Hana Makgeolli Brewery & Tasting Room

A very hard to find location more like hidden in alley. The place was too small not even 15 people could fit in there. Pajeon was just a regular taste, can't say it was great you should go all the way there to taste them like. The most importantly their Makgeolli was just regular taste. Not that great not too bad.

Came on Sunday for the sunny banchan pop up; quite disappointing.

Kimbap rice quite hard, and the pickle used inside kimbap, is actually a substitute compared to the pic posted on instagram, as server explained there was a change of banchan. And I don’t quite taste any sweetness nor freshness of the scallop as the pickles completely overpowered the seafood.

6 plates of 1/4 cup banchan each, no refill with one bowl of rice, refillable, for $30, we don’t order.

Delicious food and drink, with friendly service. The flight was fun : )

Bartender Alexa was super friendly and did an amazing job explaining the drinks well even though it was a busy night. She also gave us wonderful recommendations for places in the neighborhood. Thank you so much Alexa!

We had the chance to visit this spot for lunch and were blown away by the savoriness of the dishes we shared. We ordered for our group and went with the Pa Jeon, Dubu Kimchi, and the Bossam dishes. Overall tasty, savory, and mouth watering in all the best ways. My favorite dish was the bossam which included some of the best pork belly I've ever had the pleasure of tasting. Service was good too! It's a small spot but they had servers waiting on us very frequently. I'd come here with friends for a guaranteed great meal!

Had a really nice experience here! Super unique and some great small bites.

Nice place to grab a drink and bar snacks!

Beautiful space, amazing food, very creative and elegant. Great Makgeolli including their regularly available Takju, Hwaju and Yakju, as well as some rare, special releases that I don't think are ever sold at retail shops. A true hidden NY gem that's off the beaten path and well worth the trip!

This was a nice date spot. It was in a quiet and low key area. I didn't try any of the food but it all looked very appetizing and other guests who ordered kept ordering more. The plates looked simple and were expensive for humble food staples such as tofu and kimchi. I wanted more along the lines of drinking snacks and this place fell short in that department with only seasoned peanuts and vegan kimchi. Koreans are proud of their culture and are known for their drinking snacks. Maybe my expectations of experiencing a bit of South Korean hospitality in my backyard were too high. I understand they are trying to run a business.

The makgeolli was exactly what it should have been. In my opinion it is just overpriced. The cocktails were a revelation, the Pinapple Sour drink changed my perspective on what a mixed drink should be like. However, pricing them like they have top shelf liquor when it's rice wine just wasn't appropriate for me. The tastings are more expensive than any other winery, brewery, and cidery that I have been to. That's what really turned me off to the whole experience.

Makgeolli is an ancient drink that is good for the body and the soul and if you know nothing about it, the workers there are very educated on the subject matter. This was a fun and interesting experience but not worth for the price and travel to make it a regular place to visit. I recommend anyone to visit and definitely try it at least once.

I… don’t understand how this place has such a high rating. I was really looking forward to visiting, but came away quite disappointed overall. We had the pajeon and the pork belly, and the food was good but overpriced. The Makgeolli on the other hand, ugh, terrible and overpriced. This is NOT how Makgeolli should taste. It tastes like someone thought to make Kombucha for Koreaboos. I guess it fulfills a niche… but why is it all so sour? It’s missing all of the sweetness and savoriness of good, actual Makgeolli. Honestly, get the ones from H-mart instead for better flavor and 1/5th the cost.

We had the Makgeolli flight which consisted of a Takju, Hwaju, and Yakju. We went in the order as recommended, and basically, what I got from the tasting is that more fermentation means more acidity. That’s it. By the end, the Yakju just tasted like rice vinegar diluted with watered down alcohol. That is disgusting and misses the point of a good Makgeolli.

Look, a good Makgeolli is like good sake: it should have balance and complexity, and be easy to drink. It should have sweetness because rice is sweet. It should be complexity because fermentation from yeast brings forth complexity, and can give off so many flavors such as mushrooms, nuts, florality, and fruitiness. There should be minerality giving the drink weight or fluidity. What we get here, instead, is just straight acidity with some unstrained yeast and rice leftovers to make it seem authentic. There’s very little flavor, and really, it feels more like a knock off kombucha from rice instead of actual Makgeolli. It’s a sad representation of a delicious drink, and it makes me sad if people come here and think it represents real Korean Makgeolli.

Oh, also should note that walk-ins will only have standing table availability.

I can be a bit of a food snob with high expectations and tough scrutiny. This place, however, checked every box. Great service, excellent dishes and drinks, and an overall lovely atmosphere. Would come back any time.

Great space to gather with friends and have delicious drinks and anju. The menu was limited but the dishes were excellent and quite fulfilling. They exceeded my expectations! We ordered pajeon (scallion/chive pancake), kimchi arancini (must order), and steamed tofu with an extra side of kimchi which I highly recommend. A friend ordered the banana milk cocktail which was nice and strong and I ordered the health is wealth mocktail which has all my fave ingredients—well-balanced and unique flavors. Service was friendly and the space is bright and inviting. Will definitely return to try makgeolli flights and other dishes!

As a Korean, I respect Makgeolli and its style. However, the drink I tried should not be called Makgeolli. I was really disappointed with the taste and style, as well as the price. Additionally, the food was not good. As a lover of Korean food, I found everything disappointing. I feel like I lost my time and money.I am so sorry to have to write this, unfortunately.

Great space to gather with friends and have delicious drinks and anju. The menu was limited but the dishes were excellent and quite fulfilling. They exceeded my expectations! We ordered pajeon (scallion/chive pancake), kimchi arancini (must order), and steamed tofu with an extra side of kimchi which I highly recommend. A friend ordered the banana milk cocktail which was nice and strong and I ordered the health is wealth mocktail which has all my fave ingredients—well-balanced and unique flavors. Service was friendly and the space is bright and inviting. Will definitely return to try makgeolli flights and other dishes!

You see, I thought this was a nice establishment and part of me thinks it may be… unfortunately when asked if their soju had almonds in it (because the bottle said something about almonds and my boyfriend has a nut allergy) the waitress said “probably not… I’m not sure but probably not.” There was a long pause before I said “can you check to make sure”… I guess she wasn’t aware that the word probably means that there is a possibility he could die…. I would say double check if you have allergies.