Ranked 72 on Asia’s Best Bars 2023, Pine & Co is a speakeasy bar in Apgujeong-dong that’s worth stopping by when in Korea.
The entrance took us a while to find, but when we did, it took a bit of courage to head down to the basement because… it did look a bit suspicious. However, after fumbling a bit, we figured out the mechanics to enter the bar! Not going to spoil the experience, so do try heading down yourself to find out!
Like most bars, the interior is dark with minimal lighting. However, we did spot a bit of pineapple-focused interior, which we thought might be related to their name, Pine & Co. Turns out, their name has a two-fold meaning, with Pine representing Pine tree, which is a tree commonly found in Korea and one of the Ten Symbols of Longevity in Asia, alongside pineapple which is supposed to represent bartenders. It symbolizes the inner sweet, genuine hospitality towards customers despite its rough surface.
Speakeasy Bar in Gangnam
The menu here at Pine & Co is quite comprehensive, with each drink labeled with its tasting notes ranging from sweet, salty, woody, smokey, and umami to more ingredient-focused ones like sweet potato and ginger. Make sure to scan the QR code on their menu to have a go at their game menu, which was in line with the arcade games we saw at the entrance.
They also serve food here such as Ramen (20,000won), Sake Marinade Chicken Leg Skewers (25,000won), and even a Pork Cheek Steak (30,000won). There’s even a Makgeolli Bingsu (23,000won) made using Boksoondoga makgeolli served with red bean chips and black pepper.
A few items on this menu caught our eye, but we decided to start with the Kimchi Cocktail (25,000won) which was one of them.
Made with a Tequila base, the Kimchi cocktail is inspired by white kimchi and the combination of pairing kimchi with sweet potato. This is why you’ll find the kimchi cocktail topped with a sweet potato foam, which honestly, tasted like a roasted sweet potato.
The drink reminded us of the briny white kimchi, with slight punches of sour now and then, but was then balanced out by the sweet potato foam. Honestly, this was one of the most “Korean” cocktails we’ve had.
Following that high, we decided to go for the Ant Love Corn (25,000won) which is also a tequila-based cocktail. There’s a nice subtle sweetness of corn from the cocktail but the most interesting part of this cocktail was the serving of edible ants. We’ve never tried ants before but they turned out to be sour! The sourness helped to balance out the sweetness of the cocktail, which made this an enjoyable experience.
There were more cocktails that we wanted to try, with drinks made using their house-infused shiso gin and pine needle gin.
Cocktail Bar in Seoul
From drinks to friendly bartenders, Pine & Co is worth a visit even if it’s slightly out of the way. For more things to do in Korea, check out our other articles here.
@middleclass.sg Kimchi cocktail served with sweet potato foam….🤤😩👍🏻 who knew?! Also tried ants on a cocktail btw #seoul #barhopping #korea #travelkorea ♬ We Cut the Night – AaRON
Pine & Co (파인앤코)
B1, 33 Seolleung-ro 157-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
서울 강남구 선릉로157길 33 B1
Mon-Sun, 7pm-2am
Nearest Subway: Apgujeong-rodeo Station (Suin-Bundang Line), Exit 5
Naver Maps
*This was an independent review by MiddleClass
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