Gangnam sashimi bar, seasonal gizzard shad sekkoshi: Sanhocho Nonhyeon

A while back I suddenly got a craving for seasonal raw fish, so I left work early with my wife to book a table at a well-known sashimi bar in Nonhyeon. This time it was 'Sanhocho Nonhyeon' (산호초 논현점), a Nonhyeon Station bar.

Address: 56 Hakdong-ro 2-gil, 1st Floor Units 101 & 102, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea Hours: Daily 17:00 – 05:00 (last order 04:00) Group-friendly, takeout, reservations, separate restrooms, Wi-Fi

Where is Sanhocho Nonhyeon, and where can you park?

This Nonhyeon Station bar sits between Nonhyeon Station (Line 3, Sinbundang Line) Exit 3 and Sinnonhyeon Station (Lines 5, 9) Exit 3. If you're driving, there's no building lot, so I'd recommend using a nearby paid parking lot.

Inside Sanhocho Nonhyeon just before opening time

I arrived a bit early, before opening time actually, so I got to capture the empty interior shots.

Haha, most sashimi joints tend to have that slightly worn-down pojangmacha (street tent bar) style, but this Nonhyeon Station bar had a clean, spacious, and polished interior that was totally my taste.

In one corner, raw fish was being aged, and they had a wide variety of drinks too, so the layout was great for pairing good sashimi with a drink to your taste.

And they were running an event where you get a small dish for writing a receipt review.

The 3-kind sashimi set: what do live squid and gizzard shad cost to add?

At Sanhocho Nonhyeon, you order through a tablet at your table, which was convenient. I ordered the 3-kind sashimi set, plus live mackerel, raw squid, and gizzard shad sashimi.

3-kind sashimi: ₩77,000 - Live squid +₩2,000 - Gizzard shad +₩2,000

While waiting for the food, I studied up on how to best enjoy mackerel sashimi. They had it illustrated nicely and intuitively.

Side dishes came out first, and after about 10 minutes, my 3-kind sashimi order arrived.

Wow, the visual is incredible!! This kind of great sashimi is meant to be shared, but right before this visit my wife got pulled into work, so I had to enjoy it alone, which was a bit of a bummer, sigh.

The mackerel sashimi is sliced from live fish, so there wasn't a hint of fishiness, and the squid and gizzard shad sashimi looked fresh just from a glance.

Katsuobushi jelly and soy sauce: how the dipping combo works

That shiny yellow square thing is a jelly made from katsuobushi (bonito flake) seasoning, and it wasn't salty at all, with great umami, so it was great to enjoy with the sashimi instead of regular soy sauce. The soy sauce itself was also katsuobushi soy sauce, which was less salty and more flavorful than regular soy sauce, so delicious,,

How does the live mackerel sashimi taste?

Alright, let's start with this Nonhyeon Station bar's mackerel sashimi! I tried the combination the staff recommended first. Oh,,, delicious!

Since the mackerel is sliced from a live fish, there was zero fishiness, plenty of rich fattiness, great umami — genuinely moving. I missed mackerel sashimi so much, sigh. It's what I always used to eat whenever I went to Jeju Island, but I haven't been to Jeju in a while, and this delicious mackerel sashimi naturally drifted out of my life along with it.

No matter the pairing, mackerel sashimi is just a cheat code on its own, so satisfaction was high.

Live squid with a firm, springy chew

Next up, I tried the squid sashimi, a catch that's apparently becoming abundant again in Korea these days. Haha, that chewy texture, amazing! Back when it was a common catch I got a bit tired of it and stopped eating it, but having it again after a long while, it's so good! It made me crave soju, but since I got stood up and was there alone, I didn't feel like cracking one open, haha.

Gizzard shad in season: the right time for sekkoshi (bone-in slices)

Apparently gizzard shad sashimi is better eaten before full-on autumn arrives, since the bones aren't too thick yet, making it ideal for sekkoshi (bone-in sliced sashimi), and right now was the perfect time for it. The portion was generous too, so I got quite full, but it was so tasty I didn't leave a bite, haha. It was practically an inhale-it-all situation.

Is Sanhocho Nonhyeon a good spot for a company dinner?

Sanhocho Nonhyeon! There are a lot of great reviews out there, and honestly, if there were a sashimi place like this near my office, I'd want to suggest it for a company dinner and drinks. The atmosphere is great, it's spacious and comfortable, the sashimi is delicious, and the staff were kind — overall a really satisfying visit!