Unmarked Seolleung sushi izakaya: benjari and akami nigiri at Sakai

Writing up an honest review of Sakai in Seolleung, where I went for sushi after work!

Where is Sakai? The Seolleung sushi bar with no sign

Sakai is a sushi and izakaya spot at 15 Yeoksam-ro 67-gil, 1st floor, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. When I first went looking for it, I was like, where is it... where is it... and searched for ages. It didn't seem to have a sign at all, but this is what the place looks like — this is Sakai! If you're heading there, don't get confused, just walk in here.

• Location: 15 Yeoksam-ro 67-gil, 1st floor, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. It's about midway(?) between Seolleung Station and Hanti Station — come out Seolleung Station exit 1.
• Hours: 17:00–01:00 (last order 00:00)
• Closed the first Tuesday of every month

Inside Sakai: the bar counter and the mood

The interior has this kind of vibe! Calm and clean, with not that many tables — it felt like a lot of people come in with reservations. I wanted to sit at one of the face-to-face tables but there were none free, so I sat at the bar table!

When you order a drink it comes with this pretty glass. It'll show up again below!

Sakai's menu: how long is the list?

Here's the order menu, and there were genuinely so many items. Honestly there were a lot I couldn't even figure out just from the names, haha.

• Drinks: beer, soju, highball, gin tonic, sake, and more
• Sashimi: white fish sashimi / blue-back fish sashimi / moriwawase / bakudanmaki / komasaba
• Cucumber-shiso salad / potato salad / caprese / vegetable sticks / sausage with mashed potato / braised dishes
• Dessert: tiramisu
• Tori no karaage / chicken nanban / horse mackerel fry / fried eggplant / sesseri sweet and sour chicken / french fries
• Grilled mackerel / grilled hairtail
• Clam miso soup / seafood ramen / kuro oden
• Sushi: egg / filefish / sardine / flounder / sea bream / salmon / needlefish / razor clam / Spanish mackerel / gizzard shad / akami / horse mackerel / mackerel / benjari / conger eel / sweet shrimp / cuttlefish / scallop / ark shell
• Chutoro / yellowtail / amberjack / striped jack / arkshell variety / kerch / stick sushi rolls / otoro / cockle / abalone / salmon roe / snow crab / uni / golden threadfin bream / hosomaki

Whatever's actually available that day gets posted up on this board, so you order by looking at this!

I had no idea what was what... I stared at the menu for ages, so they recommended some items and I ordered based on their picks. Honestly I'd never even heard of benjari or akami before, but since they were recommended, I wrote them down and ordered!

One nice thing about sitting at the bar table is you get to watch the cooking happen right in front of you!

My first sake ever: Emishiki Sensation White

At Sakai they said you have to order a drink, so I ordered sake. It was called 'Emishiki Sensation White' — it had a sweet aroma but wasn't overly sweet, quite clean actually. (Honestly this was my very first sake in life.)

Steamed abalone with roe sauce, 25,000 won

One of the recommended dishes was the steamed abalone! I ordered it thinking it'd be like steamed clams, expecting something hot, but it came out like this and I was a bit thrown off. Once I tried it, the abalone was genuinely chewy and delicious, and that abalone innard sauce! I never really thought abalone porridge tasted that great before, but this was genuinely nutty and delicious...

Sushi at Sakai: salmon, red sea bream, benjari and akami

Salmon, ₩3,700. Right after, the nigiri pieces started coming out one by one, made fresh. Since they're made right in front of you, it kind of feels like omakase. The salmon nigiri tasted like your standard salmon nigiri.

Sea bream (₩3,700). Chewy and delicious.

Benjari (₩4,500). First time hearing the name benjari — looked it up and it's apparently a fish in the sea bream family. This was also delicious!

Akami (₩4,500). Looked very similar to tuna nigiri, and the taste felt somewhat similar too, I think.

Horse mackerel fry, 4 pieces for 15,000 won (half orders welcome)

Horse mackerel fry, 4 pieces (₩15,000). I'd seen online that a lot of people order this, so I gave it a try — apparently you can also order it as a half portion.

Crispy and delicious, and the sauce on the side had a slightly tangy kick that went really well with it. The sauce ran a bit short, but I think if you asked for more they'd probably give you more! (Probably.)

Ending with Sakai's complimentary rolled omelette

Finally, they gave us a complimentary egg roll! It was a Japanese-style egg roll, super soft and sweet. Ended the meal eating it kind of like a dessert.

Prices were steep... but I'd recommend it if you want good sushi with a drink somewhere quiet. If you're looking for an izakaya near Seolleung, worth a visit at least once.