Yeongdeungpo jokbal lunch set with free-refill soup: Gwihan Jokbal

A Yeongdeungpo Times Square favorite, Gwihan Jokbal Yeongdeungpo — chewy jokbal and spicy grilled jokbal

How close is Gwihan Jokbal Yeongdeungpo to Yeongdeungpo Station?

I was looking for a bar near Yeongdeungpo Station for a filling dinner and a drink when I ended up at Gwihan Jokbal Yeongdeungpo.

It's close to Yeongdeungpo Station, Shinsegae Times Square, and Lotte Department Store, so it's easy to stop by before or after shopping or a movie — a convenient spot to set as a meeting place near Yeongdeungpo Station.

It's tucked right behind the Daiso and Kumkang Shoes building in the Yeongdeungpo food alley, so it wasn't hard to find even on a first visit.

Inside Gwihan Jokbal: group tables and high chairs

Clean and spacious, a good fit for group gatherings

Walking into this Yeongdeungpo Station bar, the interior was spacious and pretty clean, making it comfortable to eat in. There's group seating and even baby chairs, so it also looked like a good spot for a family meal or a gathering.

Looking for a restaurant near Yeongdeungpo Station that could cover a family meal, a work dinner, or drinks with friends all in one place, this felt like a solid match.

The menu, from jokbal to bossam combo sets

Yeongdeungpo jokbal, boiled fresh every day

Gwihan Jokbal offers a wide range of Yeongdeungpo jokbal options, from plain jokbal to spicy grilled jokbal, Uiseong garlic jokbal, Sokcho codfish jokbal, and cold jokbal salad. It's not just jokbal either — bossam (boiled pork wraps), Uiseong garlic bossam, and Sokcho codfish bossam are also on the menu, so you can pick based on preference.

For a group visit, the jokbal-bossam combo set or the bossam-spicy jokbal combo, which let you try both, seemed like good choices. You get the chewy texture of jokbal alongside the soft, mild flavor of bossam, which is great when it's hard to pick just one dish.

Lunch sets from 8,000 won, 11:30 to 14:00

The side menu was varied too. Whelk, Hanwoo bone-broth kimchi stew, steamed egg, seafood soft tofu stew, soy egg rice, and buckwheat noodles — a wide range covering both meals and drinking snacks.

For lunch, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., you can get buckwheat noodles, soft tofu stew, kimchi stew, bossam set, or jokbal set for around ₩8,000–12,000, which seemed like it would draw in nearby office workers for lunch.

Side dishes and free-refill bean sprout soup

A Yeongdeungpo Station bar with free-refill bean sprout soup

The basic side dishes included fresh kimchi, radish kimchi, pickled chives, and wrap vegetables like lettuce, garlic, and peppers, good for eating the jokbal wrapped up. The bean sprout soup is free-refill, which made this Yeongdeungpo Times Square restaurant even better.

You could go simple with salted shrimp, or build a wrap with garlic and pepper depending on taste. After the spicy grilled jokbal, having warm bean sprout soup on the side cleaned up the palate nicely.

The overall spread was well put together, which made the whole-table meal feel satisfying.

What comes on the half-and-half jokbal plate?

Half-and-half jokbal, a Yeongdeungpo Times Square favorite

This time I ordered the half-and-half jokbal, which lets you try both plain jokbal and the spicy charcoal-grilled jokbal at once. It was the most satisfying choice when you want the chewy plain jokbal but don't want to give up the spicy grilled version either.

One side of the plate held glossy plain jokbal neatly arranged, while the other side had a generous portion of spicy grilled jokbal coated in a rich sauce.

The plain jokbal looked moist just from looking at it. Taking a bite, the meat was tender while the skin had a nicely chewy pull. The clean, mild flavor typical of jokbal came through first, and a subtle meaty richness built up with each chew. The skin and meat were well attached, so each bite delivered both chewiness and tenderness together.

Being boiled fresh every day seemed to matter for that texture. There was no dry, tough feel — it stayed moist, which worked well wrapped in the vegetables, and a bit of garlic and ssamjang (seasoned soybean paste) made the jokbal's mild flavor stand out even more.

How spicy and smoky is the flame-grilled jokbal?

Smoky char and real heat in the grilled jokbal

What stood out most in this half-and-half jokbal was definitely the spicy grilled version. It looked appetizing with sauce soaked in deeply, and once in the mouth, a sweet-spicy sauce flavor came through along with that distinctive char-grilled smokiness. It wasn't just heat for heat's sake — the smoky char added depth to the sauce, which kept me reaching for more.

The spicy sauce wasn't sharp from the first bite — instead, sweetness came first, with the heat rising afterward. That made switching back and forth with the mild plain jokbal a real contrast. A bite of plain jokbal soothed the palate softly and mildly, then the grilled jokbal hit with a burst of spicy sauce and smoky char, a completely different kind of enjoyment.

The grilled jokbal at this Yeongdeungpo Station restaurant came with jorangi tteok (twisted rice cake) mixed in and a generous sprinkle of garlic flakes. The chewy rice cake had soaked up the spicy sauce, so picking one out between bites of meat was fun on its own. The crunchy garlic flakes added a nutty, crisp texture on top. Tender chewy jokbal, chewy rice cake, and crunchy garlic flakes each brought a different texture to the plate, so it never got repetitive to the last bite.

Is Gwihan Jokbal Yeongdeungpo good for drinks?

Jokbal from Yeongdeungpo, good with a drink at this Yeongdeungpo Station bar

What I liked best about the half-and-half jokbal was getting to compare the appeal of plain and grilled jokbal instead of sticking to just one. It's easy to please both someone who likes mild, chewy jokbal and someone who likes spicy food when visiting together. Add a bottle of soju or beer, and it works well as an after-work meal and drinking spot.

So if you're looking for a bar near Yeongdeungpo Station where you can also get a solid meal alongside good drinking snacks, this is worth recommending — it's not just a place to drink, but somewhere you can have a hearty meal too, which is the strength of a jokbal restaurant. Being close to Yeongdeungpo Station also makes it easy to head out after the gathering, and with Times Square nearby, it's convenient to plan a whole outing around the meal.

From a solo lunch to a team dinner

Gwihan Jokbal, good for everything from lunch to a work dinner

At lunchtime you can enjoy a reasonably priced set menu, and in the evening it's a great restaurant near Yeongdeungpo Station to enjoy jokbal, bossam, and grilled jokbal in a hearty spread with a group.

If you're looking for a solo lunch spot in Yeongdeungpo, or a bar near Yeongdeungpo Station for a work dinner or gathering, I'd recommend Gwihan Jokbal, a Yeongdeungpo Times Square favorite where you can enjoy everything from the soft, chewy plain jokbal to the fiery spice of the grilled jokbal in one visit.

Hours and parking at Gwihan Jokbal Yeongdeungpo

• Hours: Sun–Thu 11:30–24:00 (last order 23:00)
• Fri–Sat 11:30–01:00 next day (last order 00:00)
• Parking: Paid parking available at 'Ashur Parking' in front of the restaurant, ₩1,500 for the first 30 minutes, then ₩1,000 per 20 minutes