Guro izakaya skewers by the piece plus altang: Robatayaki Sodam

Guro has no shortage of bars, but that night we wanted something with skewers and soup rather than a straight-up meat place, so we went looking for a Guro izakaya.

Where is Robatayaki Sodam Guro Digital Complex Branch, and what are its hours?

Robatayaki Sodam is an easy walk from Guro Digital Complex Station.

It's on the gagalgeori side, which makes it convenient for dinner plans, and there are plenty of second-round spots nearby too — a solid location for drinking in Guro.

It's on the 2nd floor of the building, so just find the entrance and head up.

The sign is visible from a distance, so we didn't have much trouble finding it.

Hours run from 5:00 PM to 1:30 AM.

Good for dinner after work, and relaxed enough timing for a late second round too.

Bar counter and window seats: what the room feels like

Walking in, the izakaya atmosphere was unmistakable.

Rather than a loud beer-hall feel, it's the kind of place good for ordering skewers or warm dishes and chatting over drinks.

There are regular tables as well as tachi-style counter seats, so it works whether you're coming as two or in a larger group.

If you're looking for a group meeting spot among Guro Digital Complex Station bars, booking ahead might be worth it.

In particular, there was a whole display of fish laid out in front of the tachi seats, which really gave Robatayaki Sodam its own distinct atmosphere.

It felt much more like an actual izakaya than a typical Korean bar, so there was fun in just looking around.

The breeze was nice that day and the weather was great, and with the windows wide open it almost felt like outdoor drinking.

On a nice day, sitting by the window for a drink would set a great mood.

Ordering skewers one piece at a time at Robatayaki Sodam

We browsed the menu slowly.

There's a wide variety of skewers, plus soups, grilled dishes, and fried items, so it's easy to pick based on whatever you're craving that day.

What we ordered was chicken skin skewer, chicken heart skewer, ginkgo nut skewer, mushroom skewer, and altang (spicy pollock roe soup).

You can order skewers one at a time, choosing only what you want, so even on a day when a full mixed skewer platter feels like too much, you can order just what you're in the mood for.

There's also a fairly wide drinks selection, so pick based on your taste.

A fried egg came out as a basic side dish.

Things like this are always a nice surprise even when they're not a special menu item.

Eating it right while it was hot, it was tasty even as the most basic of flavors.

Chicken skin skewer

The chicken skin skewer came out too.

The outside was grilled to a golden brown with a nice savory flavor, and the chewy-yet-crispy texture worked really well as a drinking snack.

There's the usual richness that comes with chicken skin, but since it's a skewer the portion isn't much, so it was easy to eat without feeling heavy.

Personally, I think it's best to order a little of several types of skewers like this and alternate between them.

Mushroom skewer and chicken heart skewer

The mushroom skewer and chicken heart skewer arrived next.

Chicken heart, with its distinct chewy texture, is one of my favorite chicken skewer options among chicken skewers, and being bite-sized made it easy to eat as a drinking snack.

The mushroom skewer had that familiar springy texture we know, plus added aroma from grilling, so it was a solidly tasty pick.

Chicken skin skewer and chicken heart skewer are both chicken, but the textures are completely different, so ordering them together doesn't feel repetitive at all.

Mixing in the mushroom skewer in between made each different flavor stand out even more.

Ginkgo nut skewer

Next up was the ginkgo nut skewer.

Ginkgo nuts are the kind of thing I keep picking up whenever they're grilled or skewered, and they paired well with the robatayaki style here too.

The golden-grilled ginkgo nuts have that clean, savory flavor, making them a nice one-at-a-time bite between the richer skewers.

Dip generously in salt!

The ginkgo nuts were even tastier with a light dip in salt.

With skewers coming out one at a time to enjoy slowly with a drink, this place would suit anyone looking for a Guro izakaya.

Adding altang, a spicy pollock roe soup, to the skewers

Skewers alone felt like they needed some soup, so we also ordered altang (spicy pollock roe soup).

When drinking in the evening, having one hot soup on the table really does make you want to keep the night going.

The altang came to the table still bubbling away, perfect for spooning up between bites of skewers.

Compared to just ordering skewers, the whole spread felt a lot more substantial.

It had plenty of roe and a nicely spicy broth, which worked really well as a drinking snack.

The combo of a bite of chicken skin skewer followed by a spoonful of altang broth in particular was great.

How should two people order at Robatayaki Sodam?

If you're looking for dinner in Guro and prefer a spot where you order several dishes and linger chatting over them, rather than a quick meal-and-go place, this suits that well.

Picking a few different skewers like we did and adding one altang made for a solid setup for two people drinking together.

Robatayaki Sodam has such a wide range of skewers that next time I'd want to try the ones we didn't get to this time.

I also liked being able to order only the skewers I actually like, one at a time.

If you're looking for a Guro izakaya and want grilled skewers along with a warm soup side dish, Robatayaki Sodam is worth considering.

It's not far from Guro Digital Complex Station, and with a wide range of choices from skewers to altang, it worked well for a dinner plan or a casual drink after work.

The chicken skin skewer, chicken heart skewer, ginkgo nut skewer and mushroom skewer we ordered this time all had different textures and flavors, so it was fun picking through them one by one, and adding the spicy altang rounded out the whole combination nicely.