Japanese pub for Hapjeong dates: sea bream sashimi and mero, Ppaeret

What kind of place is Ppaeret near Hapjeong Station?

Ppaeret (빼레) is a Japanese-style izakaya (pub with small dishes) on Dongmak-ro 5-gil, between Hapjeong Station and Sangsu Station. The menu is huge and the drink choices are just as varied, so it felt like a great-vibes spot for a date or a blind date in Hapjeong.

I go to Hapjeong a lot, and every time I go hunting for new restaurants. I had Ppaeret saved because the mideodeok (sea squirt) sashimi looked so good. Hapjeong is full of dates and blind dates, so there are lots of atmospheric places, and Ppaeret is one of them. I didn't have the mideodeok sashimi this time, but I'm planning to go back soon 🤤

Ppaeret location and opening hours

Ppaeret's address is 23 Dongmak-ro 5-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, 460m from Hapjeong Station Exit 6 😁 It's also a 7-minute walk from Sangsu Station, so I think the location is great.

• Hours: Mon–Sat 18:00–02:00, Sun 18:00–24:00
• Corkage available (paid)
• Reservations and group seating available
• Takeout, Wi-Fi
• Wheelchair-accessible entrance and seating

Is there parking at Ppaeret?

Ppaeret doesn't offer parking! You can park beside the shop, but you have to move your car when the one behind needs to leave 😮 Imagine being asked to move it in the middle of drinking. Disaster, right?? So I looked up nearby lots.

There's the Hapjeong 2 public parking lot, a 5-minute walk from Ppaeret. It's ₩6,000 per hour, the cheapest in the area 🤭 It operates from 11:00 to 22:00, and it's free outside operating hours and on public holidays other than Sundays! Check the times before you use it.

Ppaeret's atmosphere and seating

Doesn't the outside of Ppaeret look clean and stylish?? The inside was tidy too, decorated with a slightly stone-like feel 😁 Seating is tables and counter seats, and the mood is so good I think anywhere works!

They've decorated with figures and whiskey bottles too. Browsing them is quite fun.

What we ordered at Ppaeret

At Ppaeret we ordered the sea bream + flatfish sashimi (₩58,000) and the charcoal-grilled mero (₩33,000). There are so many dishes that I captured the whole menu 😁 I agonized over it for ages before settling on this combo!

Ppaeret's basic setup comes with mountain chili peppers, seaweed salad, soy sauce and chojang (sweet-and-sour chili sauce).

Sea bream and flatfish sashimi: how thick are the slices?

Ppaeret's sea bream + flatfish sashimi is cut neither thin nor thick, just the right thickness, so there were no chewy parts 😆 Personally I don't like thick sashimi. I chew food for a really long time, and thick slices take forever to chew and have tough bits. So I prefer thin slices, and Ppaeret was exactly the thickness I like!

The flatfish wasn't super thin or thick, so nothing chewed tough 🤭

The flatfish fin was thick! Still not tough. A fin is only good when it's thick, haha. It was nicely nutty and nicely oily, and I think it wasn't tough because it was scored with knife cuts 🤤

The sea bream thickness was just right too. Many restaurants serve tough skin, but Ppaeret's sea bream wasn't tough and had a nice crunchy bite 😆 Neither the flatfish nor the bream had even a hint of fishy smell.

How does Ppaeret's charcoal-grilled mero taste?

Ppaeret's charcoal-grilled mero (₩33,000) was dripping with oil, super nutty and delicious. You know mero is a premium fish, right??

Truly dripping with oil, so nutty and delicious.

Review-event flounder and chamnamul (Korean wild parsley) miso salad

The flounder and chamnamul (pimpinella greens) miso salad was a dish I received through a Naver visitor review event! It's a real treat! The sauce is great too, and it felt like a new discovery of chamnamul 🤭

Who should go to Ppaeret in Hapjeong?

Once again, I prove a good restaurant by the number of soju bottles 😵‍💫 I recommend Ppaeret when you're looking for a Japanese restaurant, bar or raw fish place near Hapjeong Station, and as a Hapjeong date spot or blind-date spot!