Hongdae dumpling bar with bonito-topped okonomi gyoza: MANDOO BAR

What kind of place is MANDOO BAR, the dumpling bar on Hongdae's Red Road?

MANDOO BAR is a fusion topping-gyoza specialty dumpling bar on the 2nd floor of 55-2 Eoulmadang-ro, on Hongdae's Red Road. Back in the day, the Red Road was the main strip in Hongdae. Before Yeonnam-dong existed, this was the place packed with even more crowds (though it's still hot now too).

There used to be so much street food and buskers here. Hearing that there's a hip MANDOO BAR on the Red Road these days, I figured I'd stop by since I was in Hongdae anyway. We have a dumpling fiend at home, you see (my son). So I tend to bring home famous dumplings as takeout. I recently tried a famous dumpling place in Gunja, and I was curious how this one would compare.

MANDOO BAR location, hours and parking

• 🏠 55-2 Eoulmadang-ro, 2nd floor, Mapo-gu, Seoul
• 🕰️ 14:00–23:00 (last order 23:00)
• Closed every Monday
• 🚘 No parking · use public parking lots

It's about a 10-minute walk from Hongik University Station, and Sangsu Station is a bit closer. I arrived really curious what kind of place a

I arrived really curious what kind of place a dumpling bar could be.

You can spot the cute dumpling bar sign on the 2nd floor. Have you ever seen a dumpling bar like this? The world's first K-gyoza — MANDOO BAR's own fusion topping gyoza that you can't find anywhere else!

How does takeout ordering work at MANDOO BAR?

At MANDOO BAR, you enter through the 1st-floor entrance, place a QR order, and pick up on the 2nd floor — takeout is available.

Just looking at the photos makes my mouth water. Taking it out and walking Hongdae's Red Road with it in hand — it's becoming a proper K-street-food experience.

The cute dumpling bar character on the way up

Seating and atmosphere inside MANDOO BAR

The 2nd-floor space has about 4–5 tables spaced out comfortably, plus window seats, giving it a cozy, really nice vibe. It felt even better inside than it looked from outside — that hip kind of cozy✨

The counter was also neatly organized, which somehow made me trust the place even more.

A little booklet📙 sitting with the menu. The owner apparently holds certifications in Korean, Japanese, Western cuisine, and baking — someone who's really serious about food. Someone like that is bound to be good at whatever they make!! I had a feeling it would be delicious. The menu 👀

Ordering okonomi gyoza and 2 steamed dumplings

This time at MANDOO BAR, I picked the okonomi gyoza and 2 steamed dumplings. You really need to see the photos to take in all the dumpling bar's unique menu items at a glance. Honestly, I wanted to try every single one. The steamed dumplings were a must-buy though... after a lot of deliberation, I went with the okonomi gyoza and 2 steamed dumplings. This dumpling fiend loves the basics.

I wanted to walk around eating the carefully packed dumplings right there, but we were already full, so we'll eat them at home instead!

They included pickled radish and soy sauce along with instructions on how to enjoy it best. Not plain pickled radish, but one seasoned in sauce — even the smallest detail shows care.

How the okonomi gyoza and steamed dumplings tasted at home

Wow — I was surprised when I opened it up. The dumpling bar's king dumplings are even bigger in person, and the okonomi gyoza looked so appetizing with all that bonito flake piled on top.

Let's start with the basic one. The wrapper was thin and soft, and the filling was packed with vegetables and meat, so one bite filled my mouth with flavor 💃. When wrappers are thick I usually peel them off, but with MANDOO BAR's dumplings the wrapper was so tender and thin I ate the whole thing.

What stood out most was how it tasted like homemade dumplings, not artificial, with no seasoned/MSG-like taste — sooo good👍. There was a nice crunchy bite too, and it turns out that's from dried radish, which added a fun texture.

The okonomi gyoza is a regular-sized gyoza with a perfectly matched okonomi sauce, and there was still a bit of crispiness left, which made me think it would've been even better eaten fresh at the store! It's a different vibe from okonomiyaki, and I never expected it to pair with dumplings this well.

Which MANDOO BAR dumplings to try next

As the world's first fusion topping gyoza spot, you can really feel that everything is made in-house with passion put into every recipe at this dumpling bar! Next time I want to go eat the taco dumplings and Mandoo Bar gyoza in the store itself. The owner was so kind and the place so clean that I hope it does even better than it already is (which is pretty well already).