Moran izakaya with sashimi for one and kinmedai grill: Robata Sobeu

I went to Robata Sobeu, a brand-new izakaya that just opened in Moran 🏮 Whenever I travel to Japan I always seek out robatayaki-style bars, and I couldn't believe I could get that same local feel right here in Korea — total lucky-me moment 💫

Inside Robata Sobeu: atmosphere and seating at this Moran izakaya

Robata Sobeu, a Japanese restaurant in Moran, Seongnam, is a spot where you can enjoy sashimi, robata grill dishes, and a whole range of Japanese menu items in a setting that genuinely feels like a local Japanese bar.

Inside there's a mix of table seating and counter seats. There were four 4-person tables and one 2-person table, plus separate counter seats 🙌

The counter seats especially capture that classic izakaya atmosphere, so they'd be great for drinking solo or for sitting as a couple 👩‍❤️‍👨

The place is cozy in size but really feels like a local Japanese bar, which I personally loved!

It was also pretty neat seeing they have a dedicated fridge just for storing the fish ✨

Happy hour at Robata Sobeu: 10% off draft beer from 5 to 7pm

Robata Sobeu has separate menus for drinks and food. They carry traditional Korean liquor, Japanese sake, and even whiskey, so the drink selection was pretty diverse. Of course you can also order soju and beer 😉

I happened to visit before 7pm that day, so I caught happy hour ⏰ Order between 5:00 and 7:00pm and you get 10% off draft beer, highballs, traditional liquor, and sake! We took advantage of it and ordered two drafts 🍻

What we ordered at Robata Sobeu: sashimi for one, mackerel bo sushi, kinmedai and tomato ragu

The food menu ranged from sashimi and robata grill dishes to a variety of cooked dishes 👩‍🍳 Everything on the menu was exactly my type, so I ended up ordering a bit of everything. We got the solo sashimi and mackerel bo sushi, chose kinmedai (golden eye snapper) for the robata grill, and added tomato ragu since I wanted to try one of the cooked dishes too 🙌

By the way, the restroom is inside the restaurant and was clean, so it was really convenient!!

The house side dish was a cabbage salad, which was a nice light bite before the meal 🥗

The draft beer we ordered turned out to be Kirin 🍺 It had a smooth finish, so it was great for cleansing the palate before diving into the main dishes. And getting it at happy hour prices was a bonus 👏

Tomato ragu, 14,000 won: how it pairs with fried eggplant

The first dish to arrive was the tomato ragu 🧆 It came with a meaty tomato ragu sauce alongside crispy fried eggplant 🍆

The ragu sauce itself was delicious, and it paired really well with the eggplant fritters. The batter was crispy too, so piling on plenty of ragu sauce made for an amazing bite 👍

It also worked well as a drinking snack, and it's a great order when you want to add something a little different among all the Japanese menu items 〰️

Sashimi for one, 25,000 won: order by the number of people

One thing I really liked about Robata Sobeu is that you can order sashimi sized to the number of people in your group ‼️ My friend who joined me isn't really into raw fish, so we tried the solo sashimi option.

I expected the solo sashimi to be a stripped-down portion, but it came out more generous than I expected, which I loved even more 💗 It's a great option when you want to try a variety of things, or when you want to enjoy sashimi while drinking solo.

The fish was well-aged, and every single piece of sashimi was delicious. They thoughtfully included vinegared rice and seaweed on the side too 🍙

The sashimi lineup was varied — flounder, squid, Spanish mackerel, tuna, sweet shrimp, maki, and monkfish liver 👏

It was tasty just dipped in soy sauce, but also great wrapped in seaweed or piled onto the vinegared rice sushi-style 🍣 Being able to enjoy one dish in several different ways made it even more satisfying 〰️

Mackerel bo sushi, 29,000 won: 8 pieces, half sesame and half gamtae

The dish I'd been most looking forward to also arrived — mackerel bo sushi 🍘 It came as 8 pieces total, half topped with sesame and half with gamtae (roasted seaweed powder).

They told us the gamtae-topped pieces are best eaten as is, while the sesame-topped pieces are meant to be wrapped in seaweed. Getting two different ways to enjoy it was even better ✌️

I used to order mackerel bo sushi often at the no-nationality bar sov, and this one didn't disappoint either. The distinct richness of the mackerel paired perfectly with the vinegared rice — personally, this was one of the most satisfying dishes of the night 🙌

Kinmedai (golden eye snapper) robata grill, 39,000 won

Next up was the robata grill dish, kinmedai (golden eye snapper) 🐟 This was my first time trying this type of fish, and it had a reddish color.

It was quite large in size, and since it's not a fish I get to eat often, I was already excited just from the visuals!

It was grilled just right — crispy outside, tender inside 🔥 The flesh was soft and delicious. If you usually enjoy grilled fish, I'd say give a robata dish like this a try too 👍 Next time I'd love to try other fish like kinki or red bream.

The complimentary shrimp-topped bread at Robata Sobeu

And this was something the owner gave us on the house 💛 It was bread topped with shrimp, and it was genuinely delicious 🍤🍞 My friend and I basically demolished it in the blink of an eye. Even now, it's one of the dishes from that day I still remember most 🥹

Who should visit Robata Sobeu in Moran?

I loved being able to enjoy a variety of sashimi, robata-grilled dishes, and other Japanese food together in a setting that genuinely felt like a local Japanese izakaya. Being able to order solo-sized sashimi in particular makes it a great pick for solo drinkers or anyone who wants to try a wide range of dishes 〰️ If you're looking to enjoy a variety of Japanese small plates, I'd recommend Robata Sobeu, a Japanese restaurant and izakaya in Moran.