George Bang Bang

George Bang Bang is the kind of place you end up at when dinner in Koreatown runs late and somebody says, “Wanna see something cool?” You enter through a disguised wall at the back of the unassuming (and excellent in its own right) Okdongsik. Then everything changes.

The place is shadowy, moody, stylized—it’s all very intentional. There’s a long, low bar, red-lit shelving, lots of dark wood, and oil lamps. You’ll want to take a photo, but somehow the place is so cool that pulling out your phone feels gauche. It’s not a shouting bar; it’s too composed for that. The bartenders take their work seriously and the product shows. 

The menu is movie-titled and ingredient-forward, with a sweet-and-botanical streak: mezcal and Korean pear shrub in the Old Boy; gin brightened with pineapple, beet, cucumber, and lemon in Emma’s Wife; fig-infused mezcal with pandan and Campari in Juliet of the Spirits. There are many Japanese bottles of whiskey if you’re into that. And if you want food, there are snacks: honey butter chips, tater tots, shumai, skewers, and pan con tomate.

As an after-dinner destination to unwind, it’s perfect: plush, attentive, and specific about what it’s serving, right down to the last aromatic garnish.