Jushindang (Zoosindang) Sindang

Sindang-dong takes its name from the shrines that once stood here, and Jushindang turns that history into a speakeasy. From the street it looks like an old tiled shrine; the way in is a door you open by nudging a small cat figure at the entrance. Inside, low light, hanging plants and ambient music set a dreamy temple mood, with a long bar on the ground floor and attic-style seating upstairs. The menu is built around the twelve zodiac animals: each signature cocktail is named for one sign and lists its strength, sweetness and acidity, so most people simply order their own birth-year animal. There are classic cocktails, whisky and traditional Korean liquors by the glass or bottle too, and the food leans Korean, from potato pancakes and tteokbokki to a lamb rack with scorched rice. Snacks arrive in a mother-of-pearl box, and the cat-shaped cake is a favourite for photos. It is the original branch of a small chain that now also runs in other Seoul neighbourhoods.