Aged sashimi platter and miso eggplant at Kuroiya, Itaewon bar

Today I'm reviewing Kuroiya, a great spot in Itaewon! I'll share some tips along the way so keep them in mind if you visit ><

Kuroiya's location and hours

• Location: 14-4 Itaewon-ro 16-gil, basement floor, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
• Hours: 17:30–01:30 next day / Fri–Sat 17:30–02:00

Getting there from Itaewon Station, and the exterior and interior

Today I went to Kuroiya, an Itaewon favorite!!

If you walk just a bit from Itaewon Station, it shows up! It's tucked away a little in the alley, so make sure to check the map carefully!!

You go in through this entrance

The inside was pretty spacious!! Lots of tables and seats, so it'd be great for groups too

The vibe felt kind of relaxed and mellow, so it'd be great for a blind date or a regular date too!! I think I told my friend several times how good this place is

What we ordered for two

• Assorted sashimi platter ₩65,000
• Miso eggplant tempura ₩15,000

This is what the two of us ordered! First they brought out the basic side dishes

Looks like white kimchi, dried radish, tot (sea vegetable) with tofu, and smashed cucumber. They all had different textures and were tasty! Especially salty enough to eat with rice

They also gave us seaweed sheets to wrap the sashimi in, and it was refillable too!

This seems to be the miso soup that came as a basic side — it was nicely salty and warm and tasty!! There was a bit of fish in it too, not much meat but nice to pick out

The assorted aged sashimi platter — what was in it

Finally, the aged sashimi platter arrived!!! The composition was so good!! Looks amazing and looks super tasty too, right

Herring, tuna, Spanish mackerel, salmon, abalone, raw shrimp, yukhoe (beef tartare) and more — such a wide variety!! They explained each piece one by one

Herring

First up, herring!! I love herring so much I almost ordered it as a standalone dish, so I was thrilled it was included in the set. Herring usually has small bones, but Kuroiya's herring had none — so soft and delicious, I loved it!! No fishy taste either

Seared tuna (aburi)

This looked like lightly torched tuna and it was really delicious!! Cut thick, so it had a nice chew to it

Raw shrimp

This is raw shrimp!!! There was even a bit of dark roe on top, which was salty and delicious too!! Maybe because it's in season, the shrimp was plump and delicious, with a bursting texture

Spanish mackerel

This is Spanish mackerel!! It was aged so well there was almost nothing to chew!!! Melted in my mouth and was thick and so delicious

Salmon

This is the salmon!! Did you know Kuroiya is famous for its salmon?! It was aged so well it was unbelievably soft and rich, the best ㅠㅠ Next time I want to order salmon alone as a standalone dish!!

Review-event anago liver roll and complimentary mackerel-potato roll

This is the anago liver (ankimo) roll we got for the review event!!! Ankimo and a savory sauce piled generously on top!! Just the right amount of salty and savory, so delicious~

Inside the roll there was something like burdock root, and it blended so well with the ankimo, really tasty!!

The ankimo on top was savory and went perfectly with the rice, and it was also a perfect match with the sashimi

Next is the mackerel-potato roll we got for free!! It's usually the mackerel torch-seared sushi we eat, but this version has potato instead of rice, and it was so so so good!!

Having potato instead of rice felt like a genius idea, and this savory, slightly briny mackerel paired so well with the soft potato!! The mackerel wasn't fishy at all and I really enjoyed it ♥

This is the sake we got to try! It really wasn't strong-tasting and was delicious?? And the fish-shaped cup was so cute haha

The miso eggplant tempura we ordered as an extra

Next up, the eggplant tempura we ordered as an extra!! It was stuffed generously with meat inside!! Topped with a generous amount of bonito flakes and fried potato, so it looked great

For dipping sauces we got a creamy miso sauce? and a chili sauce. The creamy miso was pretty unusual!!

The eggplant tempura was super crispy and had that burst of vegetable and meat juice at once!! So delicious