Busan izakaya with a ₩19,000 six-skewer set and Napolitan: Samajama

I was searching for a good izakaya near Yeonsan Station when I discovered this skewer gem. It's a Yeonsan-dong spot serving up a wide variety of freshly handmade skewers and dishes, all done well. This is Samajama Yeonsan Direct Branch, a handmade skewer specialist in Yeonsan-dong known for its proper charcoal aroma.

Samajama Yeonsan Direct Branch: hours, parking and the basics

• Address: 부산광역시 연제구 고분로13번길 20 1층 (20 Gobun-ro 13beon-gil, Yeonje-gu, Busan, South Korea)
• Hours: Daily 17:00-02:00 (last order 01:00)
• No parking support: use Yeonil Traditional Public Parking Lot or Hanchang Tower Parking (₩500 per 10 min)
• Corkage available (fee)
• Group bookings possible
• Reservations available (Naver Place)

How far is Samajama from Yeonsan Station? Outside and inside

Samajama Yeonsan Direct Branch is about 247m from Exit 10 of Yeonsan Station. It sits right in the middle of the Yeonsan Station food alley, so it's easy to get to, and if you're driving, you can use the Yeonil Traditional Market public parking lot.

There's a happy hour event: visit on a weekday between 17:00 and 18:30 and get one free skewer of the day per table. On top of that, there's a summer-only event where ordering 3 Kirin Ichiban draft beers gets you 1 free.

Step inside and a cozy, atmospheric space opens up. The tables have high backrests, so you can enjoy a more private experience.

In front of the open kitchen there's bar seating, which looked great for solo drinking or dining — and indeed I saw several solo customers there. Even at the bar seats, the kitchen is separated by transparent glass, which makes solo drinking even more comfortable.

I was curious what 'Samajama' meant, and the answer was right there on a store poster. It means 'various kinds' or 'all sorts,' referring to the many different types of handmade skewers on offer.

There were several posters around the store, and one I found interesting was a recommended-pairing poster. It was impressive how it guided combinations of dishes or matched them to the character of different drinks.

What's on the menu at Samajama Yeonsan Direct Branch

Fitting for a place known as a top skewer bar in Yeonsan, there are also signature sets that combine skewers with cooked dishes. There are set menus for sampling a variety of skewer types, plus sets that come with salad, sujiodengtang (beef tendon and fishcake soup), or suji nabe — pick based on your taste.

Of course, since this is a true skewer specialist, every skewer can also be ordered à la carte. There are skewers made with chicken, pork, and beef, as well as ginkgo nuts, garlic, mushroom, shrimp, and sweet potato — a wide range.

Beyond skewers, there are also soupy dishes like nabe and oden soup, great with soju. The handmade dishes include cream cheese tofu baguette, pork belly cheese omelette, okonomiyaki, and stir-fried noodles, and for meals there's the pork belly rice bowl and Napolitan.

At this Yeonsan bar and go-to spot for drinking snacks, leaving a Naver receipt review gets you free honey ice cream — worth noting. You always crave something sweet once you've had a bit to drink, and the owner clearly gets it.

Honest review: the six-skewer set, Napolitan and pork belly rice bowl

Once you order through the tablet menu at your table, a basic spread arrives — pickled radish, boiled beans, and handmade sauces for the yakitori.

We ordered the signature Samajama 6-piece skewer set along with two meal dishes, Napolitan and the pork belly rice bowl. Honestly, I didn't expect much from a bar's food menu, but the dishes that came out looked amazing.

What comes in the Samajama 6-piece skewer set (₩19,000)

One of the signature dishes at this top skewer spot in Yeonsan is the Samajama 6-piece. It comes with 4 popular skewers, 1 special skewer, and tsukune, priced at ₩19,000.

The chicken thigh and scallion skewer came with lemon slices. It costs ₩3,200, and the clean, mild flavor of the chicken thigh made it a good first bite.

Grilled over binchotan, it carries a gentle charcoal aroma. The subtle sweetness of the grilled scallion was also nice.

One of my favorite bar snacks — the chicken skin skewer, sprinkled with chopped chives. It's ₩2,800, and the crispy texture of the chicken skin pairs well with the sweet-salty sauce brushed on top.

Thin slices of pork belly wrapped around king oyster mushroom make up this skewer. At ₩3,300, the rich pork belly and the clean, chewy mushroom turned out to be a surprisingly good match.

It's delicious plain, but dipping it in the red spicy sauce adds a nice kick. That red sauce is spicier than it looks, so those sensitive to spice should be careful.

The special skewer was chicken breast cartilage. Personally, it was the most satisfying skewer of the whole meal.

The cartilage was softer to chew than expected, while still keeping that distinctive crunchy texture. Unlike at other izakayas, there was quite a bit of meat attached around the cartilage, so you get to enjoy both chicken meat and crunchy cartilage together.

The tsukune (minced chicken meatball skewer) comes with an egg yolk sauce and costs ₩5,000.

The sauce is soy-based and slightly sweet — mix in the rich egg yolk and dip away. You could taste the charcoal aroma, and the chicken meatball itself was moist and tender.

Napolitan at Samajama (₩12,000)

I ordered the Napolitan mainly because the photos looked so good. Napolitan is a Japanese-style spaghetti dish made by stir-frying ketchup-based noodles with onion, bell pepper, and sausage, priced at ₩12,000.

The udon noodles were cooked just right, giving a springy texture, and the special tomato sauce — spicy and tangy-sweet at once — was so savory I kept going back for more. The crunchy bell pepper and onion pieces throughout, plus the sausage, made it a satisfying dish.

Pork belly rice bowl at Samajama (₩8,000)

Since we'd had an early dinner, I was hungry and ordered the pork belly rice bowl for something more filling. At ₩8,000, the bowl comes piled high with pork belly.

It's loaded with pork belly, bean sprouts, onion, bell pepper, chives, and other vegetables, which went great with the rice. The soy-based tare sauce gives it a salty-sweet flavor that should please just about anyone.

The portion and quality were great for the price — not just plenty of rice but plenty of pork belly too, so it's a hearty meal. It's especially good eaten together with the crunchy pickled radish.

I'd just been to the dermatologist, so unfortunately I went with a zero-sugar cola instead of a drink today. With the weather this hot, the cold cola served with a cup of ice really hit the spot.

Is Samajama Yeonsan Direct Branch worth a visit?

Samajama Yeonsan Direct Branch is a top Yeonsan bar spot where you can enjoy freshly made, same-day skewers alongside tasty handmade dishes. Honestly, there are so many izakayas these days that they can all start to feel the same, but Samajama Yeonsan felt different — and the atmosphere was good enough that it seems like a solid choice for a date spot in Yeonsan-dong or for drinking solo.

The skewers are grilled by a skewer craftsman with 10 years of experience using Laotian binchotan charcoal, and you could really taste that gentle smoky aroma; the meal dishes, Napolitan and the pork belly rice bowl, were satisfying too. With simple skewer snacks alongside nabe and full meal options, Samajama Yeonsan Direct Branch could be a great choice whether you're looking for a first or second stop for drinks in Yeonsan-dong.