Seocho poke restaurant first visit: 100g raw salmon bowl at Olla Poke

Looking for somewhere to eat a solo salad lunch near Gyodae Station, I ended up at Olla Poke Seocho Gyodae Branch! 🥗

When you're grabbing lunch around Gyodae Station, hearty dishes like gukbap (soup with rice) or jjigae (stew) are always tempting, but sometimes you crave something that fills you up without feeling too heavy.

That day I was craving fresh vegetables and protein in balance, so I went with poke at this Gyodae Station solo-dining spot. What I ordered was the raw salmon poke, ₩13,500!

I love raw salmon so there was no hesitation in choosing it, and it was really soft and fresh — very satisfying. It wasn't just a light bowl of vegetables; with salmon, veggies, and beans all together, I felt pretty full after finishing the whole bowl. So I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a light but satisfying lunch spot near Gyodae Station. 😊

Why Olla Poke won out for a solo salad lunch near Gyodae Station

The biggest advantage of poke is that it feels fresh like a salad while still counting as a proper meal. At Olla Poke Seocho Gyodae Branch, you can pick the base to your taste — salad only, mixed with oat brown rice, or even buckwheat noodles. The ratio of oat brown rice, buckwheat noodles, and salad can be adjusted.

So even ordering the same poke, you can build it a bit differently depending on how hungry you are that day! On days when you need lunch but don't want to eat too heavy, this kind of choice is really appealing. Especially since poke gives you the main topping and vegetables all in one bowl with just one order, it worked well as a solo lunch near Gyodae Station.

Raw salmon poke for 13,500 won: how fresh was the salmon?

The dish I chose was the raw salmon poke, ₩13,500. 🧡

The raw salmon poke currently comes with 100g of raw salmon and the base toppings, and it's listed as a menu that pairs well with sriracha mayo. Honestly, when you order salmon in poke, the salmon quality matters most.

If the salmon is chewy or dry, you lose interest fast, but the raw salmon I had that day was really soft and tender. It looked moist even when I picked it up with chopsticks, and eating it confirmed that — it had a nice soft bite.

There was no fishy taste at all, so it stayed clean even mixed with vegetables, and the salmon flavor didn't get lost. At first I picked out the salmon pieces one by one, but eventually I mixed everything together and took big bites. Haha. When you order raw salmon poke and the salmon is good, you're already halfway to success. 😋

Chickpeas, lentils and corn: the toppings that make the bowl

After the salmon, what I liked most about this raw salmon poke was the toppings, which were more varied than I expected.

The base composition includes red onion, corn, pickle, pineapple, seaweed, along with chickpeas and lentils, so you get a range of textures in one bowl. What I especially enjoyed were the vegetables and beans!

The fresh vegetables were crunchy while the raw salmon was soft, and eating them together made for a nice contrast in texture. Add the beans and you get a nutty flavor on top of that. 🌱

With regular salads, everything can start tasting the same halfway through and get a little boring, but with poke, each bite brings something different, so that feeling was less pronounced. Some bites had more salmon, others more beans and vegetables! Mixing everything evenly meant I enjoyed it all the way to the last bite.

Eating the raw salmon together with the vegetables

For the first few bites I ate the salmon on its own to taste it, but in the end, poke tastes best all mixed together. 😂

Top the soft raw salmon with crunchy vegetables and nutty beans, and you get quite a range of textures in a single bite. That's honestly one of the main reasons I like poke.

It feels less like eating one salad and more like combining several ingredients a little at a time. Having soft ingredients like raw salmon alongside crunchy vegetables makes eating more fun, and since no single flavor lasts too long, I never got tired of it. If you like salmon, you really can't go wrong starting with the raw salmon poke. 🧡

What makes Olla Poke Seocho easy for eating alone

What I liked most about eating at Olla Poke that day was that I didn't feel heavy afterward.

If you eat too much rich food for lunch, you can end up sluggish and sleepy in the afternoon, but since poke has a high proportion of vegetables while still including salmon and beans, I got to keep both the lightness and the fullness.

If you keep defaulting to gukbap, jjigae, or noodles for lunch near Gyodae Station and want to switch to something lighter, poke like this is a good choice. On my first visit I tried the raw salmon poke, and it turned out to suit my taste better than expected at Olla Poke Seocho Gyodae Branch! 🥗🧡 I liked being able to change up the base using oat brown rice or buckwheat noodles. Next time I want to try a different base or extra toppings. 😊

If you're eating lunch alone near Gyodae Station or looking for a solo-dining spot with fresh vegetables and protein together, Olla Poke Seocho Gyodae Branch was a good find. Whenever I'm craving a tasty lunch near Gyodae Station that isn't too heavy, I think I'll be back for the raw salmon poke again. 💚