Jegidong Station sashimi restaurant for family dinner: Simdo Hoetjip

I was looking for a sashimi restaurant near Gyeongdong Market and ended up at Simdo Hoetjip (심도횟집), a live-fish sashimi spot in Jegidong. The fresh fish, the side dishes and the spicy stew in the set menu were all so generous that it was a great place for a family dinner.

Where is Simdo Hoetjip, and what are its hours?

Simdo Hoetjip is at 58 Jeongneungcheondong-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, in the Lotte Castle Firenze arcade, 1st floor, Unit 119, a 2-minute walk from Exit 3 of Jegidong Station. It is open 15:00–24:00 on weekdays and 12:00–24:00 on weekends, last order is 23:00, and it is closed every Monday. For parking, use a nearby public lot.

It's on the ground floor of an arcade building, so it wasn't hard to find, and being near Gyeongdong Market makes it handy for a meal after grocery shopping.

What is the atmosphere like inside Simdo Hoetjip?

There's a big fish tank in front of the restaurant, and when you order, they take the fish out and slice it right there. Watching that made me trust the freshness even more.

Inside, there were more tables than I expected, and everything was kept really clean. You can book on Naver before visiting, and there were other families like mine. It looked good for group gatherings too.

Every table has chojang (sweet chili vinegar sauce) and soy sauce. I mixed a generous amount of wasabi into the soy sauce and chojang, and it brought out even more of the sashimi's savory flavor.

What side dishes (skidashi) come at Simdo Hoetjip?

The basic side dishes (skidashi, the small starters served before the sashimi) were white kimchi, corn salad, soy-marinated clams, garlic and seasoned ssamjang (dipping paste). Each was neatly prepared and got my appetite going before the sashimi even arrived.

Next came kimchi pancake, steamed egg, and cold cucumber soup with acorn jelly, and every single one was delicious. The quality was far too good to call them mere free side dishes!!

Complimentary grilled herring

The star of the side dishes was the grilled herring piled with shredded green onion. It was my first time trying grilled herring, and it was golden outside and moist inside, with no fishy taste at all. I really loved it.

My parents said it was so good too, and their chopsticks kept going back until it vanished, haha. It's a free item, but it was popular enough to be a signature dish!

How is the menu at Simdo Hoetjip organized?

The menu lists live-fish sashimi such as flatfish (gwangeo), rockfish, salmon and red sea bream, plus seafood like sea squirt, abalone, red-spotted shrimp and boiled octopus. There are also many cooked seafood dishes such as steamed scallops, cold nine-ingredient platter and steamed rockfish, so it works well for a full dinner.

They also had summer-only specials and new menu items. There were rarely seen dishes like herbal steamed rockfish and the cold nine-ingredient platter, and I definitely want to try them next time, haha.

At the time of my visit there was also a Naver receipt review event. Writing a review got me ₩2,000 in cash plus a ₩3,000 coupon, ₩5,000 in total, so I joined in mid-meal and got a discount too :)

What comes in the Simdo Special Set A (small)?

The Simdo Special Set A (small size) consists of 3 kinds of sashimi, 5 kinds of seafood, fish roe rice and spicy fish stew. We ordered Set A to enjoy a variety of seafood, and from the sashimi and seafood to the meal dishes, it was more than enough for a family meal.

3 kinds of sashimi: flatfish, red sea bream, flounder

The Set A platter had three fish: flatfish (gwangeo), red sea bream and flounder (dodari). The slices were a good thickness, soft and fresh, and my parents and I kept marveling the whole time. The flounder especially got nuttier the more I chewed, and it was the most memorable of the three.

5 kinds of seafood: sea squirt, sea cucumber, abalone, octopus, hard clam

Set A also came with five kinds of seafood: sea squirt, sea cucumber, abalone, small octopus and hard clam. With so many types it was fun to pick through them one by one, and everything was fresh and clean-tasting.

Sea cucumber was a first for me this time, and the salty sea aroma plus the crunchy bite kept me reaching for more!!

The sashimi is great dipped lightly in chojang and eaten wrapped in a leaf, and also with soy sauce and wasabi. Each has its own charm, so you can enjoy it in different ways.

Fish roe rice

The fish roe rice (albap) in Set A was a pretty big portion too. The earthenware bowl was loaded with flying fish roe that popped pleasantly in the mouth, and the rice came in a stone pot, so it was nicely toasted.

When I mixed it up, a nutty aroma rose right away, and eating it with the spicy stew at the end made it even better.

Complimentary maki

The owner also gave us complimentary maki (small rolls) matching our number of diners. Eating them in one bite after finishing the sashimi was just perfect, haha.

Are rice and extra add-ins separate for the spicy stew?

The spicy fish stew (maeuntang) comes out when you ask the staff after finishing the sashimi. Steamed rice is ordered separately, so we got 2 bowls. The broth was spicy yet refreshing, a hearty way to finish the meal.

Tip: adding sujebi and ramen

I added ramen and sujebi (hand-pulled dough flakes) to the stew. They boil the sujebi in from the start, and you can put the ramen in whenever you like, which I liked. Note that without the add-on there's no sujebi at all, so I recommend adding it like I did :)

With the hearty stew to finish, it was a satisfying family dinner right to the end.

How was Simdo Hoetjip for a family dinner?

Simdo Hoetjip in Jegidong was satisfying: the sashimi was fresh and the basic side dishes were really generous. Ordering just one Simdo Special Set A got us sashimi, seafood, fish roe rice and spicy stew.

If you're looking for fresh live-fish sashimi, a family dinner or a gathering spot in Jegidong, I recommend Simdo Hoetjip near Gyeongdong Market :)