Halibut fin last piece at Danya, a Mapo sushi omakase in Seoul

I went to Danya at Seoul Garden Hotel and had the 85,000 won per person dinner sushi course!

From sashimi to 10 kinds of sushi, salmon steak, a meal course, and dessert. For anyone looking for a Mapo sushi omakase, let me walk you through everything I ate that day haha

The counter seats you see right when you walk in.. it's a dark space with soft, gentle lighting, so the atmosphere is so good..♥

How much is the Danya dinner course, and what is in it?

The Danya dinner price is 85,000 won per person. On the menu it was listed as 3 appetizers, steamed abalone, sashimi, two rounds of sushi, a special dish, then a meal course and dessert. The sushi comes in two rounds of 5 pieces each!

Writing out the names, I realized we ate quite a lot of varieties in one course~? haha Sat down at a neatly set table, ready to eat! haha

Three appetizers and steamed abalone at Danya

The first course at Danya is 3 appetizers! Served before the sashimi and sushi, this opened up the dinner course.

Egg, fig, and marinated tomato — a flavor that gently woke up my dulled appetite haha

Appetizers are always so cute to look at …♥

Next was steamed abalone! Evenly cooked abalone sitting on top of geuso sauce made from abalone innards!

There was also grilled ginger on top, and I really liked the balance haha. After passing through the appetizers and the steamed dish like this, the sashimi finally comes out for real - !

Five kinds of sashimi: in-season striped jack was the best

Danya's sashimi was five kinds: halibut, sea bass, croaker, striped jack, and red seabream. Ta - da ★ On top of the sashimi, a crane shape made of cucumber…? Just looking at it made it so pretty !! Recording the types along with the photo haha

This was the halibut and sea bass - maybe because it's a Mapo sushi omakase run by a hotel, the aging on the sashimi was incredible..

The croaker and striped jack were also - chewy and soft, had it all !! I think the striped jack, being in season, was the tastiest =) After eating well-aged sashimi like this, I even thought.. the sashimi I had at other seafood restaurants must've been fake.. lol lol

First five sushi pieces and the secret of Danya's brown shari

The next course was 5 kinds of sushi! Such a nice touch that they swap the plates before the sushi comes out - ♥

Sushi shaped by hand by a chef who was the first Korean to place runner-up at a Japan-wide cooking competition - ★ I was so excited!!

• First round of 5 sushi: yellowtail, flathead mullet, sea bass, croaker, red seabream

They place the sushi in order, and I moved each piece to my own plate to eat haha. With omakase, I feel like you taste it more if you focus on each piece of sushi individually !! Pictured here are the yellowtail, flathead mullet, and sea bass sushi haha

While eating the croaker sushi.. I found it strange that the shari (sushi rice) had a brownish tint, and when I tasted it, the flavor was different from the sushi I usually eat?! I got curious and asked the chef right away lol

He said he uses a special vinegar imported from Japan, and the vinegar itself has a deep color, which is why. He even explained that since it's not sold domestically, he personally imports it to make sure every piece of sushi tastes great! Isn't this kind of conversation exactly the fun of sitting at the counter~?

Second five pieces: choosing grilled halibut fin as the last sushi

After finishing the last of the first 5 sushi pieces, the red seabream, deliciously... more sushi comes out! lol lol lol Giving 10 pieces of sushi in an omakase.. talk about value, real value..

• Second round of 5 sushi: akami (lean tuna), kelp-aged red seabream, negitoro (fatty tuna with scallion), futomaki, and 1 piece of your choice ★

When it came time to choose one sushi of my own, I could've picked from any of the 9 pieces I'd already had.. but while chatting with my mom, I mentioned I really love sushi made with lightly grilled halibut fin?

So the chef said, halibut fin wasn't on the course that had passed, but would I like it made anyway? And I said yes please !! Eek.. he even torched it lightly for me..♥

If any of you have a sushi you love.. try requesting it !! If it's a type they have, you can turn your last piece into a special secret bite !! ★★★★★

The special dish: salmon steak

Right around the time I was finishing all the sushi, the special dish arrived perfectly timed. What was the menu~?

It was salmon steak with balsamic! Finely chopped mushrooms were on the side too.

This salmon dish came right after the sashimi and sushi, and the sweet balsamic flavor combined with breadcrumbs caramelized underneath the salmon steak gave it a crispy texture.♥ My mom isn't really a fan of salmon, but she enjoyed it, so I was relieved !!

The rice course: red seabream rice bowl and clam udon

For the meal, red seabream rice bowl + clam udon! That day, red seabream became a fish I ate not just as sushi but also as the finishing rice bowl!!

It was cooked so softly that eating it as a rice bowl made me think I'd genuinely want to eat like this at home every day.. haha. The course didn't end with sushi but continued into a rice bowl and udon.. I was so, so full by the end lol lol lol lol lol

The udon had clams in it, giving it a refreshing umami flavor.. a taste I was trying for the first time!!! So interesting.. every course here feels somehow familiar yet has its own twist, and at 85,000 won it really is great value..

Dessert: rare cheesecake and iced green tea

The final dessert was rare cheesecake! It was my first time having a no-bake cheesecake, and it was thick and sweet, so I enjoyed it haha

The green tea served alongside could be chosen hot or cold, so I went with iced haha. It came as a mix of green tea and brown rice green tea, so clean but nutty, my mom even asked the chef whether there was something other than green tea in it lol lol lol

Is Danya's 85,000 won dinner omakase worth it?

For 85,000 won, given the portion and how special the whole course felt.. and how delicious every single dish was.. this is the best of the best ★★★★★

I thought I should visit a few more times before the price goes up haha. Places with this kind of great value always end up raising their prices before long.. lol lol Mapo sushi omakase Danya, go visit before it's too late - ♥