Seolleung sushi bar: striped jack sashimi instead of omakase, Sakai

Where is Sakai near Seolleung Station, and what's the atmosphere like?

Sakai is a sushi sakaba (sushi pub) about a 5-minute walk from Seolleung Station Exit 2, on Yeoksam-ro 67-gil, an alley packed with good restaurants. There are so many great places in Seolleung that I always spend ages deciding where to eat. This day I wanted sushi, so I went to Sakai. It's close, and even though it's on a busy restaurant alley, it's surprisingly quiet once you step inside, which made for a relaxed dinner.

It's a ground-floor shop, so I figured you'd see right in as you walk past, but wooden slats (gansal) softly screen the entrance, so the inside feels a little set apart. That made it different from the bustle of the alley and easier to focus on the meal. I think it's a nice place for a quiet chat too.

There are tables, but I sat at the counter (dacchi) this time. If you've come to Seolleung for sushi, a seat like this just suits it better.

How do you order at Sakai, a Seolleung sushi sakaba?

At Sakai, you choose what you want from the day's nigiri written on the wooden signs on the wall above the counter, write it on a Post-it and hand it over, and that's your order. This was the biggest reason I liked Sakai: you pick exactly the sushi you feel like eating. The signs list the nigiri one by one, and I'd say there are close to 20 kinds.

You can check exact prices on the menu, and you just write what you want on the Post-it and pass it over. Prices at Sakai ranged from the ₩3,000s up to ₩10,000 per piece.

Even if you love sushi, with omakase (chef's choice) you eat in a set order and set lineup, and some days something comes out that you're just not in the mood for, right? At a sushi sakaba you order only what you want that day, so it feels like you build the meal to your own taste.

What's in Sakai's ₩36,000 sashimi moriawase?

Sakai's sashimi moriawase (assorted sashimi platter) is ₩36,000 and comes with 2 pieces each of flounder, red seabream, salmon, striped jack (shimaaji), horse mackerel, lean tuna (akami), marinated mackerel (shime saba) and egg omelet (gyoku). Still, Sakai isn't a place for sushi only. They also have a wide range of drinks, including sake.

It's a great spot for a drink in the evening. I sat sipping water while I picked from the menu, then ordered a bottle of Kirin beer first. They brought a chilled glass along with it, so even the first sip was refreshingly cold.

Looking at the beer, sashimi came to mind before sushi, so I ordered the sashimi moriawase. At ₩36,000, I thought it was a good price for tasting a bit of everything.

Trying them one by one, each fish had a clearly different texture, and eating them with beer gave a different kind of enjoyment from eating sushi.

Why the striped jack (shimaaji) and red seabream stood out

Of the sashimi that day, I personally loved the shimaaji and the red seabream most. I'd ordered sashimi just as a light start since I'd come for sushi, but the quality was better than I expected, and the beer went down really easily.

The soy sauce wasn't too salty either, and I wondered if they make it themselves. With sashimi, when the soy sauce is too strong you sometimes taste salt before fish, but not here. The wasabi was fragrant too, and a little bit on the side made the flavors feel sharper.

Nigiri picked at Sakai: flounder, salmon, ikura and uni

For nigiri at Sakai, I chose flounder, salmon, ikura (salmon roe) and uni (sea urchin). Rather than ordering lots of pieces at once, you can pick one at a time as you feel like it, so you can eat at your own pace.

The flounder and salmon nigiri came already brushed with soy sauce, so there was no need to dip them; you just eat them as they are. The ikura and uni came as gunkan (battleship rolls), easy to eat in one bite. The uni was sweet, a total success.

I liked the shari (sushi rice) temperature too. Not too cold and not warm, just right when it goes in your mouth. The same fish felt different as sashimi and as nigiri, so comparing them was fun.

Is a sushi sakaba like Sakai fine for first-timers?

The staff at Sakai explained the menu well when I ordered, so it wasn't difficult even as a first visit to a sushi sakaba. Since it's a place where you pick what you want, I assumed it would be all about casual eating, but the explanations and service were attentive, not much different from the kind service you get at omakase.

When to choose Sakai over an omakase course

Even if you love sushi, you don't always have to go for omakase, right? What you crave differs from day to day.

At Sakai, if you want sashimi first you start with sashimi, and if you feel like sushi you pick the nigiri you want, which made mealtime much more fun. The sashimi and nigiri I tried that day were very satisfying, so I'd love to come back and pick the nigiri I missed this time. It's a Seolleung izakaya I'd happily revisit!

• Address: 15 Yeoksam-ro 67-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (Unit 101, 1st floor)
• Hours: 17:00 to 01:00 the next day (last order 00:00)
• Closed: First Tuesday of every month