Sadang bar with spicy fish stew: Jindallae Silbi

I’d never seen a bar in Sadang bring out this much food. I went to Jindallae Silbi Sadang Branch (진달래실비 사당점), which is apparently hot among the MZ crowd these days, and ordered the ₩39,000 Samchon Kase course. The food just kept coming and coming, and by the end I thought my stomach might burst. I especially want to recommend it to anyone looking for a bar for a company dinner or group gathering in Sadang.

Jindallae Silbi Sadang Branch: location, hours, and parking

Location: 70 Dongjak-daero 7-gil, 2nd floor, Dongjak-gu, Seoul Hours: 18:00–24:00 Closed: Sunday Last order: 23:00

🚗 Parking information Sadang No. 2 Public Parking Lot is only a 5-minute walk away, and you can get one hour of free parking when using the restaurant. But it’s likely to be full in the evening, so I recommend public transportation! I drove there too, but every parking lot around Sadang Station was full, so parking was not easy—I barely managed to get into a mechanical parking garage!

A second-floor spot in a Sadang alley, with a retro interior

Jindallae Silbi Sadang Branch is on the second floor of a building tucked into a Sadang alley. Because it is in an alley, it may be a little harder to find than expected at first, but just follow the sign upstairs and you’ll find it right away. I didn’t get a photo of the sign, but it is written in big letters, so once you enter this alley, you’ll spot it immediately!

I was surprised that the inside was much bigger than it looked from outside. Overall, it has the retro feel of an old-school silbi bar, with just a little bit of current style mixed in. Rather than somewhere for a quiet meal, it feels like a great place for people to gather and have a drink!

Even though I visited around 7 p.m. on a weekday, it was already pretty lively. So I think it would suit anyone looking for a group bar or a company-dinner bar in Sadang. I had heard it was popular and worried there might not be a table, so I made a reservation before visiting.

Samchon Kase pricing and the after-8 p.m. course

There are also lots of à la carte options. Grilled fish, minari seafood pancake, perilla-oil makguksu (buckwheat noodles), whelk spicy fish stew, parboiled squid, boiled pork, mixed raw fish, and plenty of other dishes that would be great with drinks.

I ordered the ₩39,000 Samchon Kase per person. ₩39,000 is not exactly cheap, but the amount of food was seriously abundant, so I was very. very. satisfied. I had nearly 15 different dishes alone, and as you eat them one by one, the table becomes completely covered in food.

For reference, we visited at 7 p.m. and ordered the ₩39,000 course, but after 8 p.m. there is also a six-dish course for ₩20,000 per person! Ramen and rice are available with unlimited refills too, but the course food alone made me so full that I could not even try them.

Samchon Kase’s overwhelming first spread

It was overwhelming from the very start!! The table was loaded with soft tofu, spicy pork, rice balls, abalone porridge, bossam (boiled pork wraps), soy-marinated crab, japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), and old-school pink sausage.

Soy-marinated crab

One of the things I enjoyed most was the soy-marinated crab! It was not salty, and the seasoning was just right. I liked it even more because there was no medicinal-herb aroma; it was good enough to come from a restaurant specializing in soy-marinated crab, honestly. So delicious!

Soft tofu

The soft tofu came warmed through, and I liked that it was a generous portion rather than a tiny serving.

Rice balls and spicy pork

The spicy pork came with rice cakes and rice mixed in; it had a nice kick and was the kind of flavor that kept me reaching back for more. The rice balls with crushed seaweed were really good too.

Bossam

The bossam was so tender. It was especially delicious with the dried shredded radish that came alongside it.

Abalone seafood porridge

The abalone porridge was nice because it felt like it settled my stomach between everything else.

Old-school pink sausage

The retro old-school pink sausage was chewy and so tasty! The japchae was also a huge portion and seasoned just right!

A course that continued from seafood to spicy fish stew

Whole steamed squid, scallops, and clams

Next came a steamed seafood assortment with shrimp, scallops, clams, and a whole steamed squid. The squid was pleasantly chewy, and dipped in chojang (sweet-tangy chili sauce), it was sweet and perfect as drinking food.

Aged sashimi

Then finally, the aged sashimi I had been waiting for! It came with flounder, salmon, aged kimchi, and seaweed. I especially loved wrapping the flounder with aged kimchi and perilla leaf. It is a combination I keep thinking about.

Fried flounder

The fried flounder was topped with a sweet sauce; it was crisp outside and moist inside, so tasty.

Seafood scallion pancake

The squid and chive pancake had plump, chewy pieces of squid and lots of chives.

Pork cutlet

Then pork cutlet came out too, and it was seriously huge. There were two big pieces, and after eating those, I was starting to reach my limit.

Duck and chives

I also enjoyed the duck with chives.

The spicy fish stew I remembered most

The spicy fish stew that came at the end was honestly incredible. It was generously filled with fish milt, tofu, minari, and bean sprouts, with hardly any fishiness. The broth was warmly spicy and had me going back for spoonful after spoonful; with this dish alone, I feel like a bottle of soju would disappear in no time. Personally, the final spicy fish stew was what I remembered most from everything I ate that day.

Peaches and a dalgona game

After even eating the soft peaches that came for dessert, I really felt like my stomach was going to burst.

There was also a dalgona (honeycomb candy) game in the middle of the meal, and they said you get a bottle of soju if you succeed. Of course, I failed!

Why I recommend it for a Sadang company dinner

Jindallae Silbi Sadang Branch is a generous retro-style bar where the food keeps coming once you order! At first, ₩39,000 may seem a little expensive, but after actually eating there, I did not feel it was a waste at all because of the sheer variety and amount of food. In particular, the menu kept changing—from soy-marinated crab and aged sashimi to squid and chive pancake and spicy fish stew—so I could enjoy it without getting tired of the food.

• Anyone looking for a place that serves lots of food
• Anyone looking for a Sadang bar for a company dinner
• Anyone looking for a Sadang bar for a group gathering
• Anyone who likes a retro-style bar atmosphere

Parking was difficult, though, so I recommend taking public transportation. Next time I am looking for somewhere in Sadang to get together with several people and have a proper drink, I will absolutely!! go back!