Hongdae restaurant with a 70,000-won sashimi set: Eosa Chulto

Fall is here again!! And fall means seasonal food, and seasonal sashimi... you know you have to eat it!! While looking for a sashimi restaurant and drinking spot in Hongdae, I found Eosa Chulto Hongdae Branch and rushed right over.

Where Eosa Chulto Hongdae Branch is and when it opens

Eosa Chulto Hongdae Branch is conveniently close to Exit 3 of Hongik University Station. Hours are 11:30 AM to 11:00 PM (last order 10:30), and it's closed on Sundays.

Turns out Eosa Chulto Hongdae Branch also sells lunch specials?? They have a wide range of dishes like nakgopsae, sashimi rice bowl, sea squirt rice bowl, and salmon sushi, so it seems like a great lunch spot too.

Inside Eosa Chulto: the room and the seasonal fish board

The interior of Eosa Chulto Hongdae Branch isn't huge, but I liked that the tables were spaced out nicely!

There was a separate board listing seasonal fish like squid, sea bass sashimi, and red seabream sashimi, which I loved! Squid is in season right now too, but since I visited late in the evening, they said it had all sold out ㅠㅠ

They also said gizzard shad couldn't be served raw, only grilled!!

The menu was also laid out clearly.

What comes in the 70,000-won sashimi, grilled gizzard shad and stew set

Maybe because there's so much seasonal sashimi, Eosa Chulto Hongdae Branch had a wall full of various set combinations, like the current seasonal set! You know how great these set combos are???? We went with the assorted sashimi (small) + grilled gizzard shad + spicy fish stew set for 70,000 won.

Starting with a spoonful of the spicy fish stew

The spicy fish stew came out first!! Total soju pairing... you know it's a shame not to have stew, right???? I gave the bubbling broth a taste first, and it was hot and spicy in a way that really hit the spot!

If you've been drinking while eating sashimi, isn't a hot spicy fish stew basically a required finale? Haha. It felt especially satisfying at washing away any lingering craving after the sashimi with a warm broth.

What is on the small assorted sashimi platter, and how it tastes

Just look at the color on this sashimi ㅠㅠ The assorted platter had everything from salmon to sea bream-type white fish to silver-skinned blue fish, all arranged beautifully. Picking up a piece at a time, the sashimi was chewy yet clean-tasting, which I loved.

It was tasty dipped in chojang (vinegared chili paste) or doenjang (soybean paste), but with just a touch of soy sauce and wasabi, the flavor of the aged sashimi itself really came through. Best of all, since you get to taste several kinds of sashimi at once, it never gets boring the way eating just one type would, and I kept reaching for more.

If you want ssam vegetables, just ask and they'll bring them out. The ssam vegetables were also very fresh, which was great.

Grilled gizzard shad: five fish in total

Look at the color on this grilled gizzard shad!!! The photo looks like there are only 4, but there's a small one hidden underneath, so it's 5 total!! Gizzard shad is really in season right now, so the grilled version was seriously delicious.

Seeing the gizzard shad grilled to a golden brown, you could smell the savory aroma right away. Picking the flesh off and eating it, a clean yet savory flavor really came through, and the skin especially was grilled crispy, which was delicious. Gizzard shad has its own distinctive savory taste, so eating one every now and then between bites of sashimi felt like a nice change of pace. And fish like this really is best eaten while it's still hot!

Why the set is the easy order at Eosa Chulto

Rather than ordering everything separately, being able to eat sashimi, then grilled fish, then finish with stew makes these set combos genuinely great when you don't feel like agonizing over the menu. Especially since sashimi alone can feel a bit lacking, and adding grilled fish makes you wonder what else to order, going sashimi → grilled gizzard shad → spicy fish stew in order made for a filling meal and also worked perfectly as drinking food haha.

If you're like us and want to try a little bit of several seasonal dishes, I think it's worth visiting Eosa Chulto Hongdae Branch and ordering one of these sets! If you're looking for a sashimi restaurant and drinking spot in Hongdae, I highly recommend Eosa Chulto Hongdae Branch, so definitely give it a visit.