Mapo Station kaiseki with draft beer and negitoro uni sushi: Danya

We're the Juju couple, total sushi addicts. Tonight we wanted dinner somewhere with a great atmosphere, so we visited Danya at Seoul Garden Hotel! The chef here was the first Korean ever to place runner-up in a national Japanese cooking competition, so we were extra excited! This is the story of our premium kaiseki at the counter.

Where is Danya at Seoul Garden Hotel? Hours and parking

Danya is on the B1 floor of Seoul Garden Hotel, 58 Mapo-daero, Mapo-gu, Seoul. It's about a 3-minute walk from Exit 3 of Mapo Station, or about 8 minutes from Exit 8 of Gongdeok Station.

• Hours: Mon–Sat 12:00–22:00
• Break time: 15:00–18:00
• Last order: 21:00
• Closed every Sunday

Valet parking is available, but we parked ourselves in the hotel's underground garage.

Danya's atmosphere and counter seating

Danya is an upscale Japanese restaurant inside Seoul Garden Hotel. The mood is calm but not too hushed, which felt comfortable.

Inside there's a long counter (dachi) and separate private rooms for dining. We always like chatting with the chef and watching the food being prepared up close, so we sat at the counter.

Danya course prices and corkage fees

Danya has four courses: lunch sushi omakase ₩58,000, dinner sushi omakase ₩85,000, premium kaiseki ₩120,000 and VIP kaiseki ₩150,000. Corkage was ₩70,000 for whisky and ₩40,000 for wine, champagne and sake. For the detailed menu, check Naver Place.

What comes in Danya's ₩120,000 premium kaiseki?

The ₩120,000 per person premium kaiseki ran from an amuse-bouche and appetizers to steamed abalone, 7 types of sashimi, miso soup, 8 types of sushi, 2 main dishes, udon, dessert and green tea. Draft beer is also included in the premium kaiseki, so we had beer instead of a tokkuri of sake.

Amuse-bouche and 5 appetizers

The amuse-bouche was a combination of ripe persimmon and jamón. The sweet-salty flavor really woke up our appetites, so it was a great start.

The 5 appetizers that followed were fig yogurt, fried eggplant, fried chestnut, dried persimmon roll and tomato compote. Figs are in season, and maybe that's why the fig yogurt was especially good.

Steamed abalone with abalone-liver sauce

The steamed abalone was surprisingly huge. The crab-innard sauce (gewu sauce) was full of flavor and the fried scallion had a real presence, so it was fun to eat them together.

7 kinds of sashimi: halibut fin and medium-fatty tuna stood out

The 7 sashimi were halibut, yellowtail, true mullet, bluefin tuna chutoro (medium-fatty), halibut, halibut fin and sea bream. Every one was good, but the halibut fin and the chutoro were the most memorable.

Halibut fin is something you can easily eat anywhere, but with the chef's careful knife work and touch it felt completely different. And the nutty richness from the fat of the chutoro was overwhelming.

After the sashimi came a miso soup with crab. Its clean, refreshing taste suited the moment before the main sushi course.

The 8 pieces of sushi and how they tasted

The sushi came in 8 pieces: halibut, sea bass, sea bream, yellowtail, yellowtail belly, bluefin akami (lean tuna), bluefin chutoro and negitoro with sea urchin. The halibut was light and clean with a subtle sweetness, a great first piece. The sea bass was chewy yet tender, with umami rising after its light taste. The sea bream had a firm texture and was light and nutty, simply delicious.

The yellowtail had a soft texture and just enough fat, nutty with deep umami. The yellowtail belly was far richer and nuttier than regular yellowtail, with fat that melted softly in the mouth. The bluefin akami was light but had that deep tuna umami. The bluefin chutoro was much softer and nuttier than the akami, and the right amount of fat made the flavor shoot up.

I always feel that the order of sushi matters a lot, and this was the right sequence, so we could taste each piece even better.

Best bite of the course: negitoro with sea urchin

My favorite sushi was the negitoro with sea urchin. The sweet, creamy flavor of the uni was added to the rich negitoro, and a fresh aroma like yuzu went well with it too. If I had to pick one thing from the whole course, it would be the negitoro uni!

The futomaki (thick sushi roll) came as a complimentary extra, separate from the 8 sushi! The burst of shiso aroma was impressive, and it was satisfying too.

2 hot dishes: fried chicken tenderloin vegetable roll and fried sea bass steak

The first main was a fried chicken tenderloin vegetable roll. Meat sauce was spread underneath, which made chicken tenderloin, which can be a bit bland, much more fun. It wasn't greasy and added umami, which we liked.

The second was a fried sea bass steak served with basil cream sauce, fried lotus root and grilled vegetables. The plating was so pretty, like looking at a work of art! The basil cream sauce had a stronger presence than I expected, yet it went well with the sea bass, which surprised me. The lotus root chips had a nice texture too. Eating sea bass this way was fun and different.

Closing dish: udon with conger eel tempura

The last dish of the kaiseki was udon with conger eel (anago) tempura. The tempura was bigger than I expected, and crispy! The udon broth had a subtle seafood flavor that suited it well. The noodles had a springy texture like Sanuki udon rather than ordinary noodles, so we enjoyed them even more.

Dessert: fig rare cheesecake and green tea

Dessert was a fig rare cheesecake with chilled green tea. It was nice that the meal began and ended with seasonal figs. The fig rare cheesecake went well with Lotus biscuit and melted butter, and it ended the meal pleasantly without feeling heavy.

The green tea was so good that I spent a long while wondering how I could drink tea like this at home. haha

Is Danya's premium kaiseki worth the price?

For this Gongdeok/Mapo Station omakase, the chef's attention to detail and attentive manners were especially satisfying, so we'd recommend the counter seats. The chef was the first Korean to be runner-up in a national Japanese cooking competition, so our expectations were high before visiting, and it really lived up to them.

Of all the omakase we've been to, the price and lineup felt the most reasonable, and our satisfaction was very high! We think it's a good course for everyone from omakase beginners to people who regularly enjoy sushi omakase. It's not cheap, but Danya gives you service and taste worth more than the price~