Sushi restaurant near Hapjeong Station, Seoul: VIP set at Sushi Sakaba

I was craving sushi in Hapjeong today, so I headed to Sushi Sakaba~! Hapjeong is a neighborhood packed with all kinds of restaurants. From Korean food to Japanese, Chinese, Western — there are so many options, plus a bunch of long-loved local favorites, that I often end up here whenever I can't decide what to eat.

Hapjeong in particular has quite a few spots for people who love Japanese food — izakayas, ramen shops, sushi places. Today I visited Sushi Sakaba, known for decent-quality sushi and aged sashimi at a reasonable price~!

Finding Sushi Sakaba in the Hapjeong izakaya alley

Sushi Sakaba Hapjeong sits on the 2nd floor of a building in the Hapjeong alley, on Dokmak-ro 3-gil, where a cluster of Japanese-style izakayas is located. Walking around here, there are so many Japanese restaurants that you genuinely stop to think, "what should I eat today?" haha.

Among them, Sushi Sakaba is one I personally found satisfying when weighing price against food quality. According to the restaurant, they age live fish sourced daily from the fish market to make their sashimi and sushi. So compared to typical raw fish sashimi, you get the distinctive texture and umami of aged sashimi — that's part of Sushi Sakaba's charm!

What we ordered: the Hap Sushi Set and the VIP Sushi Set

Today at Sushi Sakaba Hapjeong, we ordered two things — the Hap Sushi Set and the VIP Sushi Set~! On a first visit it can be hard to decide which set to get, but ordering both together made it fun to compare the differences.

If you want to enjoy a basic sushi lineup, the Hap Sushi Set is fine, and if you want something more varied and filling, the VIP Sushi Set definitely catches your eye.

The Hap Sushi Set: the basics, done well

First up, the Hap Sushi Set! You get to taste a good variety of sushi types, so it's a solid choice if you want a basic sushi lineup. Sushi is more fun when you try a bit of many different fish and ingredients rather than eating a ton of one kind.

Since they use aged live fish, it was interesting comparing it mentally to a typical sushi spot. A good pick when you want an unpretentious sushi meal for lunch or dinner in Hapjeong!

Better value: the VIP Sushi Set

The menu that caught my eye a bit more today was the VIP Sushi Set. With a name like "VIP" you'd expect the price to jump way up, but looking at what's included, I actually thought the value was pretty good.

On top of the Hap Sushi Set contents, you get sweet shrimp, abalone, octopus, and even a mini kaisendon added!! If you think about ordering each of those separately, that's a fairly wide range of items~! I especially liked that ingredients like sweet shrimp and abalone — not usually thrown into a basic sushi set — were included here.

A fuller spread that includes a mini kaisendon

Personally, what I liked most about the VIP Sushi Set was that it comes with a mini kaisendon (seafood rice bowl) too! Eating just sushi straight through is nice, but having kaisendon mixed in partway made the whole meal feel a lot more varied.

Sushi, and then sweet shrimp, abalone, octopus, and then a mini kaisendon on top!! So rather than just a few extra sushi pieces tacked on, it felt like a set that lets you properly enjoy a full meal. For someone like me who likes trying a little bit of many different kinds of seafood, the VIP Sushi Set lineup was pretty much to my taste.

How do price and quality balance out at Sushi Sakaba?

I think Sushi Sakaba's biggest strength is really the balance between price and quality. With sushi, ingredients matter so much that prices shoot up quickly once you try to eat properly. On the flip side, if you pick somewhere too cheap, you sometimes end up disappointed with the fish quality or overall experience.

Sushi Sakaba lets you enjoy sushi made with aged live fish at a relatively reasonable price, which makes it a solid option for anyone looking for sushi in Hapjeong. Especially if you want to try a bit of everything rather than just the basics, the VIP Sushi Set's value for money was pretty good~!

When you're craving sushi in Hapjeong

Hapjeong has so many restaurants that there's always the fun of discovering somewhere new every time you visit. For people who love Japanese food especially, there's also the fun of hunting down izakayas and Japanese restaurants tucked away in the alleys.

Sushi Sakaba, which I visited today, fit right into that Hapjeong vibe. I liked that they use live fish sourced daily from the fish market and aged before serving, and I also liked being able to eat a variety of sushi at a relatively reasonable price.

Hap Sushi Set vs VIP Sushi Set: which should you order?

Having ordered both, here's a simple way to break it down based on my experience.

• If you want to enjoy a light variety of sushi types → the Hap Sushi Set
• If you want to eat a wide range — sweet shrimp, abalone, octopus, plus a mini kaisendon → the VIP Sushi Set

Personally, if the price difference isn't a big burden, I'd vote for the VIP Sushi Set!! You get to taste a variety of seafood all at once, so it's a good option even for first-time visitors to order. If you like both sushi and kaisendon, you'll probably be even happier with it haha.

Is Sushi Sakaba worth it for sushi near Hapjeong Station?

Sushi Sakaba Hapjeong, which I visited today, is a place that comes to mind when you want to enjoy decent-quality sushi and aged sashimi somewhere relaxed, rather than at a flashy, expensive omakase. Another plus is that you can enjoy a variety of sushi at a low price, and by bumping up to the VIP Sushi Set, you can also try sweet shrimp, abalone, octopus, and a mini kaisendon.

Give it a try if you're on a date in Hapjeong and craving sushi, or want to casually enjoy some Japanese food with a friend~! Next time I visit, I'd like to order the aged sashimi menu separately too, not just sushi. Hapjeong really does have too many good places haha.