Hwagok-dong live octopus and mini sashimi for three: Eochongye 1beonji

Eochongye 1beonji, Hwagok-dong main branch / Open daily 15:00–01:30 (last order 01:00) / Parking available / Address: 1067-30 Hwagok-dong

Why we chose Eochongye 1beonji, 7 minutes from Hwagok Station Exit 7

Hi everyone~ long time no see~ Some friends of mine who live near the sea wanted to try live octopus, so I searched online and found this really delicious sashimi restaurant, "Eochongye 1beonji," to introduce to you. It's about a 7-minute walk from Hwagok Station Exit 7, and it's a fresh, great-value sashimi spot where you can choose from over 100 menu items at cheap prices — a genuinely great restaurant!! Eochongye 1beonji is run by a Japanese-cuisine chef with 30 years of experience, so you won't easily find menus this delicious and special anywhere else.

Eochongye 1beonji is a top-value sashimi restaurant where the freshness of fish caught directly by fishermen really comes through! With thorough daily tank management, it's a genuinely great restaurant that satisfies on taste, freshness, and price all at once!!

Parking at Eochongye 1beonji is free after 5:30 p.m.

Parking is free after 5:30pm, but you must call the restaurant in advance to let them know you're parking!

The menu board and fish tanks at Eochongye 1beonji

Ta-da!! Here's the menu board. As you can see, you can enjoy a wide variety of sashimi at pretty affordable prices, and it was nice being able to check it out before even walking in, no pressure at all.

Today, flounder, rock bream, and rockfish were the freshest and biggest among the seasonal fish, so we ordered the sashimi platter to try them. I've had conger eel? sea bream, black porgy before, but this was the first time I saw what they actually look like haha. And greenling too... lol, so interesting~

Right by the door there's a tank like an aquarium where you can check the condition and quality of every type of fish live in front of your eyes, and I really loved that.

Open windows give Eochongye 1beonji a street-food-tent feel

The entrance is right next to a big road, but once you go in, there are large windows on both sides, so with the windows open it can feel like a pojangmacha (street food tent) atmosphere.

Among the recommended menu items, my friends absolutely insisted on trying live octopus, so we ordered one!

The place is kept clean and tidy. With the sea-colored background, it felt healing and comfortable, like being at a beachside food tent.

5 sauces and unlimited self-serve side dishes

Basically 5 sauces including sesame oil come out along with vegetables, so whatever sashimi you dip, the combo is amazing!!

There was also a refreshing lemon-syrup-like sauce, which was a nice special touch.

The side dishes are, of course, prepared separately too. Raw garlic, salad, stir-fried seaweed stems, white kimchi, green peas, and even seaweed soup — all unlimited self-serve~

Live octopus and the mini sashimi platter for 32,000 won

The live octopus came out right away along with side dishes!

Live octopus really goes well with sesame oil sauce! It was all still moving, so it was fun to chew, and the more you chew, the chewier and more delicious the texture gets!!

We ordered the mini instead of the small sashimi platter, and it came out generously with a variety of seasonal fish!! From the visuals to the freshness and taste, everything was perfect!! And for this quality in a mini size at around ₩32,000, the value for money is insane!!

Every dish came out beautifully plated, so of course we had to take photos before eating haha haha haha.

Fish bone spicy soup: the best spicy fish soup I've had

Honestly... personally, whenever I eat sashimi I absolutely have to have spicy soup after, and since the fish bone spicy soup was only about ₩10,000, I ordered it without any expectations, just wanting the savory, clean taste of the broth — and wow!😍 I was so surprised to see it packed full of fish bones, enoki mushrooms, and vegetables! There was even leftover with the three of us eating it~🤣🤣 The fish bone spicy soup was No.1 among every spicy soup I've ever had👍🏻 While eating it, I already bookmarked Eochongye 1beonji in Hwagok-dong!!