Gyeongdong Market sashimi restaurant set for two: Simdo Hoetjip

Where Simdo Hoetjip is and when it opens

Simdo Hoetjip is on the 1st floor, unit 119, of the Lotte Castle Firenze commercial building at 58 Jeongneungcheon-dong-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul. It's open weekdays 15:00–24:00 and weekends 12:00–24:00, with last order at 23:00, and closed every Monday. Groups, takeout, and reservations are all possible, restrooms are separate for men and women, and parking is free.

How to get there from Jegi-dong Station Exit 3

Known as a sashimi spot near Cheongnyangni, Simdo Hoetjip sits on the 1st floor of the Lotte Castle Firenze building, within a 3-minute walk of Exit 3 of Jegi-dong Station. If you're driving, you can use the building's public parking lot for free, and there's a nearby public lot if it's full.

The fish tanks lining the front of the restaurant were full of different kinds of sashimi fish and seafood, all kept clean.

The business hours are also posted out front.

Inside Simdo Hoetjip: tables and partitions

The interior isn't huge — there are 7–8 tables, mostly 4-person. We arrived around 5:30pm on a Sunday when it was quiet, but by 6pm it was completely full. I'd recommend reserving if you're coming at mealtime. The partitions between tables made it comfortable, not cramped.

The restrooms are shared with the rest of the building, outside the restaurant. Bring a keycard and tissue.

There's also a country-of-origin sign posted inside, and it was reassuring to see most ingredients are domestically sourced.

The owner apparently has 40 years of cooking experience, including a stint as head chef at a foreign embassy.

What's on the menu at Simdo Hoetjip

A big menu board covers the wall — sashimi, mulhoe (cold raw fish soup), seafood, steamed dishes, stews, and more, from single items to three kinds of assorted sashimi platters, five seafood dishes, and special sets that come with rice bowls and stew.

There was also a new summer special — mulhoe and gujeolhoe naengchae (nine-ingredient cold sashimi salad)! The gujeolhoe naengchae comes with nine kinds of sashimi and seafood served with a cold sauce, haha. It looked refreshing and tangy, perfect for summer.

The gujeolhoe naengchae looked delicious too, but my boyfriend isn't great with seafood other than raw fish, so we skipped it.

What two people ordered

We ordered the following for two people:

• Flounder & sea bream set (medium) ₩60,000
• Sample raw shrimp sashimi ₩9,900
• Spicy fish stew ₩8,000
• Added dumpling soup noodles ₩2,000

We originally wanted the flounder-rockfish set, but the owner recommended sea bream that day since it was especially good, so we went with flounder and sea bream instead haha.

Which free side dishes come out first

First they brought out corn mayo, clams, rinsed aged kimchi, ssamjang (dipping paste), garlic, and fresh wasabi. I love that they give you aged kimchi. And those clams were braised in soy sauce — spicy, savory, and so good.

The seaweed soup was warm and delicious. Hot, salty broth on an empty stomach — nothing beats that.

And then the grilled herring! I think this was my first time eating grilled herring — the flesh was firm, the flavor clean, and it was packed with roe, so good, haha. The scallions on top worked really well too.

The kimchi pancake was fried perfectly crisp — so good,

and the steamed egg was warm and bouncy too, haha. My stomach was already starting to fill up before the sashimi even showed up...

Raw shrimp sashimi, 9,900 won: peel it yourself

While we were eating through everything, the sample raw shrimp sashimi (₩9,900) came out. Five shrimp, wrapped in plastic wrap since they can jump around. You don't peel the whole thing off — just poke a small hole and pull them out one by one. They're not pre-shelled, so you have to peel them yourself, but it's a fun, affordable way to try raw shrimp sashimi if you're curious.

My boyfriend said he'd peel them, took them, put on gloves, and then... just sat there?! Turns out he was too scared to actually do it. So I said 'I'll do it' and took over — the classic tough-girl-soft-boy dynamic (no wonder he never engaged when I kept sending him raw shrimp reels).

The shrimp heads we cut off got taken away by staff, who grilled them up and brought them back.

Medium flounder and sea bream set, 60,000 won: portion and taste

While I was busy peeling shrimp, the flounder-sea bream set (medium) arrived! It comes with radish sprouts and lemon slices, haha — pretty plating that suited the cooling, fall-like weather.

Even the medium size came with a generous portion of fins — such good value, don't you think?!

Grilled shrimp heads! Crispy and salty grilled just right — so good.

This flounder is exactly what I came for... The first bite, just a light dip in soy sauce with wasabi — thick-cut live-fish sashimi, chewy and springy with a nutty flavor, so good it almost made me tear up. This is the kind of sashimi you need to eat regularly once the weather turns cold.

The sea bream skin was wonderfully chewy too, great texture and nutty flavor — so good. There was a reason the owner recommended sea bream today...!

I actually prefer wrapping sashimi in perilla leaves rather than lettuce, and seeing that they give you perilla leaves here made me think — this owner really knows their stuff. My favorite combo: a piece of flounder on a perilla leaf, topped with aged kimchi, ssamjang, chili, and garlic. Or you can keep it simple with just a bit of fresh wasabi and soy sauce — still rich and delicious.

They also gave every table 2 pieces of gimmaki (seaweed-wrapped rice roll bites) as a complimentary service. They told us to put a piece of sashimi on top and dip it in soy sauce — tried it that way and it was delicious. You could really taste the savoriness of the raw seaweed!

Finishing with spicy fish stew and hand-torn dough flakes

For dessert, so to speak, we ordered the spicy fish stew (plus added dumpling soup noodles). They loaded it with perilla leaves too. I was surprised by how much fish meat was actually in the stew — there was so much to pick off the bones that by the time we finished, we were completely stuffed. The bean sprouts were plentiful too, crunchy and delicious. The dumpling soup noodles we added for ₩2,000 came in a generous portion, soft and tasty. If you're looking for a good sashimi restaurant near Jegi-dong and Gyeongdong Market, I recommend Simdo Hoetjip.