Suntory draft beer with the yukhoe platter at Yuksul, an Ansan bar

The weather's been all over the place lately — some days I'm switching the AC back on, other days I'm pulling my collar up against the chill, like a rollercoaster I can't predict. But one evening after work turned out warm enough that a cold, delicious draft beer was calling my name. I talked a nearby coworker into coming with me over to Ansan.

Where is Yuksul in Gojan-dong, Ansan, and what about parking and hours?

Our destination is Yuksul, said to be a hot spot among Gojan-dong bars in Ansan. The building it's in, Deoksan Parking Tower, offers 2 hours of free parking. It's been steadily building a reputation since 2021 with the goal of becoming Ansan's number one bar.

· Sun–Thu 17:00–01:00 / last order 00:00 · Fri, Sat, day before public holidays 17:00–02:00 / last order 01:00

You can feel the young owner's passion here — he even holds a draft beer quality management certification. Six young staff members who are truly serious about food and drink work hard to develop and share their homemade dishes.

What are the first and second floors of Yuksul like?

Balvenie 12 Year DoubleWood is one of my favorite Scotches, so I was glad to see the owner shares similar taste. The lighting is just right and the tables are spaced comfortably — perfect for a relaxed drink.

The 2nd floor has just as cozy a space as the 1st, making it just as suitable for friends, family, or a date. It's also interesting that they've formed a community called "Nangmandan" (Romantics Club) to share and introduce local restaurants and bars.

I was thinking the music playing had pretty good taste, and it turns out they curate it themselves — you can even request songs. From the lucky roulette wheel I spotted right at the entrance to little touches scattered throughout, you can tell they've put thought into small moments of fun.

How do you order at Yuksul, and why the yuksul hansang platter?

The 2nd floor of Yuksul has a kiosk at every table, while the 1st floor works the old-fashioned way — you look at the menu and press a call bell. That felt like a nostalgic touch I hadn't experienced in a while. The side dish menu is enormous, but we'd already agreed well in advance to order the signature yuksul hansang, this Gojan-dong bar's specialty platter. The fact that there's even a separate guide on "how to eat the hansang deliciously" tells you it's the signature of all signatures. In fact, around 90% of guests who visit reportedly order it.

The drink menu is just as varied, spanning whisky, highballs, sake, and even traditional Korean liquors. You could lose track of time just reading through the menu.

Side dishes, sauces, and Suntory Premium Malt's draft beer

The side dishes and sauces needed to enjoy the yuksul hansang arrived: aged kimchi, gungchae (stem lettuce), omalaengi (dried seasoned squid and radish), gamtae (dried seaweed), garlic oil sauce, house-made meat sauce, and black sesame sauce. Neat and refined-looking.

Beef radish soup was included too, so even though I considered soju, I stuck with the original plan and ordered Suntory's draft beer. Their Suntory Premium Malt's draft is said to go through daily tap cleaning, dedicated glass washing, and systematic management trained by the head office — impossible not to try. It's crisp and smooth with a pleasant bitterness.

What comes on the yuksul hansang platter, and how does it taste?

Finally, the yuksul hansang arrives. It's practically a work of art visually. It's made up of fresh Korean beef tartare and sashimi, gamtae rolls and vegetable rolls, smoked cheese, minari (water dropwort) and shiitake mushrooms, and house-made poached egg sauce. Paired with the beef radish soup, it works just as well as a meal or as a drinking snack.

The freshness of the tartare and raw beef sashimi is beyond reproach.

The poached egg sauce sitting proudly in the center had me excited. The recommended order is to start with the vegetable rolls as an appetizer, then take the edge off your hunger with the gamtae gimbap rolls, and only then dig in properly. The smoked cheese is worth ordering on its own too.

There's even broth to spoon up in between bites, making it a perfectly optimized set for drinking. A little sad that my coworker, who volunteered to drive, was stuck sipping cola.

The best bite: yukhoe with poached egg sauce and minari

The vegetable rolls are light and clean-tasting, very wholesome. The gamtae gimbap is good on its own with mayonnaise, but adding tartare and omalaengi turns it into something else entirely. The sashimi pairs well with the house-made meat sauce, aged kimchi, garlic oil sauce, and shiitake mushrooms alike. My favorite was a light dip in the garlic oil sauce, topped with meat sauce, wrapped in gamtae — that was the best bite. The black sesame sauce is a perfect match for the tartare.

Personally, the combination of tartare, poached egg sauce, and minari was the best of all. The poached egg sauce turned out far more refined than I expected — genuinely surprising.

The simmered beef radish soup was comforting to sip on between bites, topping it up with broth as needed. Even after eating a good while, there was still plenty of meat left. With snacks this good, ordering more beer was inevitable.

Is one yuksul hansang platter enough for two people?

I wondered if it might come up short for two people, but between the rice, soup, and drinks, we ended up wonderfully full. Even those wary of raw beef can enjoy this craft bar-restaurant thanks to its wide variety of dishes — Yuksul comes highly recommended. Later I realized that "gisul" (skill) and "yuksul" (meat-liquor) are basically one and the same. ■