Hongdae chicken restaurant, garlic chicken and cheese balls: Goobne

Today I want to share a review of a really satisfying evening I spent in the heart of Hongdae after a while. I think everyone has days when they crave a good round of chimaek (chicken and beer), and I personally love pairing delicious chicken with a cold drink after work or on weekends.

This time I went to Goobne Chicken, which is already super famous and familiar as a delivery brand~~ But instead of a regular neighborhood branch, I visited Goobne Chicken Hongdae Red Road, which boasts a special interior and atmosphere.

Where is Goobne Chicken Hongdae Red Road, and what are the two floors like?

Goobne Chicken Hongdae Red Road sits right in the middle of Red Road, Hongdae's main street, so it was incredibly easy to find and get to. It uses the entire building from the 1st to the 2nd floor, so as soon as I walked in, the open, spacious feel was really appealing.

When people think of Goobne Chicken, they usually picture opening a box at home, but tasting chicken fresh out of the oven right in the store is a completely different experience. I headed over with a bit of excitement, and I found the place easily without any trouble.

Blending with Hongdae's distinctively young, lively energy, the interior was beyond expectation, clean and well-kept.

Second-floor seating and the self-bar at Goobne Chicken Hongdae Red Road

The 2nd floor at Goobne Chicken Hongdae Red Road is spacious enough for group gatherings, with generous spacing between tables, making it a great layout for chatting comfortably with friends or coworkers over chimaek without worrying about the table next to you.

What especially stood out was the neatly set-up self-bar on one side of the store. When eating chicken, you often end up calling the staff repeatedly for crunchy chicken radish, salt, or extra plates, but here you could use the self-bar as much as you wanted without feeling awkward about it. The area around the self-bar was kept spotless too, gleaming without a trace of grease, which gave me a lot of confidence in the hygiene.

Namhae Garlic Basasak, 23,900 won: the Namhae County collaboration

While reading through the menu at my seat, the item that caught my eye was Namhae Garlic Basasak. Namhae Garlic Basasak costs 23,900 won.

Apparently, this isn't just a new menu item but part of a regional co-prosperity project between Goobne Chicken and Namhae County. Seeing that it was roasted with plenty of local Namhae garlic, it sounded great both in taste and purpose, so I decided to order it without hesitation.

Since chicken alone felt a bit lacking, I also added the classic side dish, cheese balls (6,000 won).

The drinks menu, cocktails included

While looking around the store after ordering, I noticed the drinks menu was quite unique too. Along with the usual draft beer, bottled beer, and soju you'd find at any chicken restaurant, the menu also included a variety of cocktails to help set the mood.

From people who can't drink much or prefer light, sweet drinks, to those who want a cold beer, having cocktails alongside everything else so everyone could pick drinks to their own taste felt like a real point of differentiation and charm unique to the Red Road location.

How does the freshly roasted Namhae Garlic Basasak taste?

Before long, the steaming hot Namhae Garlic Basasak chicken and golden-brown cheese balls were set on the table. After seeing only chicken delivered in a paper box, seeing it served generously on a large store plate made my mouth water just from the visuals.

The moment the chicken arrived, the sharp yet savory and rich aroma of garlic hit my nose — it was truly something else. Without hesitation, I picked up a big piece and took a bite, and the crisp, lively crunch that rang out the moment I bit in made me let out an involuntary gasp. Because it's oven-roasted chicken, the outside was greaseless and light yet the crispiness of the skin was still there, while the inside kept all its juicy tenderness.

Dry cuts like breast meat usually get a bit hard to swallow when eaten as delivery, but since this chicken was freshly roasted in-store, even the breast meat went down soft and moist. The base seasoning wasn't overdone and was applied evenly and appropriately throughout, so the seasoning was just right even without dipping into salt.

And the flavor of the Namhae garlic piled generously on the chicken had none of garlic's usual sharp bite — only the sweetness and nuttiness that comes out when garlic is roasted remained, so I never got tired of it or felt it was too greasy, even down to the last piece.

Sweet and salty: garlic chicken with the cheese balls

The cheese balls that came alongside were beyond expectation too.

Splitting open a freshly fried cheese ball still warm to the touch revealed sweet cheese packed inside, and the mild pungency of the Namhae Garlic Basasak paired with the sweet, nutty taste of the cheese ball to create a truly perfect sweet-and-salty combination.

Is Goobne Chicken Hongdae Red Road worth a visit?

In conclusion, Goobne Chicken Hongdae Red Road made me realize once again that chicken really tastes best when eaten fresh out of the store.

• A spacious, comfortable 1st and 2nd floor setup
• A self-bar with unlimited chicken radish, salt, and plates
• A varied drinks menu that even includes cocktails
• Namhae Garlic Basasak, crispy outside and juicy inside

I'd recommend this as a spot near Hongdae for a get-together with friends or a date course. If you're looking for a place to enjoy delicious chicken with a happy drink in hand, I highly recommend stopping by Goobne Chicken Hongdae Red Road.