Gongdeok sushi omakase with 10 sushi pieces for couples: Danya

I went for a weekend dinner with my boyfriend to Danya, a sushi omakase restaurant in Mapo, Gongdeok known for great food. Since it's located inside a 4-star hotel, the atmosphere was great and it was easy to focus on the meal and conversation. If you're looking for a good-value, atmospheric omakase in Mapo, Gongdeok, I'd recommend Danya.

Where is Danya at Seoul Garden Hotel? Hours and parking

Danya is located on B1 of Seoul Garden Hotel, 58 Mapo-daero, Mapo-gu, Seoul. Lunch runs 12:00–15:00 and dinner 18:00–22:00, closed every Sunday, and it's 100% reservation-only (bookable via Naver or Catch Table).

• 📍 Location: B1, Seoul Garden Hotel, 58 Mapo-daero, Mapo-gu, Seoul
• ⏰ Hours: Lunch 12:00–15:00 / Dinner 18:00–22:00, closed every Sunday
• Reservations: 100% reservation-only (Naver, Catch Table)
• 🅿️ Parking/valet available — free 3 hours in hotel lot / ₩20,000 valet at main entrance / ₩4,000 valet at hotel's own lot

Danya is a 3-minute walk from Mapo Station Exit 3, and a 6-minute walk from Gongdeok Station Exit 8. I loved how close it was to the station! 🤍 And with the hotel's upscale exterior, it seemed like a great spot for business meetings or visits with family or a partner ☺️

Inside Danya: counter seats and two partitioned 4-person tables

You find the entrance by walking into the hotel lobby and heading down the stairs to B1. The exterior already gives off a clean, izakaya-style vibe, doesn't it? haha

Inside, the black-and-wood interior felt calm and upscale ✨ Behind the counter seats were two 4-person tables, lightly screened off by partitions for a more private meal.

Since we'd booked for two, we were seated at the counter. What I liked about the counter seats was getting to watch the chef make the sushi right in front of us 👨🏻‍🍳 I heard the chef was runner-up at Japan's national culinary competition — the first Korean to place that high — so I was even more excited to taste the sushi!

The restroom is inside Danya itself, which was convenient. Through a door inside the restaurant is a long hallway with separate men's and women's restrooms. They were kept very clean — perfect for freshening up before or after the meal.

What comes in Danya's 85,000 won dinner omakase

We ordered the dinner omakase! Danya's dinner omakase is ₩85,000 per person, and moves through 3 appetizers – steamed abalone – sashimi – 5 sushi – 5 sushi – special dish – rice course – dessert.

It's a course with 10 sushi pieces, and I was surprised the dinner omakase was priced around ₩85,000 👍

From the three appetizers to the steamed abalone

Three appetizers. The chef told us to eat them in order from left to right, so I tried them one by one. Japanese-style castella rolled egg, tomato marinated in wine syrup, and fig with cream cheese 🧀 The sweet, refreshing flavors were great for waking up the appetite!

The castella rolled egg in particular had a fluffy, soft texture that paired so well with the sweetness — I really enjoyed it!

Steamed abalone. The abalone flesh was so tender it practically melted in my mouth 🤤 Dipping it into the abalone liver sauce underneath added a savory depth that was delicious. Eating it with the crispy fried leek strips on top added even more savoriness and texture — a fun twist! Total win, haha.

Five kinds of sashimi with draft beer

Sashimi. We got five kinds of seasonal fish sashimi — flounder, amberjack, sea bass, striped mullet, and red sea bream! It was great being able to taste so many varieties at once :)

Danya's wasabi wasn't too spicy, so I piled it on generously 🔥 The sweetness of the sashimi came through even more, and it was so good... The amberjack was especially my style.

Draft beer. Can't eat raw fish without a drink 🍻 I'd tried to skip drinking, but after tasting the sashimi I ordered draft beer right away lol 😛 This is exactly it.

Ten sushi pieces at Danya — amberjack was the best

Before the actual sushi course began, they set out fresh plates along with crab soup and ginger.

Flounder and flounder fin

The very first piece was flounder sushi! It had a clean flavor with a chewy texture that made it easy to enjoy. They served each piece checking our pace so it kept coming out fresh. Nice attention to detail from the chef 👨🏻‍🍳

Flounder fin (engawa). The fin had a relatively crunchy texture along with the same chewiness — clean and delicious.

Mullet, red sea bream, striped jack and sea bass

The striped mullet sushi had a firm texture with a subtle savory depth — loved it! 🐟

The red sea bream sushi had a subtle sweetness and a chewy texture that was easy to enjoy.

The striped jack sushi was clean-tasting with a subtle fattiness — savory and full of flavor! Sushi with more fattiness tasted even better with a bit of extra wasabi on top 🍣

The sea bass sushi had a clean, light flavor with a soft texture, easy to enjoy without feeling heavy.

Amberjack and bluefin tuna

The amberjack sushi had just the right amount of fattiness and a wonderful savory flavor — personally, it was the tastiest piece I had that day! 🩷

The bluefin tuna had a soft, melting texture with a deep umami flavor — luxurious. It really was that sensation of dissolving in your mouth?! 🤤

Negitoro with gamtae seaweed, and futomaki

The gamtae (seaweed) negitoro combined savory tuna with salty gamtae for a bolder, more intense flavor. I really enjoyed it 👍😉

The futomaki (thick sushi roll) was packed generously with various ingredients, so a full bite brought together a mix of flavors and textures — so good. You have to eat it all in one bite for the full effect, right? 😋

Salmon steak, the rice course and fig dessert

Special dish: salmon steak. I was curious what the special dish would be, and it turned out to be salmon steak. We were told to eat everything together in one bite, so I tried it that way. It came topped with mushrooms and vegetables tossed in balsamic sauce — the balsamic cut through the richness of the salmon steak nicely, so it wasn't greasy at all.

Rice course: sea bream rice and cold udon. The sea bream rice bowl had tender sea bream flesh along with grilled mushroom, zucchini, and asparagus, all coated in a sweet soy sauce that covered the rice, fish, and vegetables. It wasn't too salty and went down easily even though I was already full :) The cold udon wasn't the usual round noodles we know, but thin noodles that seemed hand-cut. That made it easy to eat without feeling heavy, and easy on the stomach too! 🤰🏻

Dessert: fig cream cheese cake and green tea. Figs showed up in the appetizers too, and dessert also came topped with fig — I guess it's fig season, so they're using seasonal fruit in the dessert. The base of the cake was Lotus biscuit, and the mousse was cream cheese, which paired so well with the fig... It was really my kind of dessert, I wanted another slice :) For the green tea, you could choose hot or cold — I like cold drinks so I asked for iced green tea. It had a bit of sweetness too, which might not be for everyone, but it was a nice, clean way to finish the meal! 🍵

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

Overall, Danya — a sushi omakase restaurant in Mapo, Gongdeok — impressed from the food quality to the atmosphere. For ₩85,000, the course packed in sashimi, sushi, a special dish, a rice course, and dessert, so I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a well-priced omakase around that price point 👍

With 10 kinds of sushi, I got to taste a wide range, and amberjack was my favorite of all! Being located inside a hotel gave it a clean, polished atmosphere too, making it a great spot for a date or special occasion with a partner 🤍 If you're looking for a good-atmosphere omakase in Gongdeok, this one is worth a visit!