Seolleung sushi sakaba for mackerel-shiso hosomaki and kohada: Sakai

I'd been craving sushi since the day before. Looking around for a good spot, I found Sakai, a sushi sakaba near Seolleung Station, and went to check it out.

What is a sushi sakaba?

Sushi sakaba combines sushi with 'sakaba,' the Japanese word for a pub or drinking spot. It originated in Japan and hasn't been around in Korea for very long. Most sushi sakabas are concentrated in Seoul, so if you want to try one, you'll have to come to Seoul for now.

Getting to enjoy omakase-level quality in a casual sakaba setting made me genuinely happy. By the way, Sakai in Seolleung is closed from September 21 to 27, so keep that in mind.

Sakai, a sushi sakaba near Seolleung

First piece at Sakai: mackerel with a Suntory draft

Sushi sakabas where you can enjoy sushi and drinks together have been catching my eye lately. Let's start with mackerel — saba. It was ₩4,500. I also ordered a Suntory draft beer, ₩10,000 a glass.

This is a place where you can enjoy sushi and sashimi alongside a wide range of Japanese-style side dishes and drinks. With plenty of menu items that pair well with sake, highballs, or draft beer, it's great for solo dining and solo drinking too.

More and more people are seeking out sushi sakabas these days for that izakaya feeling you get on a trip to Japan, combined with fresh sushi. The sweet shrimp I ordered at Sakai near Seolleung was excellent too. Sweet shrimp is called amaebi in Japanese, and one piece costs ₩4,500.

The head chef explains every piece of nigiri

Sea bream — madai — ₩3,700. Red sea bream has red stripes visible on its white flesh. The chef, the head chef, explains each piece as it comes out — kind and clearly skilled. It's a sushi sakaba, but it feels like a full omakase.

Sakai's drink list and sake by the 1-go (ippai)

The sushi already comes seasoned with wasabi and soy sauce, but since I love wasabi, I asked for fresh wasabi on the side. Suntory was the only draft beer on offer, and the bottled beers — Asahi, Sapporo, Kirin — were all ₩8,000.

Another thing that caught my eye was that you can order house sake by the 1-go (180ml). A go is the standard serving size at sake bars and izakayas — roughly the amount that fills one tokkuri bottle. Ten go make one sho, and the big sake bottles you often see at Japanese restaurants — the issho bottles — hold exactly one sho, or 1.8L. At Sakai near Seolleung, the 180ml serving is labeled 一杯 — ippai, meaning 'one cup' or 'one glass.'

Why to order two or more horse mackerel

Horse mackerel — aji — ₩4,500. The striped variety was sold out, but the regular horse mackerel was already delicious.

Horse mackerel is the best..

Make sure to order at least two pieces of horse mackerel. Personally, it's one of my favorites.

Picking mackerel-shiso from Sakai's five hosomaki rolls

Hosomaki (thin seaweed roll) — ₩10,000. You can pick one out of five types.

• Negitoro (ねぎとろ) — minced tuna belly with scallion
• Anakyu (穴きゅう) — conger eel with cucumber
• Sabashiso (鯖しそ) — mackerel with shiso (perilla leaf)
• Umeshisokyuri (梅しそきゅうり) — pickled plum, shiso, and cucumber
• Kanpyo (かんぴょう) — dried gourd strips, a classic ingredient in Japanese-style rolls

I went with sabashiso.

It was a Japanese-style hosomaki where the clean flavor of mackerel met fragrant shiso. It was so good I wanted to order it again immediately — the sabashiso hosomaki exceeded expectations.

Flounder, bigfin reef squid and another draft beer

Flounder — hirame — ₩3,700. I love flounder so much..

Squid — aori ika — ₩5,300.

Melts in your mouth.

Chugging the draft beer.

The nigiri menu board.

Feels like I'm in Japan.

I'm definitely coming back.

₩72,600 per person, with orders written on memo slips

Ordering piece after piece without thinking, I ended up with a total of ₩72,600 per person.

The head chef.

You place your order by writing it down like this and handing it over.

Gizzard shad nigiri as the highlight, egg to finish

Scallop — hotate — ₩5,300. Great texture.

The highlight of the meal: gizzard shad sushi. Gizzard shad — kohada — ₩3,700. So, so good..

Sea urchin — uni — ₩10,000.

Conger eel — anago — ₩4,500. Sea conger eel is on a completely different level from freshwater eel — I could get addicted.

Egg — tamago — ₩2,900. A clean, simple way to finish. Already looking forward to my next visit.