Dangsan bar for clam broth pasta: Snack Bar Atashi

Every time I passed through Dangsan, Snack Bar Atashi caught my eye and I kept thinking I wanted to try it! I finally visited with my boyfriend this time. To give you the conclusion first, both the food and atmosphere were completely my style, so all through the meal I kept saying,

This place is seriously so delicious!

haha. My boyfriend and I prefer cozy bars with counter seats where we can sit side by side facing the kitchen and chat, rather than packed bars full of tables. Atashi was exactly the atmosphere we love, and the food was even better than expected, so we found a Dangsan Station bar we truly loved for the first time in a while 🍻

Snack Bar Atashi Dangsan Station Main Branch: location and hours

It is on the first floor at 75 Yangpyeong-ro, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, about 287 m from Exit 12 of Dangsan Station.

• Mon–Thu 10:00–23:00 / break 14:30–17:00
• Friday 10:00–24:00 / break 14:30–17:00
• Saturday 16:00–24:00 / no break
• Regularly closed Sunday
• Dangsan Overpass Public Parking Lot, Yangpyeong 2-dong Office Public Parking Lot, and Yeongdeungpo Tax Office parking are available

Business hours and public-parking hours may change, so please check before visiting.

A Japanese-alley exterior and counter-seat atmosphere

Whenever I passed near Dangsan Station, Atashi’s exterior—something you might see in a Japanese alley—stood out and made me think, “I want to try this place!” From the entrance, it was so charmingly decorated with orange-toned lighting, a cute sign, and lanterns lined up outside 🏮

Especially after sunset, when the lights came on, it felt like I had briefly traveled to Japan right in the middle of Dangsan, which made me excited before even going in haha. The storefront is all glass, so you can get a sense of the cute interior and seating situation from outside, too.

There is also a Tabling waiting-list machine at the entrance, so if there is a wait, you can register on-site and enter when it is your turn~!!

The moment I opened the door and walked in,

They really decorated this place well!

just slipped out.

From Japanese posters and small props filling the walls to colorful lights and displayed liquor bottles, there was so much to look at everywhere I turned. It was not simply a place with a few Japanese-style props; the lighting, menus, and wall décor were all thoughtfully done, so the real atmosphere was much better than it looked in photos 🏮

While waiting for our food, it was also fun to look over the posters and cute little objects on the walls one by one haha.

Atashi is a small Japanese-style bar centered on counter seating. We really love sitting side by side at a counter, chatting away while we eat, more than sitting face to face at a table. Atashi was exactly our taste, and I loved it the second we sat down 💛 Being close to the kitchen, we could watch food being made and easily let the staff know if we needed anything.

There is also a table for four farther inside, but there are not many seats, so I recommend booking ahead if you are visiting in a group. There were also two outdoor tables that would be lovely in good weather 🍻

Since these were counter seats, I was slightly worried there would not be room for our bags or outerwear, but storage baskets were provided beneath the seats. I liked that they had thoughtfully considered guests’ comfort even in a small space.

Aprons are available too, for anyone worried about food splashing onto their clothes. Just ask a staff member if you need one, so there is no need to worry even if you come in light-colored clothes 😊

Today’s menu and what we ordered

Once you are seated, they prepare a complimentary snack that is easy to nibble on while choosing from the menu. I kept reaching for it without even realizing it haha.

Since Atashi is run alongside a curry specialty restaurant, its Atashi curry nabe (Japanese hot pot) is famous as a signature dish. Beyond that, there were lots of Japanese bar foods that pair well with drinks, including dakdoritang (spicy braised chicken), tataki, karaage, and sashimi, plus lighter snack options.

In particular, apart from the regular menu, there is a separate “Today’s Menu” that changes daily, so make sure to check it when you visit! I had originally planned to try the famous curry nabe, but the moment I saw that day’s menu, I changed my mind haha.

You can order using the QR code at your table. But if mobile ordering is unfamiliar or you would rather order directly with a staff member, you can simply let them know and order comfortably that way, too.

• Clam sake-steam + added pasta: ₩19,000 + ₩3,000
• Flounder salt sushi: ₩28,000 / added salt gimbap, 8 pieces: ₩4,000
• Kirin somaek: ₩8,000

It was a combination of clam sake-steam and flounder sushi, both things I truly love, so it already felt impossible to go wrong from the moment we ordered 💛

Clam sake-steam with added pasta

Clam sake-steam + added pasta: ₩19,000 + ₩3,000

The first dish I want to introduce is the clam sake-steam I found on the Today’s Menu.

Because it is placed on a burner at the table, we could enjoy it warm without it cooling down as we ate. With both the burner and food on the counter, it did take up a little space, which was slightly inconvenient, but I loved being able to enjoy warm broth until the very end.

But I was so surprised the moment I saw the portion. There are reaaaaally so many clams haha 🤣 It was generous enough that more kept appearing no matter how many times we fished them out, and it was fun picking out each piece of clam meat, too.

The broth was deeply infused with the clean, savory flavor of clams without feeling heavy or greasy, so it paired perfectly with drinks. Taking a sip of the warm, refreshing broth and then drinking Kirin somaek was such a good combination 🍻

Since there were so many clams, they also provided a separate empty bowl for the shells. That let us gather the shells in one place and keep the table neat while eating.

The clam sake-steam came with the added pasta 🍝 The broth, full of that clean clam savoriness, naturally soaked into the pasta, so it felt like enjoying both clam sake-steam and pasta at once.

I loved the combination of chewy noodles and refreshing clam broth. Alternating between the clams and noodles made the Kirin somaek go down so easily, too haha. I already love clam sake-steam in general, but Atashi’s was even better than expected, so I was glad I chose it instead of the curry nabe 💛

If you order the clam sake-steam, try adding the pasta too! One dish lets you enjoy both clam sake-steam and pasta, which made it even more satisfying haha.

DIY flounder salt sushi

Flounder salt sushi: ₩28,000 / added salt gimbap, 8 pieces: ₩4,000

Next was the flounder salt sushi, which I had been looking forward to just as much as the clam sake-steam.

Rather than arriving as finished sushi, it was served with flounder, gimbap (seaweed rice rolls), aged kimchi, and perilla leaves for us to layer together however we wanted.

The salt gimbap was rolled into bite-size pieces you could pop straight into your mouth~~ The flounder was chewy and thick too, so it had a satisfying bite!!!

Place flounder over the rice, then add aged kimchi and perilla leaf to your taste, and your own flounder sushi is complete! I added a little wasabi too, then dipped it in soy sauce.

Making it ourselves was fun because we could enjoy the same flounder in a different combination with every bite haha. The chewy, clean flavor of flounder with the tangy aged kimchi and the sharp kick of wasabi made it a really great drinking snack, too.

The flounder-and-aged-kimchi combination was especially a can’t-go-wrong pairing—what more is there to say? 💛 The flounder is delicious on its own, but for an extra ₩4,000 you can enjoy salt gimbap with it. Topping the salt gimbap with flounder, aged kimchi, and wasabi however I liked, then lightly dipping it in soy sauce, gave every mouthful a range of textures and flavors.

When the aged kimchi or side ingredients ran low, the staff noticed first and made sure to refill them so we would not run short. Since the counter seating keeps you close to the staff and they kept a close eye on guests’ tables, it was easy to ask for anything we needed 😊

After ordering both the clam sake-steam and flounder salt sushi, our counter space quickly became a full spread haha.

The counter itself is not especially wide, so we put the flounder salt sushi on the upper shelf as we ate. It felt a little cramped at first, but using the space above and below meant it was not too inconvenient to enjoy the two dishes together.

The cute counter-seat atmosphere is part of this place’s charm, but keep in mind that the table space may feel a little tight if you order several dishes at once!

Kirin somaek and a restroom note

Kirin somaek: ₩8,000

Our Kirin somaek arrived first. The chilled-looking glass was topped with a soft, billowy layer of foam, so of course I had to take photos first haha 🍺

Cheers to our happy evening—! 🍻 In an atmosphere like this Japanese bar, you simply have to start with a Kirin somaek toast, right? haha. It had the crisp, slightly sharp character unique to somaek, a soju-and-beer mix, compared with regular beer, so the drinks went down easily from the first glass. It also paired well with the clam sake-steam that followed, and I was glad we ordered Kirin somaek!

After a drink each, we had soju, and the little soju glasses that came with it were adorably cute and suited Atashi’s mood, so I took a photo haha. Even these small tablewares were cute, which made it feel as though we were in Japan throughout the meal.

Restroom

The restroom is outside the venue~ It is shared by men and women, so please keep that in mind if this is something that concerns you.

Snack Bar Atashi was somewhere I had wondered about every time I passed through Dangsan, and visiting in person left me more satisfied than expected with both the food and atmosphere! From the charming interior styled like a real Japanese bar and the counter-seat mood my boyfriend and I love, to the clam sake-steam overflowing with clams and the fun of making our own flounder salt sushi, everything was exactly our taste.

The clam sake-steam was particularly filling with pasta added to its refreshing broth, while the flounder salt sushi was even more satisfying because we could combine the ingredients ourselves 💛 I am disappointed we did not get to try the signature curry nabe, so next time I want to come back specifically for it haha.