An honest review of Korean rooftop bar My Patio

Mint green flooring, colourful metal chairs and draping fairy lights. 

Korean rooftop bar My Patio looks like something straight out of the hit Netflix series, Itaewon Class. Located just five minutes from Tanjong Pagar MRT station, the bar was easy to get to. With a bright yellow door, it was hard not to miss it. 

I was visiting it to find out if it was worth the hype it had generated. 

Upon entering, I was amazed by the number of lights and greenery filling the rooftop. 

However, the bar wasn’t as spacious as in the pictures. Nonetheless, it proved to be homely and very aesthetically pleasing, perfect for those who plan on snapping some Insta-worthy shots!

There were tables for six pax and four pax. The smaller tables had much more height so you can enjoy the view of the skyline as well as the evening breeze.

After settling down, my friend and I had a look at the menu which, I have to admit, caught me by surprise. Considering that it’s by the popular fried chicken restaurant Kko Kko Na Ra, I had expected a bit of variety with the dishes. However, the food menu was quite limited, with less than 10 items.

As for the drinks, apart from the beer from the tap, everything else was self-service. Simply head to the fridges stacked with beverages of all shapes and sizes. The drinks range from Korean rice wine (Makgeolli) to Soju and beers with interesting flavours. 

Each drink also had its own unique packaging with cool graphics like skeletons, bears and flowers.

I took a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale ($15) and it tasted pretty similar to Somersby’s Apple Cider with a slightly sweet aftertaste. I also tried my friend’s Thatcher’s Rose ($17) which was significantly sweeter and fizzier.

As we waited for our main course, the staff offered us complimentary side dishes like radish and Kimchi.

About 15 minutes later, our Tteokbokki came in steaming hot.

Before I delve into evaluating the taste, let’s talk about the portion size.

While the pan was slightly bigger than your average bowl, due to its lack of depth, it was barely enough for the two of us. The only reason why there was “enough” to go around was because the Tteokbokki was so spicy I had to down two large cups of iced water just to stay sane.

Then again, my spice tolerance is on the weaker side. For reference, I can only eat mild spicy or xiao la when ordering Mala Xiang Guo. My friend on the other hand had no troubles gobbling down the rice cakes and ramen so I guess this was just a me problem.

If you’re like me, I suggest you order their Jjajang Rice Cakes instead. Given that it’s black bean sauce, it’ll be a much safer choice.

The owner of the bar had actually kindly checked in on us to ask if the spiciness was tolerable as he noticed that I had ordered water on top of my ale.

Taste wise, setting aside my suffering with the spiciness, it was delicious and both the noodles and rice cakes were soft and chewy. They even had a generous serving of fish cake slices and mushrooms which did add a lot more flavour to the sauce.

Considering that the bar is run by Koreans, you can rest assured that the dishes are the real deal – I mean, the spiciness of the Tteokbokki is already a solid testament to the authenticity of the food.

After barely conquering the first dish, our Cheesy Corn Dogs came. If you aren’t keeping up with the craze, these Korean corn dogs are basically mozzarella sticks coated in thick crispy batter before being finished off with a perfect drizzle of ketchup and sweet chilli sauce.

The best part would probably be the stretchy cheese pull. I had so much fun eating the corn dog I completely forgot about my suffering from minutes earlier.

While the food was absolutely tasty, I found them to be overpriced. 

Not only did I burn my mouth that day, I also burned a hole in my wallet. The total bill was $91.81, including GST and service charge.

If I were to make a second visit, I’d surely have dinner at Kko Kko Na Ra beforehand which is directly below the bar. (The two are connected by a flight of stairs.)

If you plan on doing the same, do make a reservation for My Patio in advance. I noticed many customers from Kko Kko Na Ra walking in to ask for seats but they had to be turned away due to the lack of tables available.  

Setting aside the pricing, My Patio is undoubtedly a great place to chill and catch up with friends. The bar doesn’t have any dining in time limits so you can take your time to soak in the ambience. My friend and I stayed there from 7pm to 11pm just savouring our drinks and chatting.

This place is also a must-go for those who are big on drinking. Their wide selection of drinks is truly a haven for drinkers. 

Lastly, My Patio does serve as a great escape for those who miss Korea.

To make reservations, you can click here.