Poke bowls with a 100g salmon upgrade in Seocho, Seoul: Salering

Gyodae Station salad spot: Salering Gyodae Direct Store

Salering Gyodae Direct Store, a salad and poke specialist near Gyodae Station

I visited Salering Gyodae Direct Store, a poke restaurant near Gyodae Station where you can enjoy a healthy, guilt-free meal. It's popular as a lunch spot for Gyodae office workers and as a solo-dining favorite, and it's also a great choice when you're on a diet.

How to find Salering: 5 minutes from Gyodae Station Exit 1

Salering Gyodae Direct Store is located in an alley within a 5-minute walk from Gyodae Station Exit 1. The modern exterior and the green sign — matching the color of fresh salad vegetables — really stand out.

Inside Salering: solo bar seats and an open kitchen

Inside, the store is decorated in a sleek, clean style with a spacious, comfortable hall. Along the window, there are bar-style seats where you can comfortably enjoy a Gyodae Station salad by yourself, while the center of the hall is mostly set up with 2- and 4-person tables for those enjoying a Gyodae lunch or dinner together.

Salering also has an open kitchen visible from the hall, where you can watch the healthy salads and poke bowls being made — reassuring, since you can check the hygiene yourself while you eat.

How to order at Salering: base, main topping and dressing

Salering Gyodae Direct Store isn't the kind of place where you just pick from a fixed list of salads or poke bowls — one advantage is that you can build a custom salad or poke bowl by combining the base, main topping, and dressing to your taste.

First, you choose one main topping for your salad or poke. Then you must pick one of four bases: bouncy brown rice, chewy whole wheat pasta, soft egg strips only, or fresh vegetables only. From there, you can add more from the 12 main toppings — raw salmon, grilled chicken, roasted duck, beef brisket, grilled beef, shrimp, scallops, and more — plus extra base toppings for a heartier meal, and finally top it off with your favorite house-made dressing to order your own personal Gyodae Station poke salad.

Two poke bowls to go, with the sauces the staff recommended

I got the real raw salmon bibim poke salad with the mentaiko wasabi mayo sauce the staff recommended, and the grilled steak bibim poke salad with the sweet soy sauce, which was also a staff pick — both packed to take away. Everything came neatly packed in containers, with the menu name marked on a sticker on the lid, so there was no chance of mixing them up.

What both Salering poke bowls have in common

Both bowls I picked up from Salering, this poke specialist and Gyodae favorite, were packed with fresh green vegetables, egg strips, crab sticks, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, corn kernels, roasted garlic chips, onions, and quail eggs.

Raw salmon poke: 100g of salmon with mentaiko wasabi mayo

The salmon poke salad at Salering Gyodae Direct Store came generously topped with bite-sized, diced raw salmon — because we'd upgraded from the standard 50g to 100g, haha. The raw salmon had no fishy heaviness at all, with a soft yet springy texture that was genuinely delicious, and eating it with crunchy vegetables and the mentaiko wasabi mayo sauce brought together the salmon's savory richness with the tangy kick of the mentaiko mayo — I really recommend this combination.

Grilled steak poke with extra duck and chicken breast

For the grilled steak bibim poke salad, I turned it into a full protein bomb by adding duck meat and chicken breast, chose the brown rice base, and poured on the sweet soy sauce to enjoy it as a bibim poke. With well-grilled steak, steamed chicken breast, and smoked duck all piled on as a high-protein meat party for the main toppings, by the time I finished, I was so full it hardly felt like a diet meal. That's exactly why I recommend Salering, a go-to spot near Gyodae — you end up stuffed, but your stomach still feels comfortable. Try it when you want to eat carbs, protein, and vegetables in a balanced way.

If you're looking for a great salad or poke restaurant near Gyodae Station, head to Salering Gyodae Direct Store for a fresh, healthy meal.

Salering Gyodae Direct Store