Life has been good to me. Last week I received an invitation from Wayne Gold. Wayne is an Itaewon Dinosaur and has been here from 1998. He is one of the owners of the Wolfhound bar and several other businesses. His most recent venture is Reilly’s Taphouse & Restaurant. He is one of the owners there with several others including. One of the past Seoul Eats writers Troy Zitzelburger can often be seen tending bar and brewing beers there. I was invited along with some fellow bloggers: Joe McPherson of Zenkimchi, Zara and Elle of cute in Korea and Diane from Korea Tourism.

Our host, the affable and wily Wayne Gold, corralled us with stories about the history of Itaewon and got us a very nice selections of beers. They have over 20 beers on tap including local favorites such as Magpie Porter, Geumkang Dark Ale and even some of their own: Reilly’s Peninsula Dark Ale. They have beers that I haven’t even seen in Korea before such as Belgium Ales and Tripels. This place treats beers like wines and you can sip and enjoy beers from all over the world including Korea.

The food is quite good as well. It is a mix of hipster gastropub and greasy pub fare that will whet your appetite after drinking a few brews. On their menu they even suggest beer parings for the food. It is nice to know the brew pub is focusing on their entire concept and not just making food the afterthought.

The onion rings are thick and the paprika dipping sauce was excellent. I thought the rosemary in the batter was a bit of overkill but the beer batter made the rings quite crispy. They have an assortment of mussels for those looking for a bit of sophistication. They were good- nothing mind blowing but they were good.

The tenderloin over the the potatoes and baked apples showed that the chef had some skill. This was a hearty meal big enough to share and the bourbon cream sauce matched it well. Now I have been told by several people that the star entree on the menu is the Braised Lamb Shank with sweet potato. I will have to get that next time.

The Scotch eggs here was the best dishes we tried that night. They are big and the egg is slightly yolks with crisp pork and breading on the outside. Wow. The marinara sauce under it was rich and delicious as well. The marinara sauce was so good that next time I will have to get the meatballs.

The giant burger was great as well. It is a feast and not one for sharing because the thick beef patty is topped with onion rings and veggies and held together with a huge steak knife. Once you grab on to this burger you just have to finish it.

Overall, a great hangout spot and a place to get good food. Next time you are in Itaewon, be sure to check it out.

Reilly’s Taphouse and Restaurant
Yongsan-gu Itaewon-dong 123-32
02-792-6590

Directions: down Itaewon road out exit 2 on the second floor in the building next to Homestead Coffee.