Yeonnam-dong Japanese restaurant for sharing sake-don & tendon: Jongno

Today I want to introduce a Japanese spot I found in Yeonnam-dong, one of my favorite neighborhoods to hang out in 🍣🍤

Jongno Donburi Yeonnam (종로돈부리 연남) 📍9 Donggyo-ro 46-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul (B1) ⏰ Hours: Mon–Fri 11:30 - 21:30 🕐 Break time: 16:00 - 17:00 ⌚ Last order: 21:00 ⏰ Sat–Sun: 11:30 - 21:00 ⌚ Last order: 20:30

This time I went to Jongno Donburi Yeonnam!! My friend and I come to Yeonnam-dong a lot, and it's fun to track down a good restaurant or café one by one.

This place serves both sake-don and tendon, two of my favorites, so we had a hearty meal together ꒰ ˶'ᵕ'˶ ꒱♡

Basement level in a Yeonnam-dong alley: the vibe at Jongno Donburi Yeonnam

Jongno Donburi Yeonnam is on the basement level of an alley off Donggyo-ro 46-gil. The first thing I noticed on arrival was the calm, quiet-looking exterior. It fits the Yeonnam-dong alley mood so well, and the entrance is so pretty that I had to take a photo 📷🤎

Slide open the door and you step into a space decorated in warm wood tones. It's cozy and comfortable, great for going with a friend, and I think it would suit anyone looking for a date spot in Yeonnam-dong too.

Yeonnam-dong also has lots of pretty cafés, small goods shops and showrooms, so it's nice to wander around after eating, right? If you're looking for a filling Japanese meal on a date, you could easily slot this into your route ദ്ദി ˃ ᵕ ˂ )

What we ordered: one sake-don and one tendon

Looking at the menu, Jongno Donburi Yeonnam has plenty of rice bowls, as you'd expect from a donburi specialist 🍚

My friend and I both love salmon, so we ordered the sake-don, which had a star mark on the menu, plus a tendon that looked delicious right from the picture 🍣🍤 We couldn't give up either one, so we ordered one of each and shared. Isn't that the fun of eating with a friend? Hehe (๑ᵔ⤙ᵔ๑)

After ordering, the side dishes and broth came out first. The broth was served piping hot, which I personally loved. It was hot and humid outside and the air conditioning was blasting inside, so a sip of warm broth felt really soothing 🍵

And finally, the sake-don and tendon we'd been waiting for arrived ♡ Two-shot first 📷📸

Sake-don: thick salmon with wasabi

The sake-don at Jongno Donburi Yeonnam had thickly sliced salmon piled appetizingly on the rice, and wasabi came on the side 🧡 I really love salmon, and I especially love rich, fatty salmon with sharp wasabi.

Put a piece of salmon on the sauce-seasoned rice, add a little wasabi, take a bite, and yeah, I can't resist the salmon + wasabi combo... (˶ᵔ⤙ᵔ˶)♡

The salmon was thick with a nice chew, and eaten with the rice it made a filling bowl. If you love sake-don and are hunting for a Japanese restaurant in Yeonnam-dong, I'd recommend this one 🍣

Tendon tempura lineup: shrimp, mushroom, eggplant, enoki and sweet pumpkin

The tendon we ordered together caught my eye the moment it came out, so showy 🍤

A heap of crispy-looking tempura sat on the rice, with soy sauce poured over, and the colors alone looked so appetizing. There was shrimp, mushroom, eggplant, enoki mushroom and sweet pumpkin, so picking through them one by one was fun too. Crispy tempura first, nom! ٩꒰｡•◡•｡꒱۶

The batter was crispy while the texture of the ingredients inside stayed intact. It's good on its own, but even better with the sauce-soaked rice. With everything from shrimp to vegetable tempura, I never got tired of it until the end 🍤🤎

Going as a pair? Order two bowls and share

I don't know if other girls will relate, but when I eat with friends I really love ordering different dishes and sharing. That day too, splitting the sake-don and tendon at Jongno Donburi Yeonnam meant tender salmon and crispy tempura in one go, so I was totally satisfied ♡ Ordering just one would have been a bit of a shame, haha.

Yeonnam-dong has so many cafés and goods shops to browse, and after walking around you get surprisingly hungry. A hearty rice bowl at Jongno Donburi Yeonnam and then back to exploring the neighborhood works well 🚶🏻‍♀️

If you're looking for a Japanese restaurant near Hongik Univ. Station, or you've wanted sake-don or tendon in Yeonnam-dong, it's worth a look.

From the calm exterior to the warm wood-toned interior, plus my beloved sake-don and the crispy tendon, the whole meal was satisfying ₍ᐢ ܸ. .ܸ ᐢ₎♡ It's easy to visit with a friend and also fits a Yeonnam-dong date meal 🤎

If you're wondering what to eat in Yeonnam-dong today, I'd suggest trying the sake-don and tendon at Jongno Donburi Yeonnam 🍚🍣 Next time I'd like to try the other donburi on the menu one by one. Thanks for the lovely meal today ꒰ྀི ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ꒱ྀི♡