Bangia
“We ordered the budae jjigae (military stew) and an endless amount of soju which made it tough next morning, but it was all worth it.”
“We got the mussle soup, a few seafood pancakes, wings and ton of the lychee soju.”
“I liked their Seafood Tteokbokki (Rice Cake) which was enough for 4 people!!”
Bangia
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Has Pool Table: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Love this korean bar, not only for the drinks, but because of the amazing food. There's a reason why people keep coming back, it's a very fun atmosphere with room for good conversations amidst classic korean bar food like fried chicken and spicy rice cakes. It's my go-to place in k-town if I want to start off the night on a good note.
But be warned – the wait on Friday and Saturday nights are insane. Expect to wait about an hour for a table… This place is surrounded with people by 7pm who are hungry for alcohol and food. Usually people come in groups too so they take up large seatings, making no room for others.
My favorites are the fried chicken, seafood pancake and cheesy spicy rice cakes. It's a huge portion that's enough to share with 5 people if you're ordering that much food. I tend to stay here for a good two hours just enjoying my time, drinking and eating with company and the waiters don't mind because that's usually what people do. For the most part, they leave you alone because they know customers get pretty tipsy and don't need much watching over so wave them down if you're trying to get their attention!
My SO and I were passing through ktown last Saturday night and knew most places were going to be packed – an obvious fact that I've learned the hard way over the years. I've been to almost all of the bars/lounges in ktown with the exception of Bangia and Krush, so I had to try it out.
We were first greeted by a bouncer who was quite friendly – first sign that an establishment takes great precautions, above and beyond, to make sure no minors are allowed entry, OR, something's happened in the past that necessitated this added on expense.
Once you go down the flight of stairs, you'll find a small bar area. Although we already had dinner and weren't hungry, we didn't want to sit there. So off we go to be seated at a table. We sat in a two seater – the middle of 4 such tables. I felt pretty claustrophobic. I could hear everyone's conversation, even over the loud Korean hip hop jams streaming through. The popcorn machine was off to my left, which was an eye sore – it's bright. Turn the damn light down!
We ordered a couple bottles of soju, and a plate of calamari – we felt obligated to order any plate since we didn't sit at the bar. The calamari was not cooked well and WHO GIVES CALAMARI WITHOUT MARINARA SAUCE?? If you're not going to serve non-Korean dishes correctly, please don't serve them. It comes with tartar sauce and ketchup. We barely touched it because the squid was far too rubbery for our taste.
When I asked for the check, a person from the bar area came to explain that he had to reprint the receipt because he had left something out. I have no idea what he was referring to, so I just nodded. It's better than Pocha but that's not much a scale to tip anyway.
It was my second time going to Bangia and boy do I love their seafood dubokki. But I just had a weird night while dining with my partner. The waiter came by and picked up my coconut water (which I brought from outside) and said something like 'can I try?' My partner and I looked at each other confused. I thought the guy was going to take a sip. With the drink in his hand, I told him it's just coconut water and he said 'can I take a look at the ingredients?' He never explained (or apologized) why he did all that but as we were uncomfortably digging in on our seafood dubokki we realized that he might have thought it was alcohol. It's a shame, I've had a pleasant experience previously but this was a new one for me. For the waiter to feel like he can do something like this, I would've much rather him ask me directly.
great service, drinks, and a cool private room if you're able to reserve it. I cannot comment on the food very much, but the food we ordered was good, korean bar food fare.
Cozy dinner/drinking place in ktown! It's located right next to kanghodong baekjung and across from ichiumi. Whenever i came here on the weekends, i had to wait 30min to an hour.
We ordered large intestine (makchang) dish. It sounds nasty i know buttt it is korean dish that a lot people enjoy with soju. The texture is somewhat like nonfat part of bacon but it is very very chewy. My side cheeks were in pain from chewing. It tastes almost like bacon fat at first bite and after just like any other beef(idk if this makes sense) This dish comes out after being grilled 3 times behind the kitchen bc yaknow you are eating cow's instestine. It was my first time having it and I'm not a fan of super chew food so I dont think i'll come back for it. However, i know people really get into this and crave it, just like my friend who i came with.
We also ordered seafood cheese rice cake (haemul cheese ddukbokki). It comes out really fast and it's soo delicioussss. For some reason clams&mussels here look like they're on steroids. Rice cake were really chewy but good kind of chewy with little crispiness on the outside. Ddukbbokki sauce was spicy but sweet at the same time, very addicting. Melted cheese with all this is the best part!!
We couldn't finish all of them but the bill came out to be $52 which wasn't too bad in my opinion.
The atmosphere is SO DARK btw. Like i can't see my fingers and waiters look so confused. So taking pics of food is nearly impossible unless you want to embarrass yourself by turning flash on. Service can be a little slow when it's busy but it's like that everywhere on the weekends so understandable. I would come back to try different food and drinks!
This place is near the old Space 212 spot. It's like a underground Korean gastropub.
The ddokbookee is solid here. That was the only thing that I really tried here. The place gets crowded; it is quite popular which is a good sign. The place is dim lit and plays Korean music (YESSSS)
WHat's interesting is that you can get a bottle of soju and vinegar to mix with the soju…very odd yet yummy!
I need to come here with friends and try more of the food!
My favorite "hidden gem" Korean restaurant off of main st Ktown – always a reliable option for food and drinks for dinner/late night (although after 7pm expect a wait). Definitely go with a group because the portions are huge and great for sharing.
The menu has most of the classics and pretty much everything is good. My go-to dishes are: the fish cake soup (spicy and filled with little treasures – I'm not shy about "fishing out" my favorite cakes and daikon). The seafood pancake is one of the crispiest in town. Stir-fried spicy squid and pork belly is super flavorful and great with rice. Spicy seafood rice cake with cheese is a must (key word: CHEESE) – dig in with no regrets.
Wash down all that spicy food with a shot of chamisul fresh + a few drops of red vinegar – sounds weird but makes the soju taste like pomegranate juice!
Cheesy Chicken, Pork Belly Fried Rice on a hot plate, Budajigae, Calamari, Clam Soup and 2 bottles of Chamisul please! Food here is amaze, and the space is rather large. Service could use a bit improvement, but as long as they're bringing my drinks and food, no complaints here!