Dachi seat counter, 4 draft beers on Course B: Yakitori Sogi, Gyeongju

When you travel to Gyeongju, you spend the day hunting down Korean restaurants and famous local spots, but come evening you just want somewhere with good atmosphere for a drink, right? This time I found Yakitori Sogi in Hwangridan-gil and I loved it so, so much 🥹🤍

To cut to the chase: I had Course B and drank 4 glasses of draft beer lol. I didn't plan to drink that much, but the owner was grilling skewers right in front of us one at a time, and it was the kind of taste you just can't not order beer with. Next time I visit Gyeongju I'm planning to go with an empty stomach and try Course A.

Where is Yakitori Sogi located?

It's a Gyeongju restaurant tucked inside Hwangridan-gil, which makes it a good spot for dinner or for a meal plus a drink.

An izakaya with great atmosphere in Hwangridan-gil

From the outside alone, Yakitori Sogi already had a completely different vibe from a typical Gyeongju Korean restaurant.

Step inside and you find a calm space in wood tones with soft lighting.

But what I loved most was the dachi counter seating facing the open kitchen.

You can watch the owner grill each skewer over charcoal right in front of you, one by one, so it felt less like just going to a bar and more like enjoying a small yakitori omakase.

It wasn't too loud or rowdy either, so it was nice for a date or for chatting slowly with a friend over drinks.

If you're looking for a Gyeongju izakaya, this is a place I'd especially recommend to anyone who wants atmosphere along with their drinks.

The staff even thoughtfully set out bag hooks for us .. 🤍

What's in the Course B short at ₩19,000

What we ordered was Course B short, ₩19,000 per person.

The lineup was sous-vide chicken breast salad, cheese tofu, 4 types of yakitori, tsukune, and tomato marinade. Just looking at the price, it's pretty affordable for a course, but since everything comes out one by one in order, it felt like a proper course meal more than I expected.

They even gave us a clever fork made for pulling skewers off 🍴

I liked that everything wasn't set out all at once — you get to taste each dish in sequence, matched to your eating pace.

What I liked best: the owner's timing

And the part of Yakitori Sogi that stuck with me the most — the owner is genuinely so kind.

Rather than just grilling skewers and handing them out in order, he kept watching our eating pace and carefully grilled the next skewer right as we were finishing the last one.

First came the sous-vide chicken breast salad and cheese tofu, both light and easy to start with. It wasn't just meat, meat, meat the whole way through — there were dishes to pair along the way, so the course never felt boring. So, so good!!!

Because of that, nothing piled up, and every dish came out warm and freshly grilled, so we could eat slowly. Watching the food get grilled over charcoal right in front of us made even the waiting feel like part of the course.

Having shichimi, sansho pepper, and salt on hand so we could season to our own taste was a nice touch too.

You could tell he was paying close attention to every single skewer, not just explaining how to eat — it made us feel genuinely taken care of the whole meal 🤍

A lineup that was good even before the yakitori arrived

And having the refreshing tomato marinade to nibble on between yakitori was perfect while waiting for the next skewer. It's a short course, but it felt pretty packed.

4 types of yakitori, grilled fresh one at a time

And then, the yakitori I'd been waiting for 🤍 That day, 4 types of skewers came out one after another in order.

Since the owner kept checking the doneness right in front of us as he cooked, we could eat each one warm the moment it arrived. I used to think yakitori was simply chicken skewered and grilled, but tasting different cuts one by one like this, it was fun to notice how different the texture was even though it was all chicken.

So after each skewer I found myself thinking "what's coming next?" lol, it was fun waiting to find out.

Once the tsukune arrives, you can't resist the beer

And then, tsukune! Minced chicken skewered and grilled into little meatballs.

It's the kind of dish that would feel like a real letdown if it were missing from a yakitori course.

We'd already been drinking draft beer steadily through a few skewers, but once the tsukune arrived, I just had to order one more lol. The result... 4 glasses of draft beer total.

I guess this is what people mean when they say if the food is good, the drinks just go down easy too.

If you're looking for a good restaurant-slash-bar on Hwangridan-gil, this feels like a place you really need to pair with a beer or highball, not just eat at, to enjoy it properly.

Even the complimentary chicken gomtang 🤍

And there was one more dish we didn't expect that day. The owner brought out chicken gomtang (chicken soup) as a complimentary service!! After skewer after skewer, having a spoonful of warm soup felt amazing. If we'd finished with just yakitori and drinks it might have felt a little lacking, but having warm chicken gomtang too suddenly made it feel like a complete meal!

※ The complimentary chicken gomtang was what I received at the time of my visit, so whether it's offered may vary when you go :)

The finishing grilled rice was perfect too

And this part I really loved. At the very end, we had grilled rice too. After the course skewers, draft beer, and warm chicken gomtang, finishing with grilled rice made it feel less like a quick round of skewers at a bar and more like a proper dinner.

We were full and satisfied, and the flow of flavors was great throughout. At first I thought Course B might be a bit light, but eating slowly through each dish, the satisfaction was bigger than expected.

But next time, I'm getting Course A lol

Course B was clearly delicious and filling... but walking out, the thought that stuck with me was "next time I need to get A" lol.

Course A full is ₩33,000 per person, so next time I'm planning to go easy on lunch before heading to Gyeongju and arrive with an empty stomach. That's how satisfying the skewers in Course B were. Trying it made me naturally want to try even more cuts.

Recommended if you're looking for a bar in Hwangridan-gil

Traditional Korean food is great while traveling in Gyeongju, but if you want to switch things up in the evening with yakitori and a cold draft beer, I'd recommend Yakitori Sogi.

There's real enjoyment in receiving yakitori grilled carefully right in front of you, one at a time, in a calm wood-toned space — and above all, the owner was so kind that it kept the mood great the whole meal. I especially remember how he matched our eating pace and grilled every single skewer with such care.

We thoroughly enjoyed Course B with 4 glasses of draft beer, and finished it all off deliciously with chicken gomtang and grilled rice 🤍

Next time, I'm really going hungry and getting Course A lol. If you're looking for a great yakitori spot in Gyeongju, a Gyeongju izakaya, or a restaurant-bar on Hwangridan-gil, this one is worth saving 🫢