Jongak Station Korean bar: black garlic fried chicken at Ari Gyegok

Ari Gyegok Jonggak: location, hours and parking

• Parking - not available, use the Jongak Station public street parking lot
• Hours 16:30 - 02:00 (daily), until 03:00 on Fri & Sat, closed 9/25 for Chuseok
• Naver Reservation available (rooms for 10-14 people)
• Just 2 minutes from Jongak Station!

A Jongno date night at this bar near Jongak Station

We're always out drinking on weekends as a couple ⭐️ this weekend we went on a Jongno outing! I visited a bar near Jongak Station that's close to Cheonggyecheon and easy to reach from Jongak Station subway~!! Ari Gyegok, the bar I visited near Jongak Station, uses the whole building up to the 2nd floor, and it's in such an accessible spot that finding it was no trouble at all!

Inside Ari Gyegok Jonggak: traditional but hip

Ari Gyegok near Jongak Station has a 1st and 2nd floor, and as soon as I walked in, I really loved the traditionally decorated interior haha. Traditional but somehow hip, you know?! The air inside was also really pleasant, which I liked a lot..! haha

2nd floor seating and the rooms for 10–14 people

We went up to the 2nd floor of Ari Gyegok near Jongak Station! There were seats on the 1st floor too, but we were told there were more seats on the 2nd floor, so up we went!! The 2nd floor was also decorated in that traditional Korean bar style, and there were plenty of seats by the windows too!

We were seated in this corner spot 🤍 — not a room, but a spot we could enjoy just the two of us, so we were happy with it! Oh! Ari Gyegok near Jongak Station also has room tables that fit 10 to 14 people, so it would be great for a Jongno group gathering or company dinner! If you're looking for a Jongno gathering or company dinner venue, ask them about it!!

Restrooms indoors, separate for men and women

Ari Gyegok near Jongak Station has its restrooms inside too!! The men's restroom is on the 2nd floor, and the women's is on the 1st floor~!! I really like that the restrooms are inside, and even more that they're separated by gender 👍🏻

Korean traditional liquor lineup and drink prices

As a Korean bar should, Ari Gyegok near Jongak Station has a diverse lineup of traditional liquors! Of course they have the basic soju and beer too, so don't worry haha. For makgeolli there was Jipyeong makgeolli and Boksoondoga, among others!! We usually always drink soju-and-beer or just soju, but this time we debated between Jipyeong and Boksoondoga and ended up picking Jipyeong haha.

• Boksoondoga ₩25,000
• Jipyeong makgeolli ₩5,000
• Soju, beer ₩6,000
• Mildam ₩9,000
• Dowon Gyeolui ₩15,000
• Hwayo ₩25,000

The food menu and how to order at your table

Next up is the food menu haha. The menu was really, really diverse. Among it all, duck and chicken dishes seemed to be the mains! Looking around, a lot of people were eating duck! But since I'm not that into duck, I ordered what I like — tartare bibim noodles and grilled black garlic chicken✔️ The menu is placed on the table, but you order through the QR code attached to each table!!

• Spicy tartare bibim noodles ₩18,900
• Cheese buldak hot pot ₩23,900
• Original chicken hot pot ₩22,900
• Mud duck pancake ₩19,900
• Black garlic fried chicken ₩13,900

Jipyeong makgeolli and Kelly beer

The drinks arrived first at Ari Gyegok near Jongak Station — our Jipyeong makgeolli and Kelly beer made their appearance! The Jipyeong makgeolli was really delicious as expected haha. I'm not usually into makgeolli, but for some reason that day it just kept going down smoothly! lol So after finishing the Kelly, I switched straight to makgeolli haha.

Black garlic fried chicken, 13,900 won: crisp outside, thigh-meat tender

Spicy tartare bibim noodles ₩18,900, black garlic fried chicken ₩13,900. Our order arrived at Ari Gyegok near Jongak Station -!!! The visuals alone were great!? Especially the black garlic fried chicken — the moment it arrived, a rich soy sauce aroma mixed with the savory smell of fried chicken hit me and stirred up my appetite haha.

I tried the black garlic fried chicken first, which had really stirred up my sense of smell!!! Just as the aroma suggested, it was fried chicken simmered in a soy sauce glaze, and since it was freshly fried it was totally crispy on the outside — but the inside was completely tender and juicy,,,!!! If you're looking for a beer snack at Ari Gyegok near Jongak Station, the black garlic fried chicken is hands down the recommendation!

A big reason I loved the black garlic fried chicken at Ari Gyegok near Jongak Station is that it seemed to be made of thigh meat rather than dry breast meat — it was so tender and soft haha. Personally I don't like the breast part when eating fried chicken, so maybe that's why the tender cut felt even tastier haha. It was in a soy sauce, and the seasoning wasn't salty at all — it was just right!

Spicy beef tartare bibim noodles, 18,900 won: pasta-like noodles, quite spicy

This is the spicy tartare bibim noodles I picked at Ari Gyegok near Jongak Station. It's basically raw beef tartare bibim noodles (a cold spicy noodle dish mixed with seasoned raw beef), but oddly the noodles felt more like pasta noodles!? And the sauce had this mysterious mix of gochujang (red chili paste) and buldak sauce flavors!

The portion of spicy tartare bibim noodles at Ari Gyegok near Jongak Station was more generous than I expected! Since it's a cold dish, it'd hit even better in summer haha. Oh, and as the name suggests, it's spicier than I expected! lol If you're weak to spice, be careful!!! It's not super spicy, but it's pretty spicy...!!!

Date spot or Jongno group dinner: which suits Ari Gyegok Jonggak better?

A weekend Jongno date! And Ari Gyegok, the bar near Jongak Station we visited for a drink!! It's a bar near Jongak Station with a traditional interior plus a spoonful of hip. The side dishes and drink lineup are both varied, so I'd recommend it for a Jongno gathering or Jongno company dinner, and since the interior is so pleasant, I'd also recommend it for a date haha!!