A note on the words: yakiniku is bite-sized meat grilled over charcoal at your table. Harami is beef skirt; mino is beef rumen (the first stomach), here coated in a spicy-sweet red yangnyeom sauce; gyara (also called giara) is beef abomasum (the fourth stomach), rich in fat and slow to cook through. Kalbi means beef short ribs. Namul is seasoned vegetables, here bean sprouts served as the otoshi, a cover-charge starter. The fresh kimchi salad is barely pickled napa cabbage stems with apple. The seafood scallion pancake (a Korean jeon) is the restaurant’s signature, made with a whole bunch of Korean scallions.
Allen Mok on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
To all the drinkers out there, thank you for waiting! It’s time for Hangover Meshi!
I had long been curious about “Allen Mok,” a deep local spot somewhere around Ueno-Hirokoji? Okachimachi? It is a Korean restaurant tucked away down just the kind of back alley you would expect. Dedicated exclusively to Korean cuisine for 33 years, it is especially famous for its signature seafood scallion pancake, which apparently uses an entire bunch of Korean scallions shipped fresh from Korea every week. So at a Korean restaurant like that, let’s eat yakiniku!
This time we were shown to a table on the second floor. The sun was still high, so we got in without any trouble!
The charcoal was a little slow to catch, but once it was going it was totally fine.
And for the first drink, of course…?
A Kaku highball (Suntory Kakubin whisky and soda)! Delicious!
The otoshi (cover-charge starter) is bean sprout namul. Getting this for the otoshi might just make me the happiest, ha.
Soaked in a soy-based sauce with white sesame seeds and coarse black pepper, five slices of marbled red meat. My usual, and my absolute favorite cut: harami (beef skirt)! Laid on the wire grill, it sizzles softly, the dripping fat sending up a sweet aroma. Take a bite and the fibers melt apart, the savory richness of the beef and the spicy-sweet sauce hitting all at once! Tender and delicious!
Another big favorite of mine: premium mino (beef rumen)! Plump, thick white chunks generously coated in red yangnyeom sauce. As they grill, the edges of the sauce char slightly, sending up a savory roasted aroma. Sink your teeth in and it gives a crisp snap; it looks tough, but fat oozes from within, followed by that spicy-sweet sauce. The best partner for a highball!
A heaping bowl of napa cabbage stems and apple. That deep red from the coarse chili pepper is gorgeous! I really love this raw kimchi salad. It is barely pickled at all. Pop a piece into your mouth and you get a crisp, crunchy bite; the heat of the chili flakes leads the way, followed immediately by a rush of sweet apple juice. I love that it is not very sour.
Served on paper inside a basket, browned nicely all the way to the edges—it looks delicious! This is Allen Mok’s signature dish, the seafood scallion pancake! Pick a piece up and the outside is crisp; take a bite and the inside is wonderfully chewy.
With every bite, the gentle sweetness of the scallions comes through, and it really brings out the squid and shellfish! Perhaps because of that crisp texture, it is remarkably light and easy to eat, and dipping it in the spicy-sweet sauce makes it even better. I see now—I think I can understand why this is so popular.
This cut is also called giara. It is another cut I really love! If I spot it at a yakiniku place, I might just feel tempted to order it.
Once it hits the charcoal grill, the fat drips down with a crackle and pop, curling up snugly from the edges. Bite down and the surface has a crisp crunch, followed by a rush of rich fat from deep inside. Being the fourth stomach, it is among the fattiest offal cuts, matching perfectly with the spicy-sweet sauce. It takes a while to cook through, so take your time and don’t rush. Yes, delicious!
As if suddenly remembering, we ordered some kalbi! Rich with plenty of fat, juicy and delicious.
Salted tongue at this point, ha? Well, we had forgotten to order it earlier, so we ended up ordering it at the very end, but closing the meal with salted tongue isn’t bad at all, ha. Since the flavor is light it’s probably best at the start, but when you’re eating yakiniku while having drinks, anything goes!
As a place where you can grill yakiniku over charcoal, Allen Mok was really quite good! The meat was tasty, and with Korean dishes like samgyeopsal (grilled pork belly) and gejang (marinated raw crab) on the menu, maybe we could have leaned even more toward Korean dishes. I think I’ll come back next time I’m drinking around Ueno.
Here’s to finding more delicious things today!
Allen Mok (Ueno / Okachimachi) Menu
Korean Pancakes (Jeon)
The signature is the seafood scallion pancake. It is made with an entire bunch of scallions delivered fresh from Korea every week.
Loaded with shrimp, squid, and clams. Crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside. Served with homemade spicy-sweet sauce.
Yakiniku (Beef)
Tongue, kalbi, and harami all come in three tiers: regular, premium, and special premium. There are four cuts in the 1,353 yen bracket.
Tongue, pork jowl, kalbi, loin
Premium harami, premium kalbi, premium loin, and more
Offal, gyara, omasum
Sides: sanchu lettuce 429 yen / sesame leaves (perilla) 363 yen / seasoned scallions 429 yen / sliced garlic, green chili peppers, grilling kimchi 209 yen each / garlic butter grill, cheese 539 yen each.
Yakiniku (Pork)
Pork dishes are all ordered from two servings up. Each two-serving order comes with a vegetable set of sanchu lettuce, seasoned scallions, kimchi, and garlic.
Appetizers and Salads
A lightly pickled fresh kimchi of napa cabbage, apple, and thin scallions. The perfect plate for cleansing the palate between rich bites of yakiniku.
Raw and Sashimi Dishes
A delicacy of raw blue crab marinated in a seasoned soy sauce. Can be paired with a rice and Korean seaweed set for 440 yen.
Korean Delicacy: Hongeo
Fermented skate (hongeo). Not many restaurants even in Tokyo carry a lineup like this.
Hot Pots, Stews, and Closing Dishes
Hot pot add-ins: rice porridge set 759 yen / ramen, udon 429 yen each / octopus, bulgogi 1,089 yen each. Toppings: egg 99 yen / dumplings, Korean rice cakes (tteok), cheese, Spam 429 yen each.
* From the storefront menu at the time of visit in August 2026. Prices include tax (the menu book in the restaurant displays pre-tax prices prominently). Offerings rotate with the season. Please check the official website or at the restaurant for the latest information.
Allen Mok (Korean / Ueno-okachimachi Station, Ueno-hirokoji Station, Okachimachi Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.5
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
