# Seolleung sushi bar for kuruma prawn and cucumber shiso salad: Sakai

- By Sowon Baek (https://superchart.com/en/@euljiro-late-griddle/)
- Written Sep 19, 2026
- Local places › Restaurants › Gangnam, Seoul
- Sponsored: This post was written as part of a paid restaurant-visit sponsorship.
- English edition: https://superchart.com/en/@euljiro-late-griddle/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/
- Also in: [한국어](https://superchart.com/ko/@euljiro-late-griddle/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/index.md)

## In short

Sakai is a sushi sakaba on Yeoksam-ro 67-gil near Seolleung Station in Gangnam, Seoul, where instead of a chef-led omakase you write the cuts you want on a Post-it and order them one piece at a time. The writer booked ahead and worked through sea bream, flounder, mackerel, horse mackerel, mottled squid, scallop, kuruma prawn, sweet shrimp, abalone, needlefish, benjari, akami, engawa and egg nigiri with a cucumber shiso salad and Suntory draft beer, and the kuruma prawn and the cucumber shiso salad were the standouts. Sakai's red-vinegar rice had a balanced tang and light seasoning, putting it above the usual entry-level sushi bar.

## Good to know

- **Address**: 15 Yeoksam-ro 67-gil, 1F Unit 101, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
- **Hours**: 17:00 - 01:00
- **Reservations**: Available through Naver Reservation
- **Pets**: Not allowed
- **Parking**: Not available
- **Seating**: Counter seats with a view of the sushi chef at work, plus tables
- **Sea bream / Flounder**: 3,700 won each
- **Mackerel / Horse mackerel**: 4,500 won each
- **Mottled squid / Scallop**: 5,300 won each
- **Kuruma prawn**: 12,000 won
- **Sweet shrimp / Akami**: 4,500 won each
- **Abalone**: 8,000 won
- **Needlefish**: 3,700 won
- **Benjari (chicken grunt)**: 4,500 won
- **Egg**: 2,900 won
- **Cucumber shiso salad**: 8,000 won
- **Suntory draft beer**: 10,000 won
- **Price reference**: ₩8,000 ≈ $5.8 · ₩10,000 ≈ $7.2 · ₩3,700 ≈ $2.7 (2026-09-20)

*as written by the visitor on Sep 19, 2026*

A space for okonomi-style sushi and small dishes

- Address: 15 Yeoksam-ro 67-gil, 1F 101, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
- Hours: 17:00 - 01:00
- Naver Reservation available
- No pets allowed
- No parking

## What kind of place is Sakai? A Seolleung sushi sakaba where you pick every piece

![First photo from the visit to Sakai, a sushi sakaba near Seolleung](https://img.superchart.com/images/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso-01-1km02-900.webp)

I visited Sakai, a sushi sakaba and izakaya near Seolleung Station in Gangnam, after making a reservation. Places run this way seem to be called sushi sakaba. Unlike omakase, where the chef serves whatever comes next in the flow, here you can request the sushi you want and eat it piece by piece. You get to eat while the shari (vinegared rice) is still at the right temperature, and the sushi quality was great, so I'd recommend it to anyone who loves sushi.

## Inside Sakai: counter and table seating

Sakai had both counter seats where you can watch the sushi being made and table seats. The sake cups were so cute!

![Sakai's interior seating and sake cups](https://img.superchart.com/images/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso-02-gy2gg-900.webp)

![Wooden board listing the neta available that day](https://img.superchart.com/images/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso-03-sj4ca-900.webp)

The sushi available that day was posted on a wooden board up top. There were quite a lot of neta (sushi toppings) types to choose from.

## Sakai's menu and nigiri prices

![Sakai's nigiri menu board](https://img.superchart.com/images/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso-04-18zwi-900.webp)

![Sakai's cooked dishes menu page](https://img.superchart.com/images/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso-05-19tjw-900.webp)

![Sakai's drinks menu page](https://img.superchart.com/images/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso-06-lmr98-900.webp)

We mostly ordered nigiri. Cucumber shiso salad / ₩8,000, a refreshing salad of cucumber and shiso with umeboshi sauce. Suntory draft beer / ₩10,000. Some sushi listed on the menu wasn't available that day, so we couldn't order it.

![Post-it used to write down a sushi order](https://img.superchart.com/images/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso-07-q61gd-900.webp)

## How Post-it ordering works at Sakai

At Sakai, you write down the sushi you want to order on a Post-it and hand it over. Here's our first round of orders, haha

![First round of nigiri ordered on a plate](https://img.superchart.com/images/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso-08-1geph-900.webp)

The ingredients used for the sushi were kept in a small fridge right in front of the table.

![Small fridge storing neta in front of the table](https://img.superchart.com/images/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso-09-h2kxu-m-900.webp)

We ordered our beer as draft! The beer at this sushi sakaba was Suntory draft.

![A glass of Sakai's Suntory draft beer](https://img.superchart.com/images/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso-10-1pp74-900.webp)

![Table set with the draft beer](https://img.superchart.com/images/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso-11-1xb8u-900.webp)

## Sakai nigiri one by one, from sea bream to kuruma prawn

Sea bream ₩3,700 / flounder ₩3,700. I preferred the sea bream over the flounder.

![Sea bream and flounder nigiri](https://img.superchart.com/images/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso-12-7c598-900.webp)

Mackerel ₩4,500 / horse mackerel ₩4,500

Mottled squid ₩5,300. I loved that it came with shiso ㅎ.ㅎ

Scallop ₩5,300

Sweet shrimp (botan ebi) ₩12,000. I recommend this one! It's pricier than the other sushi but worth every won. The shrimp is lightly cooked so it's soft, and lately not many sushi restaurants serve botan ebi, so it was nice to see it again after a while haha

![Sweet shrimp (botan ebi) nigiri](https://img.superchart.com/images/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso-13-113xk-900.webp)

Sweet shrimp ₩4,500

![Sweet shrimp nigiri topped with kimi sauce](https://img.superchart.com/images/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso-14-1522e-900.webp)

I'm not sure what kimi sauce actually is, but it was sweet. It paired really well with the fresh sweet shrimp.

Abalone ₩8,000. Abalone with liver sauce.

![Abalone nigiri topped with liver sauce](https://img.superchart.com/images/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso-15-1gy27-900.webp)

![Close-up of the abalone nigiri](https://img.superchart.com/images/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso-16-1mqn8-900.webp)

Needlefish ₩3,700

![Needlefish nigiri](https://img.superchart.com/images/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso-17-h9bdm-900.webp)

Benjari ₩4,500

## Cucumber shiso salad, 8,000 won: the must-order at Sakai

Cucumber shiso salad ₩8,000. I really recommend this one,,,❤️ With shiso, cucumber, and umeboshi in it, I imagine opinions will be divided, but if you like these ingredients there's no reason not to order it. The flavors seemed so intense that I wondered how it could even be called a salad, but the tangy sauce keeps the cucumber from being bland and the pop of shiso flavor made it delicious. Personally I couldn't really taste the cucumber and felt its whole job was texture ㅎ.ㅎ

![Cucumber shiso salad with umeboshi sauce](https://img.superchart.com/images/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso-18-1hnh4-900.webp)

![A bowl of cucumber shiso salad](https://img.superchart.com/images/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso-19-1p0ky-900.webp)

## Why an oily-fish lover reordered the mackerel

The blue-fish fanatic in our group reordered three more pieces of mackerel sushi — that's the charm of a sushi bar. You can order exactly the type of sushi you want, however much you want. This fanatic went on to order even more mackerel.

![Three reordered pieces of mackerel sushi](https://img.superchart.com/images/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso-20-1697d-900.webp)

![Plate of mackerel nigiri](https://img.superchart.com/images/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso-21-17p49-900.webp)

Akami ₩4,500. It was well aged in soy sauce, so there was no fishy taste at all.

![Soy-aged akami nigiri](https://img.superchart.com/images/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso-22-c1f3v-900.webp)

![Close-up of the akami nigiri](https://img.superchart.com/images/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso-23-18c84-900.webp)

Engawa

Egg ₩2,900

Two more pieces of benjari, two more pieces of mackerel

![Additional order of benjari and mackerel nigiri](https://img.superchart.com/images/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso/seolleung-sushi-sakaba-botan-shrimp-cucumber-shiso-24-evnp6-1200.webp)

The color of the mackerel skin was so pretty.

## How was Sakai's red-vinegar shari, and what fell short?

Sakai's shari was akasu shari (vinegared rice made with red vinegar) with a moderate tang. Personally, it didn't feel strong enough to divide opinions. It also wasn't too salty! Since all my favorite neta were available, this wasn't an issue for me, but the friend in our group who loves blue fish was disappointed she couldn't get gizzard shad, haha. It was great being able to order the available fish exactly how we wanted right away, but not every neta on the menu is actually in stock, so if you have your heart set on something specific, that could be a letdown. Well... what can you do, you just have to check ahead >.<ㅋㅋ

I only ordered sushi, but they also serve sashimi, so if you're near Seolleung Station or looking for an izakaya in Daechi-dong with delicious aged sashimi, or just want to pair sake or beer with simple sushi, I'd recommend this place! The satisfaction level was well above a typical entry-level sushi restaurant, so I think I'll be thinking of it the next time I'm craving sushi!

## Where it is

- Sakai (사카이)
- 15 Yeoksam-ro 67-gil, 1F 101, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
- 서울특별시 강남구 역삼로67길 15 1층 101호
- 37.5023593, 127.0528285
- Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/search/%EC%82%AC%EC%B9%B4%EC%9D%B4/@37.5023593,127.0528285,17z

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