Bangi-dong bar for honey butter squid and handmade tangsuyuk: Wareureu

Hi, this is Geonppangdal! After cooking at home diligently all week, I wanted a change of pace, so I went looking for a place in Bangi-dong to have dinner and a light drink, and ended up at Wareureu Mansion Bangi Branch.

These days, even when I go to a bar, I'd rather find a place with proper, delicious food to go with the drinks than just drink. Unlike a typical bar, the menu here has a lot of variety, and the dishes looked like real food rather than something thrown together haphazardly, which made me even more curious.

• Wareureu Mansion Bangi Branch
• Location) 11-8 Ogeum-ro 11-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, 2nd floor
• Hours) Sun–Thu 14:00–04:00
• Fri–Sat 14:00–05:00

Seats and atmosphere at Wareureu Mansion Bangi Branch, right at the food alley entrance

Wareureu Mansion Bangi Branch is on the 2nd floor at the entrance of the Bangi-dong food alley, close to Jamsil Station. When you're wondering where to go for round two in Bangi-dong, or want a place that works for both a meal and drinks, the location is great.

There's a large screen and TVs set up too, so it seems like a good spot to visit on days with a baseball or soccer game. If I were looking for a Bangi-dong second-round bar to watch a game with a cold draft beer, this is where I'd come.

The tables felt spaced out enough that I didn't feel too close to the next table over, and it wasn't awkward to have a conversation. A pleasantly lively Bangi-dong bar. I liked the music selection too — the volume was fine, and it wasn't loud or stuffy, which I appreciated.

Wareureu Mansion menu and prices, plus 100-won beer before 7pm

There's quite a wide variety of dishes, and it was fun just reading the menu. It wasn't just names listed — there were photos and brief explanations of the ingredients and how each dish was made, which really helped with choosing.

Above all, each dish had its own distinct Wareureu Mansion character. Rather than the usual bar-food classics served straight, many of the dishes were familiar menu items reinterpreted in a new way, and there was a lot I was curious to try. Things like buldak omelet, buldak-sauce ramyeon with yukhoe (raw beef), gabri suyuk with kalbi-bibim noodles, East Sea choco squid stew, and spicy aron sataek beef shank hotpot — a lineup that rivaled a proper restaurant. There's also a happy hour event with ₩100 beer for anyone arriving before 7pm.

• Kimchi pizza tangsuyuk ₩18,500
• Wareureu Banjeom cream jjamppong ₩19,900
• Honey butter semi-dried squid ₩9,900
• Draft beer 300cc ₩1,900

One fun detail was a corner labeled 'Kind Staff,' with the staff's faces wittily photoshopped in — a bit of humor that felt uniquely Wareureu Mansion.

Is the viral Wareureu Banjeom cream jjamppong worth 19,900 won?

The cream jjamppong (creamy spicy seafood noodle soup) at Wareureu Mansion Bangi Branch is apparently a popular dish these days, but this was my first time trying it… a bit behind the times, haha. I wondered if 'cream jjamppong' would be too heavy, or how thick and creamy it would be, but since it's reinterpreted with a special recipe, it had more personality than I expected.

It's loaded with scallops, napa cabbage, bacon, and shrimp, so you get the flavor of seafood, vegetables, and bacon all together. And the noodles were interesting — not regular instant ramen noodles, and not thick udon noodles either. Closer to jjamppong noodles, but the thickness was just right.

I let the scallops cook for about 3 more minutes, then shelled them all and ate them together with the soup — it all came together well. On top of jjamppong's signature savory depth, the creaminess added something extra, and it seems like it would suit people who can't handle spicy food too, without being heavy at all. If anything, it's a great drinking snack.

Kimchi pizza tangsuyuk with handmade sweet-and-sour pork, 18,500 won

The kimchi pizza tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork) at Wareureu Mansion Bangi Branch is made with handmade tangsuyuk — Korean pork loin battered and fried in-house. I'd been going on about wanting kimjipitang (kimchi pizza tangsuyuk) for a while now, so I couldn't believe they had it here. I was personally really looking forward to it. I'd had it once before in Chungcheong-do, so this was my second time. Kimchi pizza tangsuyuk varies a lot in quality from place to place, so I was a little hesitant before trying it.

The menu description said they don't use pre-made products or cheap cuts of meat, but fry the tangsuyuk fresh in-house, and reading that gave me confidence to order it. It's Korean pork loin battered and fried, topped with a mix of cheese, kimchi, mushrooms, and bacon. A familiar dish, but reinterpreted in quite a fresh way!

And it wasn't overpoweringly seasoned — more of a deliciously bold flavor. Parmesan cheese is served alongside it, but personally I liked it better plain. The size of the tangsuyuk was just right and the portion was generous. The arugula added a nice fresh touch in the middle too — good stuff. I wanted to mix it with rice. It'd probably be great with kimchi and rice balls too.

Honey butter semi-dried squid, moist and sweet, 9,900 won

If you come to Wareureu Mansion Bangi Branch for a second-round Bangi-dong drink, this is probably the dish you'll order!! The honey butter semi-dried squid is ₩9,900.

I'd seen a lot of reviews saying the squid was moist, and I was curious. I cut it into bite-sized pieces and took a bite — and wow. There was zero toughness, and it was surprisingly moist. The chewy texture squid is known for was still there, but a lingering sweetness came through in the first bite, and I kept reaching for more.

Usually at a bar the drinks come first and the food is just a side, but Wareureu Mansion Bangi Branch had such a wide variety of dishes and such good food quality that it made me want to come back for a meal rather than just drinks — a Bangi-dong bar I'd love to revisit.