Sampung Chicken Yeoksam Branch

About

Cozy old-school fried chicken and hof pub near Yeoksam Station, known for classic whole fried chicken with minced garlic and late-night drinking.

Tucked along Eonju-ro near Centerfield intersection, Sampoong Chicken operates as an unpretentious neighborhood hof in the heart of Gangnam’s corporate grid. The room is compact and weathered, sporting a nostalgic pub atmosphere where locals cross their legs in tracksuits on banquettes, walls display signatures of visiting celebrities, and office workers spill in for casual second-round drinks. On clear nights, outdoor street tables offer open-air seating until four in the morning, making it an enduring late-night sanctuary when other kitchens have shuttered. The menu leans into retro Korean whole chicken (tongdak), served crisp and clean without excessive grease. The standout order is the garlic chicken, which arrives smothered in freshly minced garlic that bites sharply against the crunchy skin, often ordered half-and-half alongside standard fried chicken to balance the heat. The garlic treatment also carries over to the bar snacks: the fried garlic chicken gizzards (ddongjip twigim) come out crackling, chewy, and coated in crushed garlic. Beyond poultry, the kitchen keeps the tables drinking with a broad roster of classic hof drinking snacks. Cold draft pours—from standard domestic lagers to 500cc glasses of Erdinger Hefe—arrive beside complimentary bowls of puffed corn crackers and diced pickled radish. For heavier drinking bites, the tofu with stir-fried pork kimchi (dubu kimchi) delivers rich, savory heat, while late-night drinkers grazing after a heavy meal look to simpler anju. The spread includes sweet-and-savory honey butter dried squid, chewy grilled semi-dried pollock (saeng nogari), shredded pollack (meoktae), and assorted dried fillets like jwipo and beef jerky. It is a no-frills, salt-of-the-earth haunt where cold beer, garlicky fried crusts, and late hours hold off the morning.