Seocho seafood bowl restaurant with mochiri tofu dessert: Ilpum

⭐️ My boyfriend's one-line review: "GOAT value.. a pretty kaisendon and a well-put-together course for ₩20,000 a person?"

Today I'm introducing Ilpum Gangnam Branch, a kaisendon (seafood rice bowl) spot near Gangnam Station. We're a couple who both love Japanese food and have been to a lot of kaisendon places, and this was the most satisfying one I've had recently!!

Not just the main dish — the starters and even dessert came as a full course basically by default, and they were all so good, which makes me recommend this place even more :)

Where is Ilpum Gangnam Branch, and what are its hours?

• 📍 23 Seocho-daero 74-gil, B1 106, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• ✔️ 11:00 – 21:30 (break time 15:00–17:30)

What perks come with a Naver reservation?

• No deposit required
• Free corkage event (coupon) — up to 1 bottle free with request
• Various coupons (2pc birthday celebration nigiri sushi, 2pc maternity support sushi choice, etc.)
• Substitute ingredients available for seafood or other allergies

Inside Ilpum Gangnam Branch: bar counter and back tables

Ilpum, the kaisendon place everyone talks about near Gangnam Station, is on the basement floor of Seocho Town Trapalace. Even the exterior gives off a clean wood-tone vibe! There was a wait at mealtime — you write your name down and wait at the seats out front.

Walking in, the bar (dachi) seating catches your eye first. There are also tables in the back for about 3–4 parties. Lots of groups were at the table seats. Since corkage is free, it's also perfect for Gangnam Station work dinners or gatherings! Just a heads-up: table reservations through Naver require 3+ people :)

And on the walls there were tons of autographs from famous celebrities! I guess it's because this place has been on TV too haha.

We sat at the bar seats. There's a water dispenser at every seat?! (so cool,,) You order by QR code.

What's on the menu at Ilpum Gangnam Branch?

True to being a kaisendon spot near Gangnam Station, the signature menu comes in all kinds of combinations haha. Sashimi-don, uni-ikura-don, aburi-don, honmaguro — it was heaven trying to decide what to eat,,, The sushi looked really good too. It would be perfect to order sushi and have a drink with it :)

You can get 1 free corkage bottle with a Naver reservation, but the restaurant also has a wide range of drinks on its own. From Dassai to various types of sake haha.

Starters: soup, white kimchi and steamed egg custard

This is the soup, white kimchi, and egg custard that came out first after ordering.

With a little gamtae (sea lettuce) on top and shrimp tucked inside, the egg custard was so soft it really woke up my appetite >< Getting a starter like this made me even more excited for the main dish haha.

What we ordered was the premium kaisendon and the salmon sake-don!

Premium kaisendon (seafood rice bowl)

Such a gorgeous premium sake-don,, tuna, uni, salmon roe, squid, flounder, salmon, sweet shrimp, abalone, scallop, ankimo (monkfish liver) and more — such a generous, gorgeous lineup haha.

You could really feel how fresh the seafood was. The tuna was especially delicious, and the uni had no fishiness — sweet and nutty 😋

I really love wrapping tuna and uni in rice and seaweed haha.

Gamtae came alongside too, so I tried wrapping in that as well, and the fin piece was cut generously so my mouth was full of happiness hahaha.

There was plenty of ankimo and something like crab salad mixed in too, so I could enjoy it deliciously with rice all the way to the end. The rolled egg was soft too, and the salmon roe popped in between bites — a satisfying meal :) If you're torn on what to order, I recommend the premium kaisendon so you can taste a variety!

Salmon sake-don

This is my pick, the salmon sake-don haha. You could tell it was going to be delicious just from the color of the salmon, packed in tight,,, 👍

The salmon was aged really well, so it was springy yet soft, and cut thick enough that I could eat it deliciously with my mouth full.

The rice inside isn't plain — it's seasoned with furikake. And above all, the amount of salmon is really generous!! Layered thick and piled high, I got to eat salmon to my heart's content haha.

With salmon roe and onion piled on top, one full bite is pure happiness,,, 😋 These days a lot of sake-don places are just expensive without being satisfying, but this one was genuinely delicious :)

Complimentary karaage cold udon and mochiri tofu dessert

Once the meal is underway, karaage cold udon comes out free of charge 😄

Since it's cold udon, the noodles were chewy and springy, and the karaage was tasty too. The broth was especially appealing — I kept going back for more hahaha.

Once the meal is over, dessert even comes out! It felt a bit like eating a full course haha.

But honestly,,, I wasn't expecting much, and it was really good,,, I thought it'd be pudding but it's more like mochiri tofu, with a passion fruit flavor on top that wasn't too sweet, so I finished it all :)

They also do Naver receipt reviews, so keep that in mind!

🚘 Parking at Seocho Trapalace

Ilpum Gangnam Branch supports 1 hour of free parking at the Seocho Trapalace building. Finding a Gangnam restaurant with parking is tough, so having that handled made me like this place even more haha. I highly recommend it for Gangnam Station gatherings, work dinners, or anyone looking for a good Japanese restaurant :)

We were stuffed, but since it had been a while since we had dinner at Gangnam Station, I was craving Jangkkobang,,, so we finished off with bingsu (shaved ice) there~~! If you haven't tried Jangkkobang's bingsu, you really should!! Add the chapssaltteok (sweet rice cake) and it's twice as good hahaha.