Bupyeong Station izakaya with mackerel sashimi and soju: Yurak

I really wanted to recommend a Bupyeong Station izakaya today, so here's the post! I'd actually been to this place before, but it had been ages, so I went back with my boyfriend.

After eating grilled mackerel recently, I suddenly craved mackerel hand rolls or mackerel sashimi again. So on a recent date in Bupyeong, we started searching for a bar to try.

And there it was — Yurak, a Bupyeong Station izakaya serving mackerel vinegar sashimi and mackerel hand rolls. From the name alone I didn't realize I'd been here before, since it was so long ago, but surprise!! Turns out I'd come with friends before, haha.

This time with my boyfriend, the food was so good we skipped a second stop entirely — five dishes and six bottles of soju in one sitting. Here's the review :)

Where is Yurak, and what are its hours and corkage policy?

Yurak is an izakaya at 16 Gyeongwondae-ro 1403beon-gil, 2nd floor, Bupyeong-gu, Incheon. It's open Mon–Thu 17:00 to 02:00 the next day (last order 01:00), and Fri–Sat 17:00 to 03:00 (last order 02:00); closed Sundays. Parking is paid — ₩1,500 for the first 30 minutes, ₩500 per additional 10 minutes, max ₩30,000. Reservations are by phone, and corkage is free.

We took the subway to Yurak. From Bupyeong Station, it's about a 4-minute walk from Exit 7, and from Bupyeong Market Station, about 14 minutes from Exit 2 :)

By car it's 1 minute from Bupyeong Station and 4 minutes from Bupyeong Market Station! There's also a bus stop just 2 minutes' walk away, so it's really easy to get to, haha. Just remember it's closed on Sundays!

And what really surprised me was that corkage is free! Most Bupyeong izakayas usually charge per bottle, so this was such a nice surprise, haha. The food is so good that bringing your own favorite drink would be great here too.

Parking near Yurak in Bupyeong

You can park at the Bupyeong Jinseonmi Building parking lot, about 3 minutes' walk away, for a fee. It's ₩1,500 for the first 30 minutes, ₩500 per additional 10 minutes, and ₩30,000 max per day.

I figured some of you might drive, so I included the parking info, but honestly, the food at Yurak is so good the soju just keeps flowing, so leaving the car at home might be the smarter move, haha!!

What Yurak looks like inside and out

Yurak is on Bupyeong's Theme Street, surrounded by other bars, so you'll want to follow the map carefully! Especially since it's on the 2nd floor. But even so, the yellow sign reading 'aged sashimi' (숙성회) is eye-catching, so you'll find it quickly, haha.

Go up the stairs to the 2nd floor and you'll see banners and izakaya-style lanterns.

I liked that the inside wasn't too dark! For some reason, I prefer a Bupyeong izakaya at this kind of brightness over a really dim one. There were tables set up, and one side had window seats where you could drink with the window open for a breeze — but those were already fully booked, so we sat at a table for two, haha.

The restroom is inside, with separate sections for men and women, which was nice. There's also a separate smoking room, so smokers don't have to step outside — pretty convenient :)

Yurak's menu and prices

The board listing today's special dishes caught my eye right when we walked in! I already knew I had to order the mackerel hand rolls, and luckily it was on there~~! They also had sea bream/salmon Japanese-style braised dishes, so we ordered both.

Looking at the menu, the aged sashimi set looked great, and there was even a solo-drinking sashimi option, plus various types of sashimi and seafood! I was also tempted by the perilla-leaf raw sashimi (a trendy dish right now), but since I'd already had sashimi the day before, my partner and I compromised on the braised dish instead, haha.

There were also plenty of cooked dishes, fried items, soups, seasonal specials, and sides. And what was really nice was that Yurak's prices weren't overwhelming at all~

Mackerel hand-roll sushi: no fishy taste at all

For the basic side dish, Yurak gave us tofu chips and cabbage in what seemed like a yuzu ponzu sauce!

We'd also ordered soju, so we started with a toast over the basic side dish :)

Then the mackerel hand rolls I'd really been wanting came out, haha. My partner isn't usually a fan of fishy-tasting food, so I was a little worried, but there was barely any fishy taste at all, and he ended up really enjoying it, haha.

The mackerel meat was thick and savory, which paired nicely with the rice. They also gave us seaweed on the side, so we wrapped the mackerel hand roll and wasabi in it, dipped it lightly in soy sauce — a real treat! Each piece was also bigger than I expected, haha.

You could technically eat it in one bite, but since I was pacing myself as a side dish, I split it into two bites. Even my partner, who usually avoids mackerel for its fishy taste, said it was delicious — so if you like mackerel hand rolls, this should really satisfy you :)

Braised sea bream head: sweet, salty and spicy with soju

For the sea bream/salmon braised head, we went with sea bream. Honestly, this exceeded expectations too, haha.

On top were radish, carrot, and chili, all soaked in a slightly spicy, sweet-and-salty sauce that made it a perfect drinking snack. The sea bream meat wasn't fishy at all and was so tender that mixed with the sauce, I couldn't stop reaching for it!

My partner, who usually dislikes fishy dishes, had already loved the mackerel hand rolls, and now he was saying this was delicious too and eating it up, haha.

Fish dishes can be hit or miss because of the fishy taste, but the braised sea bream head we had had none of that — the sauce was great and the meat was tender, so we were really satisfied. The radish on top especially soaked up the sauce so well that eating it with the sea bream meat was fantastic, haha.

Mackerel vinegar sashimi, 19,000 won: tangy and just right

Everything was so good that I thought about heading to a second spot, but honestly, we just decided to keep drinking here, haha! We debated between mackerel vinegar sashimi and perilla-leaf raw sashimi for our next order.

Since the mackerel hand rolls were so good, we ended up ordering the mackerel vinegar sashimi too, haha. Price: ₩19,000! Given the quality these days, that felt like a pretty fair price.

When the mackerel vinegar sashimi arrived, it was really good too! It had a strong tangy flavor with none of mackerel's usual fishy edge, so it was easy to enjoy without hesitation.

This one was completely my thing, so I ate way more of it than my partner did, haha. The mackerel hand rolls were delicious, but personally, I think I preferred the tangy mackerel vinegar sashimi even more.

In the end, we had two mackerel dishes that day, and both were so good we were really satisfied, haha.

They apparently source their seafood fresh every early morning through auction at Noryangjin Fish Market, which probably explains why everything tasted so fresh and delicious~!

Abalone cream pasta and the free soy-marinated shrimp

As we kept eating, I got curious about the abalone cream pasta and ordered it too! I did hesitate a bit about ordering pasta after sashimi and mackerel vinegar sashimi, haha, but that day we decided to just eat everything we wanted, haha.

With abalone in the cream pasta, the seafood umami paired really well with the cream sauce, and it worked surprisingly well as a side dish too. Alternating between the tangy mackerel vinegar sashimi and the creamy pasta made for a great combo!

Oh, and partway through, I told the super friendly owner how delicious everything was, and he gave us shrimp jang (soy-marinated shrimp) on the house! It wasn't too salty and was genuinely delicious, thank you so much!

It felt so good to find a great Bupyeong izakaya again after so long, haha. Between the delicious food and the warm, friendly owner, we were both in a great mood — and we ended up drinking six bottles of soju, haha. We'll definitely be back soon!!