Sashimi restaurant near Yaksu Station, Seoul: raw shrimp, Ido Hoetjip

I've been dreaming about raw shrimp for ages, and I finally got to eat it! At Ido Hoetjip, a well-known raw fish restaurant near Yaksu Station. This place is famous for its insanely good value course menus — ₩55,000 for two people — and I was going to order the course, but I decided to save that for next time and just go for the raw shrimp instead, since it's shrimp season right now!

Where is Ido Hoetjip near Yaksu Station, and what are its hours?

Ido Hoetjip is located at 11 Dongho-ro 12-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, one minute on foot from Exit 1 of Yaksu Station. It's open 11:30–23:00, with a break time from 15:00 to 16:00.

Ido Hoetjip, a raw fish restaurant near Yaksu Station / Address: 서울특별시 중구 동호로12길 11 / Hours: 11:30–23:00 / Break time: 15:00–16:00

Is Ido Hoetjip's outdoor tent seating good for daytime drinking?

In the evenings, Ido Hoetjip sets up a full outdoor tent (yajang) out front, which makes it perfect for this outdoor-tent weather right now! If you're looking for a yajang spot near Yaksu, go here!! We came for daytime drinking so the tent wasn't set up yet, so we ate indoors — but they had the doors wide open, which was nice. By evening the place filled up fast and the indoor tables were completely full!

Here's the interior! It's set up with 4- and 6-person tables that can be moved around, so it's great for group visits too!! There's also a second floor, so Ido Hoetjip near Yaksu Station can handle large groups!

Corkage at Ido Hoetjip: can you bring your own wine?

Yes, Ido Hoetjip allows corkage! Wine and sake corkage is free for one bottle! I love drinking white wine with raw fish, so next time when we order the 2-person course, we're bringing a bottle of white wine! If you're looking for corkage near Yaksu, this is the place!

Ido Hoetjip menu and what we ordered

Here's the menu at Ido Hoetjip! Seasonal menu / à la carte / course meals / lunch menu, and a raw fish + spicy fish stew set — the range was really impressive. We came only thinking about raw shrimp, so we immediately picked raw shrimp + butter-grilled shrimp heads! And of course we ordered soju too~ They also had seafood ramyeon and seafood kalguksu on the side menu, which I considered, but we were already full from round one so we just stuck with the raw shrimp that day haha.

They gave us fish cake soup (odeng-tang) and corn butter as basic side dishes. These are perfect drinking snacks :) The portions were pretty generous too, so I thought, they really don't hold back here!

How the in-season raw shrimp tastes (you peel it yourself)

The raw shrimp I'd been waiting for finally arrived! At Ido Hoetjip near Yaksu, known for its raw shrimp, you have to peel it yourself...haha. A bit of a downside, but luckily neither my friend nor I mind peeling shrimp, so we went into battle mode and got to peeling haha.

So fresh, right???? Since it's the seasonal menu, the flesh was really plump and full, which made it a little harder to peel?? I'd watched shrimp-peeling videos on YouTube beforehand so I peeled them like a pro :) Dipped in chojang (vinegared chili sauce), it was — ugh, this is why you have to eat food in season haha. I also tried it with soy sauce, and the shrimp itself was so sweet it was genuinely delicious!! Everyone, please, please eat raw shrimp right now while it's in season — no excuses!! And since it's a yajang restaurant, eating it out in the tent right now would be amazing~~

Butter-grilled shrimp heads: the dish to add at Ido Hoetjip

While we were eating, the butter-grilled shrimp heads showed up. This is such a treat too??? Full of buttery aroma and grilled just right — so delicious!! We finished up and left around 6, and I was shocked to see the place completely full. Everyone was there for the 2-person course or the raw shrimp, and looking at it, the course composition and quality both looked great!! I knew Ido Hoetjip was famous, but visiting in person made me understand exactly why!!

Final verdict on Ido Hoetjip near Yaksu Station

Ah, now I get why it's so famous~ The prices are so reasonable, the value is insane.... I understand why people wait in line, and the seafood and raw fish quality were both great, so I definitely want to come back!!!! If you're looking for a good raw fish restaurant near Yaksu Station, I recommend Ido Hoetjip!