Hyehwa poke bowl spot: filling steak poke & kabocha soup, Sallering

Choosing a solo lunch in Daehak-ro can be surprisingly tricky. You want something tasty, not too heavy, but a plain salad would leave you feeling empty.

That day I wanted something with meat that also covered my veggies, so I stopped by Sallering Daehak-ro (샐러링 대학로점), a salad spot in Daehak-ro.

What's on the menu at Sallering Daehak-ro?

Sallering Daehak-ro has more than ordinary vegetable salads: poke, wraps, pasta and more. Even the salads can be a hearty meal.

When you hear "salad," you tend to picture a few pieces of chicken breast on greens, but here you can add meat and grains, which makes it a good meal replacement.

If you love meat toppings, picking your order is part of the fun.

Sallering steak poke: filling for a salad?

The dish that caught my eye was the steak poke, topped with big, grilled slices of beef. The plate holds fresh vegetables, corn and grain rice, with a generous pile of meat on one side.

It's not a salad with a few pieces of meat tossed in; it's closer to a proper meal of meat and vegetables together.

Alternating meat and veggies gives you a nice mix of textures, and the pop of the corn keeps it from getting boring. On a day when vegetables alone would leave me hungry again soon, a steak poke like this gets the job done. The sauce comes on the side too, so you can add it to your taste.

Sweet pumpkin soup to go with your poke

I had it with a yellow sweet pumpkin soup. After a meal of mostly cold vegetables, adding one warm soup made the combination much better.

The smooth texture makes it a nice side to alternate with the poke. If a salad alone feels a bit lacking, or you want something warm too, adding the soup is worth trying.

Sallering Daehak-ro location and hours

• Name: Sallering Daehak-ro (샐러링 대학로점)
• Address: 24 Daehak-ro 10-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea (1st floor)
• Getting there: about a 3-minute walk from Hyehwa Station Exit 2
• Hours: daily 11:00–20:00 (as posted)
• Last order: 19:30

The menu runs from bibim poke (mixed poke bowls) to salad wraps, rice wraps, slim-pack lunchboxes, soups and drinks.

For bibim poke you can choose toppings like flame-grilled steak, beef brisket, smoked duck or salmon, so there's range for people who want mostly veggies and for meat lovers alike. It's close to Hyehwa Station, so it's easy to reach when you're looking for a meal in Daehak-ro. Before or after a show, or during a day out in Daehak-ro, it's a place to remember when you want something filling but not too heavy.

Verdict: a solo lunch in Daehak-ro

If you're hunting for a meal in Daehak-ro made with fresh ingredients, like a salad or poke, keep Sallering Daehak-ro in mind. I assumed a salad would be small, but the steak was quite generous, so it was more filling than I expected. Vegetables, grain rice and meat in one go, plus a warm sweet pumpkin soup, made for a light but not empty lunch.

On a day when you want to eat light but don't want to give up a proper meal, this is just the thing. 😊