Korean bars and pubs in Auckland: a first-timer's guide

Korean nightlife is built around sharing: a table of friends, a few bottles of soju, cold beer, and a spread of snacks (anju) that keeps coming. This is a plain-language guide to the kinds of Korean bars you’ll meet, what to drink, and how the night flows, plus how to find a Korean-friendly spot in Auckland.

The kinds of Korean bar

• Pojangmacha (pocha): the name once meant Korea’s covered street-food carts, and now describes a casual, buzzy bar serving soju and beer with hearty shared snacks. The word is so iconic that some Auckland venues use it in their name.
• Soju bar: the focus is the drinking and the anju; expect a lively, often late-night room.
• Hof (호프): a Korean beer pub (the word comes from the German Hofbräu), leaning towards draught beer and fried snacks.
• A restaurant that turns bar: many Korean restaurants become de-facto bars in the evening, with soju and beer alongside the food. You don’t need a dedicated bar to get the experience.

What to drink

• Soju: a clean, lightly sweet spirit, usually shared from the bottle into small glasses. The everyday choice.
• Maekju (beer): light lagers are the default pairing.
• Somaek: soju and beer mixed together; a table favourite.
• Makgeolli: a cloudy, lightly sparkling rice brew, a little sweet and sour; great with savoury pancakes.

The anju: snacks make the night

You order anju (drinking snacks) to share, since drinking without food isn’t really the custom. Common orders:

• Korean fried chicken: the classic partner to beer, a pairing so beloved it has its own word, chimaek. See our Korean fried chicken guide.
• Tteokbokki: chewy rice cakes in a sweet-spicy sauce.
• Jeon: savoury pan-fried pancakes (seafood, kimchi, or spring onion), a natural match for makgeolli.
• Golbaengi / anju platters: spicy sea-snail salads and mixed plates built for a group.

How a Korean bar night works

• Sharing is the default. Dishes and bottles sit in the middle; you help yourself.
• Pour for others, not yourself. It’s polite to fill a companion’s glass, and to hold the bottle (or receive your glass) with two hands for someone senior.
• Rounds move around (차수). A night often shifts venues: dinner is 1-cha (first round), the bar is 2-cha, and so on.

Where to look in Auckland

Auckland’s Korean dining-and-drinking scene is concentrated in the CBD, along Dominion Road, and on the North Shore, with more spread through East Auckland.

Three dedicated Korean bar-and-anju venues in our directory, all in the city centre:

• Pocha CBD (포차 시티점) — 50 Kitchener Street, Auckland CBD. The name is literally short for pojangmacha. Long-running, and the closest thing here to the tent-bar template: Korean fried chicken, tteokbokki and army stew alongside soju and beer.
• Dong De Moon (동대문 불꽃닭발) — 42D High Street, Auckland CBD. Late-night anju bar named for its signature spicy chicken feet (불꽃닭발), serving Korean staples with soju in a lively, neon-lit room.
• Ah Ssak — 472 Queen Street, Auckland CBD. Late-night BBQ and anju: tabletop gas grills, Korean fried chicken and shared hotpots to go with the soju.

Plenty of Korean restaurants pour soju and beer in the evening without being bars as such — browse the directory below if none of the three suits. For current roundups, local guides like Heart of the City and This Is Auckland keep up-to-date lists.

Opening hours, whether a place takes bookings, and how late it runs change often, so check each venue’s own page before you go.

Browse our directory: find Korean-friendly restaurants (many of which serve soju and beer in the evening) across Auckland. Run a Korean bar we’ve missed? Submit a listing. It’s free.

Drink responsibly

The legal drinking age in New Zealand is 18, and venues can ask for ID. Pace yourself, keep water on the table, and plan a safe way home. For general information and support, see alcohol.org.nz.

---

한국어: 한국식 술집은 함께 나누어 마시는 문화가 중심입니다. 소주·맥주·막걸리와 소맥을 즐기고, 반드시 안주(치킨·떡볶이·전·골뱅이 등)를 곁들입니다. 포차(포장마차)·소주바·호프 등 종류가 다양하고, 많은 한식당이 저녁에는 술집을 겸합니다. 잔은 서로 채워 주며, 윗사람에게는 두 손으로 따르고 받는 것이 예의입니다. 오클랜드 시티 센터의 한국식 술집·안주 전문점으로는 포차 시티점(키치너 스트리트), 동대문 불꽃닭발(하이 스트리트), Ah Ssak(퀸 스트리트) 세 곳이 있습니다. 그 밖에도 저녁에 술을 파는 한식당이 많으니 우리 디렉토리의 한식당과 오클랜드 페이지에서 찾아보세요. 뉴질랜드 음주 가능 연령은 만 18세이며, 신분증 확인을 요청받을 수 있습니다. 안전하게 즐기세요.