one if you're craving something highball-style 🍻

Is Sudowonui Bimil Jeojanggo worth it for non-drinkers?

Sudowonui Bimil Jeojanggo, a Jongak bar and restaurant with a European medieval monastery feel, sells a variety of beers you can't easily find elsewhere — especially recommended if you're a beer lover