Japanese restaurant near Magok Station: sashimi to stew at Damiseon

If you're looking for a place in Magok where you can properly enjoy both sashimi and grilled fish, I'd recommend Damiseon Magok, near Magok Station.

I personally love sashimi, so I naturally pay close attention to the freshness of the fish, the composition, and the side dishes. What impressed me about Damiseon is that it's not just a sashimi restaurant — it's a Japanese set-course spot where you can enjoy sashimi, grilled fish, fried dishes and soup all in one sitting.

If you're looking for a Japanese restaurant in Magok for a group meal or somewhere to take your parents, this one's worth keeping an eye on.

How far is it from Magok Station?

Damiseon Magok is located at 195 Gonghang-daero, 1st floor Unit 132, Hillstate Eco Dongik, Gangseo-gu, Seoul. It's about a 3-minute walk from Magok Station, so it's easily accessible — great for a weekday lunch or an evening gathering with coworkers.

From the outside it has a bit of a Japanese izakaya vibe, but once you step in, the wood-heavy interior feels more comfortable and warm than expected. The tables are spaced apart enough that it was nice to eat with my group.

For someone like me who frequents Japanese restaurants and izakayas often, this felt less like a flashy, decorated place and more like a typical Japanese restaurant where you can focus on the food. The music was upbeat too, which put me in a good mood from the moment I walked in.

Damiseon's real charm: the hearty full spread

Before the main dishes arrive, you get the basic side dishes first. The radish pickle alone could probably finish off a whole bowl of rice, haha.

Once the food starts coming out, the whole mood at the table changes. ^^

The biggest thing I noticed about Damiseon was that no single dish tries to steal the show — instead, there's a natural flow from sashimi to side dishes, to grilled fish, to fried dishes, and finally to soup.

In particular, several kinds of sashimi and seafood come neatly arranged in a wooden box-shaped dish, and it looks quite hearty just from the visuals alone.

With flounder and a variety of other sashimi and seafood, you get to try a little of everything rather than eating just one type over and over, which made it more fun. Each fish has a different texture, so comparing them one by one was enjoyable too. The full spread also filled the frame nicely for blog photos.

A satisfying lineup if you like sashimi

When it comes to sashimi, I pay quite a bit of attention to thickness. If it's too thin, you can't really feel the texture of the fish itself, but if it's too thick, it can be a bit much. The sashimi at Damiseon was cut at a thickness where you could properly feel each fish's texture.

Rather than just dipping it in chojang (vinegared chili sauce), I sometimes put a little wasabi on with soy sauce, or wrapped it with seaweed and other sides — combining bites like that brought out a different flavor each time.

Overall, this felt less like a traditional sashimi-only restaurant and more like a place for enjoying a variety of Japanese dishes together. So it seemed like a good spot for a sashimi lover and someone who prefers grilled fish or warm food to visit together.

What caught my eye: the grilled fish

And one thing you can't skip at Damiseon is the grilled fish. Golden bro—

—wned and grilled whole, the fish comes out in one piece, and having a warm grilled dish follow the sashimi made the meal feel really well-balanced.

The outside was grilled just enough to be savory, and the inside stayed moist, which paired well with rice. Personally, when grilled fish is seasoned too strongly it gets tiring fast, so I appreciated that this one wasn't too heavy to eat with rice.

If you're searching for grilled fish near Magok Station because you want both sashimi and grilled fish in Magok, I'd say Damiseon is worth putting on your list. It's especially a plus that there are options like grilled fish, fried dishes and soup for anyone in your group who isn't a big fan of raw fish.

Crispy fried dishes and a spicy soup to finish

The fried dish that came out midway through was surprisingly moreish too.

With fried food, the batter matters most, and this one leaned toward a crispy texture rather than being thick and greasy, which made it easy to eat between bites of sashimi. Eating it hot, right away, was definitely the best.

And at the end, a spicy soup dish arrives.

After eating sashimi, fried food and grilled fish, having a spoonful of hot soup felt like a proper finish. Add rice on top, and it becomes plenty filling as a full meal rather than just drinking food.

Personally, I think this flow is Damiseon's real strength. It's not a place that competes on a single plate of sashimi — going from cold sashimi to warm fried food and grilled fish to spicy soup keeps the meal from feeling monotonous.

Who I'd recommend this to, after trying it myself

Damiseon feels less like a flashy fine-dining Japanese restaurant and more like a place to enjoy a hearty variety of fish dishes.

It seems like a great fit for anyone looking for a dinner or group meal spot with coworkers in Magok, anyone who wants to eat fish dishes with their parents, or anyone who wants grilled fish, fried food and soup rather than just sashimi.

Rather than focusing on one dish, you end up noticing the overall flow of the meal, and what stuck with me about Damiseon was how naturally the courses moved from the first sashimi to the final hot soup.

If you're looking for a Japanese restaurant in Magok and don't want to give up on either sashimi or grilled fish, this is worth a visit. Especially if you've been searching for grilled fish near Magok Station, check out Damiseon Magok's hearty full spread. ^^

Menu information

Damiseon Magok: address, hours and parking

Here's a summary for anyone planning to visit.

• Damiseon Magok
• Address: 195 Gonghang-daero, 1st floor Unit 132, Hillstate Eco Dongik, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Location: near Magok Station
• Hours: Mon–Fri 11:00–24:00 / Sat 17:00–24:00
• Sunday: closed
• Parking: available in the building
• Other: Naver Reservation available

Hours and parking conditions may change depending on the restaurant's circumstances, so I'd recommend checking Naver Place on the day of your visit.