Sadang Station date-night izakaya: sea urchin Ohap platter at Sansu

Why I picked Sansu Sadang Main Branch for a Sadang Station date-night bar

Sansu Sadang Main Branch (산수 사당본점) is an izakaya about 100m from Exit 10 of Sadang Station, and apparently a popular spot for dates, blind dates and wedding invitation get-togethers. I found it while looking for a nice bar to go to with my boyfriend around Sadang Station! There are so many bars around Sadang Station, but it's surprisingly hard to find one with both a good atmosphere and good food, right?

When we actually went, it was packed, hahaha. We had to wait a little before getting in T_T

📍 17 Dongjak-daero 3-gil, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, 1st floor / 🚇 about 100m from Exit 10 of Sadang Station. It's close to Exit 10, so it's easy to find!

The first thing that caught my eye outside was the sign with "Sansu" written in Chinese characters, and since you can see the interior through the big glass windows, it looks like a great vibe even as you walk past.

There's also a menu board with photos of lots of different dishes standing in front of the entrance.

What are the interior and seating like at Sansu Sadang Main Branch?

The inside of Sansu Sadang Main Branch has a dark, black-toned interior with soft lighting and walls filled with decorations in the style of traditional landscape paintings (sansuhwa). The moment I walked in I was like, wow, the interior is so pretty T_T! Great vibe.

When you think of an izakaya, you usually picture a Japanese-style interior, right? Sansu felt like a slightly more refined take on an Eastern atmosphere. My personal favorite was the bar table! In front of a huge landscape painting, it was full of colorful flowers and plants, and it was really pretty. The mix of the dark interior and bright flower decorations worked much better than I expected.

Besides the bar seats there are regular tables too, so it seemed good for dates or get-togethers with friends.

The area where the drinks are displayed stood out as well. There's a wide range from traditional Korean liquor to sake, and I loved how prettily it was all arranged.

Sansu Sadang Main Branch menu and prices: what did we order?

Unlike a typical izakaya, Sansu Sadang Main Branch has lots of fusion dishes using ingredients from all over Korea, and I thought it was unique that the menu names include regions like Gyeongbuk, Jeonnam, Namhae and Donghae. The range is wide, from beef tartare to seafood, pasta and braised short ribs, so we spent ages deciding what to order, hahaha.

• Sansu Ohap ₩58,000
• Gyeonggi spicy charcoal-grilled braised short ribs ₩34,000
• Gyeongnam spicy seafood pasta ₩22,000
• Saranghal Ttae ("When You Love") ₩9,000

We also got a gimbugak yukhoe (seaweed chip beef tartare) through the review event! You just leave a Naver receipt review, so keep that in mind. Because it's delicious!!!!

Sansu Ohap: how do the sea urchin and Korean beef tartare taste?

The Sansu Ohap (₩58,000) comes as one plate with Korean beef tartare (yukhoe), sweet shrimp, scallop, sea urchin and salmon roe, and it was the dish I was looking forward to most that day!! Isn't it gorgeous just to look at? T_T As someone who loves sea urchin, I couldn't resist this combination.

And what made it even more exciting: the Ohap sold out right after we ordered, hahaha. Wow, if we'd been a little later we'd have missed it. The person who ordered the last Ohap of the day? That's me 😎

First, the sea urchin was really fresh. It had that signature soft, rich texture, and the scent of the sea filled my mouth. It was especially good when I put scallop, sea urchin and salmon roe on a piece of seaweed and ate it in one bite. All the ingredients come together and a nutty, rich flavor hits you all at once!

The beef tartare in the Sansu Ohap seemed to be seasoned with a soy sauce base, and its savory depth made it perfect as a drinking snack. You can eat it with the sweet shrimp and scallop too, so it was fun switching up the combinations. I tried the Korean beef tartare on its own and with the other seafood, and this dish really calls for a drink, hahaha.

What is the apple traditional liquor 'Saranghal Ttae'?

Saranghal Ttae (사랑할 때, "When You Love"; ₩9,000) is a traditional Korean liquor made from apples, 12% ABV in a 300ml bottle. Sansu Sadang Main Branch has such a wide selection of traditional liquors that I couldn't decide, so I ordered it just from the name, haha.

Honestly, when I first saw the bottle I was a bit taken aback because the packaging looked so cheap, hahaha. Traditional liquors all come in pretty packaging these days, so why is this one like that, haha. Such a cheap-looking design.. but it's delicious!!! Wow, it was much sweeter and tastier than I expected T_T

You can taste the sweetness that's typical of apples, so it was easy to drink. It went especially well with the soy-sauce-based beef tartare. Another reminder not to judge by the packaging, hahaha.

Gyeonggi spicy charcoal-grilled braised short ribs: easy to eat without bones?

The Gyeonggi spicy charcoal-grilled braised short ribs (₩34,000) are spicy braised ribs served with all the bones removed. When it first came out, the hearty look of it caught my eye. The ribs were deeply seasoned and came with fresh vegetables, so they were nice to eat together with the meat. The flavor is spicy! The hot seasoning really wakes up your appetite.

The biggest plus of this dish is that every bone is removed. When you eat braised ribs, you usually end up with sauce all over your hands while trying to get the bones out, right? Sansu's ribs let you pick them up neatly without that hassle, which I liked.

Eating a piece of meat with vegetables, the spicy seasoning and the crunchy texture went well together. Above all, my boyfriend absolutely loved this dish, hahaha. He said it was delicious and ate almost all of it by himself. The day I focused on the Ohap and he focused on the braised ribs 🤣

Gyeongnam spicy seafood pasta tastes like a jjamppong cream pasta

The Gyeongnam spicy seafood pasta (₩22,000) is a spicy, punchy cream pasta topped generously with mussels and clams. The amount of seafood was the first thing I noticed when it came out, and the noodles were coated in a rich orange sauce. It felt just like a jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup) cream pasta??? It's not mild and creamy like a regular cream pasta; the spicy, rich sauce really pulls you in.

The seafood adds a lot of savory depth, and the thick, spicy sauce coated the noodles well. Pasta at a bar can sometimes be pretty ordinary, but Sansu's pasta has a bold flavor that works as a drinking snack, so I liked it. I'd especially recommend it if you like spicy food.

Review event gimbugak yukhoe: the beef tartare is the kick

The gimbugak yukhoe, which we got through the Naver receipt review event, is piled high with beef tartare on crispy seaweed chips (gimbugak). We had already ordered a ton of food and were pretty full, but this was so good too T_T The presentation was so pretty.

It's sized for one bite, so it was easy to pick up. The combination of crunchy seaweed chips and soft beef tartare was really good. The nutty flavor of the seaweed chips plus the savory depth of the beef tartare! Crispy seaweed chips, soft beef tartare! It had a different charm from the Ohap.

I heard Sansu is famous for shrimp, but the beef tartare is the kick, haha. Seriously, why is this place so good at beef tartare...? hahaha

Is Sansu Sadang Main Branch worth recommending as a date spot?

There are so many bars around Sadang Station, but Sansu Sadang Main Branch was memorable for both its interior and its food.

The atmosphere inside, with Eastern landscape paintings mixed with bright flower decorations, was unique, and the plating was pretty too, so it was a great date spot. The Sansu Ohap I had that day was especially satisfying, full of my favorite ingredients: sea urchin, beef tartare, sweet shrimp and scallop. The apple traditional liquor was good too and went well with the food.

That said, it was busy when I visited and there was a short wait, so it's best to go with some time to spare. If you're looking for a place for a blind date or a date around Sadang Station, or a nice spot for a wedding invitation get-together, it's worth a visit. If you love sea urchin, I especially recommend the Sansu Ohap 💕