Kim Silryeok Pocha 김실력포차

This pocha-style bar on an Itaewon side street covers everything from chicken plates to soupy drinking snacks. Cheese dakgalbi comes with flower-shaped steamed buns to stuff with the spicy chicken and melted cheese, and boneless dakdoritang is braised chicken in a fiery sauce you spoon up without picking out bones. The crisp cheese potato pancake pairs naturally with beer. Among the soups, the smoky jjamppong broth is the hottest, Nagasaki jjamppong is gentler, and the beef-brisket doenjang soup leans savory. House strawberry makgeolli and plum or Earl Grey highballs round out the drinks, and reservations are taken Monday to Thursday and Sunday.