Mapo sashimi restaurant, ₩65,000 live squid and sea bass: Mapo Bamdada

This is Mapo Bamdada (마포밤바다), a sashimi restaurant near Mapo-gu Office Station that I walked to after studying hard at my neighborhood study café over the weekend! It was actually really close to my home, and I was like, how did I only find this treasure now?!!

Where is Mapo Bamdada and what are its hours?

Mapo Bamdada is a sashimi restaurant near Mapo-gu Office Station, at 146 Woldeukeop-ro, 1st floor, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It is open Monday to Sunday, 12:00-01:00, with last order at 23:30.

• Hours: Mon-Sun 12:00-01:00
• Last order: 23:30
• Private hire available
• Group reservations available
• Takeout and delivery available
• Free parking (ask the restaurant)

Walking into Mapo Bamdada... there was a comedian's autograph on the door, hahahahaha. And the message on it is so funny... I've never seen a P.S. like that haha. It left such an impression that I took a photo.

What's the atmosphere at Mapo Bamdada on an early weekend evening?

I got to Mapo Bamdada around 4:40 on a weekend and it was already full of customers. Normally I'm the only one eating dinner at that hour... but the place was packed.. wow.

Maybe it's because the sign says "day drinking welcome", but so many people were having sashimi with soju from early on! haha It feels like a pojangmacha (Korean street-style pub), but the food is high-end. That's this Mapo-gu Office Station sashimi restaurant!

While we were eating, maybe a bit after 5 p.m., I was surprised to see three delivery guys waiting. Wait.. Mapo Bamdada delivers to my place too ㅠㅠ and everyone in Seogyo-dong, Mangwon-dong and Seongsan-dong has been ordering this delicious stuff except me. I thought, I've got to order delivery next time.. ba-da-ba-da.

Mapo Bamdada menu and what two people paid

Two of us ordered the live squid + pick-your-own sashimi (sea bass) set for ₩65,000 at Mapo Bamdada, plus beer, Daesun soju and vinegared rice.

• Live squid + pick-your-own sashimi (sea bass) ₩65,000
• Beer ₩5,000
• Daesun soju ₩5,000
• Vinegared rice (chodaeri-bap) ₩1,000

Maybe because it was so busy, the food at Mapo Bamdada comes out super fast! A generous portion of sea bass... and fresh live squid, wow. But there was something even more surprising than the sashimi itself... let me tell you the reason I vowed to come back.

What are the free side dishes (sukkidashi) at Mapo Bamdada like?

The free sides at Mapo Bamdada include braised half-dried pollack, a small taster mulhoe (cold raw fish soup), soy-marinated raw shrimp, pickled scallions (rakkyo) and a vegetable salad, and they're good enough that you'd normally order them as separate side dishes. Sashimi places call these sukkidashi, right? Seriously.. the dishes you'd want to order as sides come out packed in.

Braised half-dried pollack that seems made to order

This braised pollack (kodari-jjim) was incredibly full and satisfying. It seems they make it when you order rather than in advance, because even the bowl was hot... The sauce was sooo good.. The flesh was plump, the pollack wasn't too dry, and the bean sprouts were crunchy. I could eat a whole bowl of rice with just this. It's really good here.

A taster mulhoe, since Mapo Bamdada is known for mulhoe too

Mapo Bamdada is known for its mulhoe, and a small taster portion comes out like this! I ordered vinegared rice and mixed some in too... I really, truly love mulhoe... I like pretty much any cold, refreshing broth dish.. It was so tasty and cool that I decided to order mulhoe for delivery next time.. hahaha

Soy-marinated raw shrimp, pickled scallions and vegetable salad

Fresh soy-marinated raw shrimp came out too. The innards were so rich and creamy, and it was fresh and delicious.. The sides at Mapo Bamdada come out so well and everything was tasty, so I was very satisfied. Everyone knows this famous Mapo-gu Office Station sashimi restaurant except me ㅠㅠ

The pickled scallions and vegetable salad were also clean and nicely done, so I scraped every plate clean, haha.

How were the live squid sashimi and pick-your-own sashimi (sea bass)?

The live squid + pick-your-own sashimi at Mapo Bamdada fills half the plate with live squid, and you pick the sashimi you want to add. The live squid is market price and was ₩45,000 at the time of my visit. I chose the seasonal sea bass for ₩20,000 extra, so the total was ₩65,000.

Super fresh sea bass and live squid sashimi! I liked that the live squid fills half the plate generously and you just pick the extra sashimi.

Seriously.. so chewy, this sea bass.. I was shocked at how good it was. It wasn't my first time having sea bass, but what kind of aging process is this ㅠㅠ The slices clung to my mouth like jelly... Freshness was just the baseline... This Mapo-gu Office Station sashimi restaurant made me gasp.

I loooove squid sashimi. I love the texture and the subtle sweetness that spreads out... The live squid at Mapo Bamdada was really fresh.. The texture was great and it clung to the mouth so well, and I thought, so this is why people come here for day drinking... It was truly delicious.

Mapo Bamdada vinegared rice for ₩1,000: how to eat it with sashimi

At Mapo Bamdada, seaweed, flying fish roe, finely chopped pickled radish and wasabi come out together, so adding the ₩1,000 vinegared rice lets you wrap it all in seaweed. I figured it would be perfect wrapped in seaweed, so I ordered the vinegared rice right away.

Then dip it in chogochujang (sweet chili vinegar sauce) and I nearly fainted... so springy.. so good. Did you know sashimi on vinegared rice wrapped up is even better? Highly recommended combo.

Drinks at Mapo Bamdada: Daesun soju and Cass

My friend has the amazing ability to mix somaek (soju and beer) at the perfect ratio, so we ordered a bottle each of the Daesun soju and Cass beer that we spotted and drank happily, hahaha.

I had one glass of somaek and then beer.. my friend drank soju. She was thrilled, saying Daesun is the one for sashimi. The owner seems to know what's what hahahaha

Is Mapo Bamdada worth going back to?

Even at an awkward weekend hour, Mapo Bamdada was full and clearly popular, a sashimi restaurant near Mapo-gu Office Station! Before 6 p.m., three delivery guys were lined up waiting for pickup... a hugely popular place! The free sides are really good with a great lineup!! The sashimi is fresh too, so it's just right for drinking. They sell Daesun so the drinks taste great~ live squid sashimi with sea bass is just the perfect combo haha. Recommended~!!!!