SOUTHSIDE PARLOR
There’s a new sheriff in the gentrified Itaewon neighborhood, and it goes by the name of Southside Parlor. Previously a long-running pop-up event dubbed “Southern Sons,” the establishment served up Dixie-tinged cocktails throughout the city. Friends Johnny Yu, Robert Nguyen, and Phillip Abowd opened shop in late June and made waves in the regional press, but the spot is still relatively off-the-radar for most Seoul denizens. The bar is a floor below a rooftop, also part of the venue itself, from which you can experience pristine Seoul sunset-watching. Southside Parlor deals out mason-jar cocktails like the Seoul Sour and the Bruce Lee, as well as tangy pulled-pork sliders. The inside is filled with cushy leather couches and a gigantic metal bar whose sheer size is unrivaled in the city. The wood interior gives it a rustic atmosphere in a nod to Texas, where the bar’s owners hail from. They’ve recently begun to offer cocktails on tap, beginning with their vodka-based Blueberry Mule, and in a rebuttal to standard bottle service found at clubs, punch-bowl cocktails serve four to six people. After a booze-filled, gluttonous meal, the elevator is recommended over the stairs for the descent four floors down.
Yongsan-gu, Itaewon-dong 527, 4th Floor; Southside Parlor; starting from US$20
