Hwagok sashimi restaurant: flower-topped seabream, Eochongye 1beonji

I've been craving sashimi a lot lately, so this time I went to Eochongye 1beonji (어촌계1번지), a sashimi restaurant in Hwagok-dong! It's been a while since I had live-fish sashimi this good, so I have a lot to say 😋

How do you get to Eochongye 1beonji from Hwagok Station?

From Hwagok Station Exit 7, just walk straight along the main road for about 400m and you'll see it! The address is 123 Hwagok-ro, Gangseo-gu, Seoul.

It took me about 4 minutes on foot. It's close to the station, so access is pretty good, and it sits right on the big road, so it really had that local-favorite feel. The sign is quite eye-catching too.

What are the interior and seating like at Eochongye 1beonji?

Eochongye 1beonji has a clean neighborhood sashimi restaurant vibe with no fishy smell at all, and partitions between the tables make it a comfortable place for a drink. The moment I walked in I thought, "Ah, this place has lots of regulars" haha. Maybe there was some kind of gathering, because almost all the tables were full, with families and office groups sitting all around.

Overall it felt like a super clean neighborhood sashimi place? There was no fishy smell inside at all, which was surprising and amazing to me. They must take hygiene really seriously! The ceiling lights are a nice touch too, so it doesn't feel too old-fashioned and even has a slightly stylish feel +ㅇ+

The spacing between tables is decent, and thanks to the partitions the noise doesn't overlap, so it's a Hwagok-dong sashimi restaurant where you can comfortably have a drink.

I could see the fish tank right at the front, and it was super tidy and clean, which instantly made me trust the freshness!!!

What's on the Eochongye 1beonji menu?

The main attraction at Eochongye 1beonji is the sashimi platter lineup, split into a seasonal platter, red seabream platter, salmon platter and so on, and you can pick mini, small, medium or large. The menu is so varied it seems like they sell everything, and being able to choose the size makes it easy to order for your group 😋

There's also a range of seafood like blanched squid, sea squirt, live octopus, abalone and scallops. The fried dishes are well stocked too, with different kinds of fried shrimp and fried squid, and they're handmade!! I think even people who don't really eat raw fish would order these a lot as drinking snacks.

Another good thing is the grilled, steamed and stew lineup. There are dishes you can only get at a sashimi restaurant, like grilled salmon head and grilled sea bream head, and you can finish the meal with spicy fish stew, clam soup or seafood stew, so it feels like a proper course!

With all this, from drinking to the finishing dish, and even the hangover cure, this Hwagok-dong sashimi restaurant has you covered haha

How was the flower-topped red seabream platter at Eochongye 1beonji?

What I ordered was the red seabream mixed sashimi platter at Eochongye 1beonji >ㅇ< Red seabream, flounder and salmon are for sure, and my guess is that the remaining one is rockfish🤔

I was shocked by the look of it right away. It came on a plate that keeps its chill, topped with flower garnish, so it didn't feel like an ordinary neighborhood sashimi place but like a high-end one that really puts effort into plating +ㅇ+

Red seabream

The grain was visible and the chewy texture was unmistakable. The sweetness came up the more I chewed.

Flounder

A clean, soft base flavor, and as always, it never fails!!

Rockfish

Springy and chewy, with a nutty richness the more I chewed.

Salmon

The fat spreads softly and melts in your mouth, so it was nice to eat in between the other fish haha

What I liked overall was that the slices weren't too thin, so the chewing texture and fun were fully there, and above all, absolutely zero fishy taste!!

Which sauces and side dishes come with sashimi at Eochongye 1beonji?

Eochongye 1beonji has a really wide variety of dipping sauces. Besides the standard soy sauce with wasabi and chogochujang (sweet-spicy vinegar sauce), you get these sauces:

• Ceviche sauce
• Salted hairtail guts (galchi-sokjeot)
• Shiitake wasabi
• Makjang (seasoned soybean paste)

With all of these prepared, switching sauces made even the same sashimi taste fresh every time!

The salted hairtail guts and shiitake wasabi in particular are not something ordinary sashimi places usually serve, so they felt really special. The side dishes were solid basics too, like seaweed soup, ssam vegetables (leaves for wrapping), chili peppers, garlic and white kimchi, so wrapping bites was fun haha

Is Eochongye 1beonji, a Hwagok sashimi restaurant, worth a return visit?

Eochongye 1beonji looks like any ordinary neighborhood sashimi place, but the taste and freshness are really high quality and the menu is varied, so it felt distinct. It gives off a solid-fundamentals kind of vibe? The variety of dipping sauces also made me feel they put a lot of care into it haha

I really wasn't planning to drink that day, but the sashimi was so fresh and delicious that I had a glass of Cheongha (sake-style rice wine) for the first time in a while, and it was perfect. It's close to my home and so tasty that I think I'll visit often ^ㅇ^

Next time I plan to go for the full course with the fried dishes and spicy fish stew >_< If you're wondering about sashimi in Hwagok, don't hesitate, I highly recommend heading straight to Eochongye 1beonji!!!