Yeoksam sashimi restaurant with buttered shrimp heads: Sokcho Ojingeo

Hi everyone! Hope you had a good holiday season. Can't believe Chuseok is already over, time flies ㅠㅠ You all know September is jumbo shrimp season, right? Last week, before the season ended, I was craving shrimp so badly I searched around for where in Seoul to get grilled jumbo shrimp and raw shrimp sashimi, and ended up at Sokcho Ojingeo Eosijang Yeoksam Branch, a well-known sashimi restaurant near Yeoksam Station. Everyone, go get your shrimp while they're still in season!

Sokcho Ojingeo Eosijang Yeoksam Branch: open until 4am by Yeoksam Station

Sokcho Ojingeo Eosijang Yeoksam Branch is located close to Gangnam Station and Yeoksam Station, so it's a great spot if you're looking for a Yeoksam sashimi restaurant for a Gangnam group dinner. Parking is always a worry in Gangnam, but this Yeoksam favorite has underground parking available in the building! Hours: 11:00–04:00 (Mondays 11:00–22:30) Since they're open late into the night, it's also great for anyone wanting a late-night meal.

This Yeoksam sashimi restaurant, Sokcho Ojingeo Eosijang Yeoksam Branch, had a spacious, clean interior. There are a lot of offices nearby too, so it seems perfect for anyone looking for a Yeoksam or Gangnam group dinner spot!! And the prices are reasonable for Gangnam haha.

What two people ordered, and what it cost

The two of us ordered: Raw shrimp sashimi (40,000) Buttered shrimp heads (5,000) Fried squid (15,000) Gizzard shad spicy stew (10,000) Rice (1,000) Soju (5,500) Cider (3,000) and ate until we were completely full.

Live shrimp sashimi, 40,000 won: shrimp that push the lid off

So, about the raw shrimp I ordered at this Yeoksam sashimi restaurant, Sokcho Ojingeo Eosijang… they were unbelievably fresh!!!! Completely alive, flopping around like crazy, and even though there was a lid on the bowl, they pushed it open and tried to escape!!! I honestly couldn't even open the lid to take a photo ㅠㅠㅠㅋㅋㅋㅋ Some places call it raw shrimp sashimi but actually serve you dead shrimp, but freshness matters so much if you're going to eat it raw! This Gangnam Station sashimi restaurant was so, so fresh.

The one downside(?) of it being this fresh is that you have to peel the shrimp yourself, and peeling shrimp that are this alive made me feel so guilty toward them.... But what can you do...... they're delicious ㅠㅠㅋㅋ큐ㅠㅠㅠ Sorry, shrimp. Since they were flopping around so much, my friend cut off the heads first.... and then I peeled and ate them.

Even though I felt bad for the shrimp and it took forever, I peeled every single one myself. You can pull out the intestines easily with a toothpick, it comes out quick.

For raw shrimp sashimi, chojang (vinegared red pepper paste) is the way to go!!!!! At the end of the day, I'm a chojang person. But my friend said soy sauce was better? Anyway, the raw shrimp sashimi was sweet and chewy, so delicious.

Buttered shrimp heads for 5,000 won more: order them

When you order the raw shrimp sashimi, paying 5,000 won extra gets you buttered shrimp heads — they save the heads separately while peeling the shrimp and grill them for you. Make sure you add this. Five stars, seriously important!! Salty and savory, the perfect beer snack.

Fried squid, 15,000 won: crisp with no greasy smell

It felt like a shame to just eat the raw shrimp sashimi alone, so I added fried squid too, and it turns out this place is great at fried food,,, I'm sensitive to oil smells, and I could tell it was fried in clean oil. Absolutely no oily smell, and it was so good! Completely crispy, and the squid itself was tasty too. We had the raw shrimp sashimi this time so we skipped fried shrimp, but it made me want to come back and try that too.

Ending with spicy fish-trimmings stew, 10,000 won, and rice

Ending a sashimi meal with spicy stew and rice is the classic move, right? No matter how full I am, I feel unsatisfied without rice at the end. Having the spicy, boiling-hot stew with rice really hit the spot! The broth was deep and clean. It came out fast right after we ordered, so it's great for anyone wanting a quick meal. One note: you can only order the gizzard shad spicy stew if you've ordered a sashimi menu item. I want to go back and eat it again ㅜㅜ

We ate well and ate a lot! If you're looking for a Gangnam / Yeoksam sashimi restaurant for a group meal, go check out Sokcho Ojingeo Eosijang Yeoksam Branch! Good value and great freshness — it was really a great spot for a Gangnam group dinner.