Songpa izakaya sashimi platter and Nagasaki champon for 3: Motokurashi

I was meeting up with a close younger friend on Songridan-gil after a while and was trying to figure out where to go — somewhere quiet that would be good for catching up and also fine for a casual beer. That's how I found Motokurashi, an izakaya with a calm vibe 😍🧡

They say Motokurashi is like a little Japan tucked into Songridan-gil, and with the yen so weak lately I've really wanted to go to Japan, so I figured this would be a nice substitute haha. That made me even more excited to visit~~

Motokurashi's location and hours

Motokurashi is on the 2nd floor, right next to a café once you go up, so it can be a bit confusing — but you want to head right! I almost walked into the café on the left haha.

Hours: Mon-Sun 17:30-24:00 / last order 23:00

The counter seats and the cozy table area inside

As soon as you walk in, you see the counter (dachi) seats! Couples could sit side by side there and it'd be nice. I've really been into counter seats lately anyway — you can order and eat right away, and sometimes it's even more convenient!

Further in, there are several tables, and since we were a party of 2-3 they seated us at one of those inside tables~~~ It had this cozy feeling to it > < We were so hungry the moment we walked in that we looked at the menu and ordered right away~~~~ There were so many good-looking dishes it was honestly hard to choose 🥹

Let me introduce what we ended up ordering!!

Truffle scallop pasta – ₩21,000

I love truffle and I love scallops too, so this was my friend's pick — and it was so good!!! There was truffle oil drizzled on top so the aroma was amazing, and it went so well with the pasta noodles~~

I don't know why anything with truffle in it these days just tastes so good haha~~

The main dish: Motoku moriawase (sashimi platter) – ₩39,000

And now Motokurashi's signature dish!!! Motoku moriawase, ₩39,000. Since sashimi is Motokurashi's specialty, this was a must-order~~~~ It came out with 3 pieces each, which was perfect for the three of us, and above all it was so fresh there wasn't a hint of fishy taste!!!

Some people get nervous about sashimi in summer, but the sashimi here was so fresh and such good quality~~😍👏

Drinks: three glasses of draft beer

Cheers~~ We started off ordering the mains first, and both of our picks turned out great. They also had such a wide variety of alcohol that I'd recommend pairing your drink choice with your food order~~

We went back and forth but ended up ordering three glasses of beer since it was hot out and we wanted a cold draft beer! 🍻🍺🍻🍺

Ahh~~ that's the stuff~~ So refreshing, and we kept gulping it down while diligently working through the pasta and sashimi.

(We were planning to finish that and move on to a tokkuri of sake too, but we got too full... haha)

Nagasaki champon – ₩23,000

Then we felt like we needed some carbs, so we added on a Nagasaki champon (spicy seafood noodle soup) for ₩23,000~~~~ We were craving something with a clean, spicy-hot broth~~~

With mussels, mushrooms, and all kinds of seafood in it, the Nagasaki champon along with the sashimi and truffle scallop pasta were all delicious — great as a substantial meal rather than just bar snacks~~~~ Ordering all this for three of us left us pretty full!!!!! One guy, two girls.

How it worked as a spot for a date or a small get-together

The udon noodles and bean sprouts were nice and springy, soaking up the broth so well that we finished the whole bowl in no time haha. The interior itself is quiet and cozy, making it great for conversation, so I'd definitely recommend it as a date or blind date spot too~~ The staff were friendly as well, which was another plus~~ I liked it enough that I'd want to come back again for my next small gathering — that's the end of this very satisfied review 💛🧡