Seolleung work dinner sushi: chutoro and steamed abalone at Sakai

Today after work I went to Sakai, a well-known sushi spot near Seolleung. There are tons of office workers around Seolleung, but good izakayas are actually pretty rare there, right? This place doesn't even have a signboard — it genuinely felt like a hidden gem.

An izakaya near Seolleung with sushi better than omakase — Sakai

Where is Sakai in Seolleung, and what are the hours?

Sakai is about a 6-minute walk from Exit 2 of Seolleung Station, or about 7 minutes from Exit 1. It's open daily from 5 PM to 1 AM the next day, closed on the first Tuesday of every month, and you can book through Naver Reservation.

It's set a bit off the main food alley, in a quieter side street! I liked that about it too.

With no signboard, I walked up wondering, "oh, is this really a good izakaya??" — but the inside was bigger than expected and had great atmosphere. Places without signboards are always the real deal, haha!

Inside Sakai: counter (dachi) seats and table seats

Once you push through the curtain at the entrance, warm yellow lighting greets you inside, and lots of office workers were already having a drink after work — for work dinners, for dates, all sorts.

There were both table seats and a counter (dachi) table — people mainly there for sushi sat at the counter like an omakase setup, while the group-dinner crowd sat at tables.

I wanted the counter seat, but it was already full when I arrived, so I sat at a table. Seeing someone eating sushi solo really stood out too — Sakai is totally fine for solo dining and solo drinking!

How do you order sushi at Sakai?

Sakai has many kinds of nigiri and maki, and you can pick whatever you want, one piece at a time.

You just write down the sushi you want and hand it to staff. Every piece is priced differently. They mix it up nicely for you.

Today we kept it simple with a beer to sip alongside the meal, sharing it between us. One cold sip and all the day's work stress just melted away.

Chicken neck sweet-and-sour, chutoro and sweet shrimp nigiri

The chicken neck sweet-and-sour we ordered alongside the sushi is made with chicken neck meat in a black vinegar sauce, giving it that tangy, slightly spicy kick like gangpungi. Salty and savory — really good.

Among the nigiri, the salmon aburi and chutoro came out first. The look of it — insane.

The pricier chutoro, haha. It's genuinely so delicious. One bite in and I thought, yep, this really is a top sushi spot near Seolleung — confirmed. Since you can pick exactly the sushi you want and order it, this might actually beat omakase.

Then came the sweet shrimp kimi sauce sushi.

Whew... this one's also so rich — the kimi sauce brings out so much umami, and with two sweet shrimp piled on top, one bite in and I was moved.

Abalone steamed in sake with geu (abalone liver) sauce

I was curious how the abalone wine-steamed dish with geu sauce would look, and it came out sliced, with salt, wasabi, and the geu sauce to dip it in.

Highly recommend it if you love chewy seafood.

With the whole table filled up like this, I found myself thinking — was there really a sushi restaurant near Seolleung with quality this good?? Get here with a company card ASAP ◟⁽ˆᵕˆ ⁾⸜ I wanted to try everything.

Adding Spanish mackerel and mackerel sushi: what is a sushi sakaba?

Since the sushi at Sakai is genuinely so good, I thought — next time I'll sit at the counter and order every single kind of nigiri. So I added two more on the spot!

Spanish mackerel and mackerel sushi. Both of these had me impressed all over again. They said the sushi lineup changes often too, which I liked. Apparently a place that lets you enjoy high-quality sushi and sake at reasonable prices is called a "sushi sakaba." I only learned that term after looking it up, and Sakai fits it perfectly.

If you're looking for a proper Japanese restaurant with real sushi near Seolleung, Sakai is it. With the great atmosphere on top, I fully, truly recommend it as an izakaya spot for Yeoksam-Seolleung.