Cuttlefish grilled tableside at Gangdong seafood spot, Gapmaejeong

Today I went to Gapmaejeong, a Gangdong-gu favorite, to eat my fill of cuttlefish. It's less than a five-minute walk from Amsa Station Exit 4, and this neighborhood is packed with good restaurants, so I actually come around here pretty often haha. Every time I passed by it was always full of people, so I was curious — and today I finally went!

Gapmaejeong hours, location, parking

• Hours: Daily 11:00–22:00, last order 21:00
• Location: 18 Sangam-ro 5-gil, Gangdong-gu, Seoul, 1st & 2nd floor units 101 & 201
• Parking: Not available

We visited as two people and ate on the first floor, but Gapmaejeong has group seating on the second floor, so it's no problem if you come with a bigger group. Booking ahead would be even better!

Just about every cuttlefish dish you can imagine

They seem to make almost every dish you can do with cuttlefish — parboiled cuttlefish, cuttlefish fritters, seasoned cuttlefish and more, so you can try a bunch of different things.

The cockle rice bowl looked really good too, but it requires a minimum order of two, so we skipped it today. I think I'll try it next time, because a lot of tables around us were eating it haha.

Fully booked even at 8pm on a Monday

I had booked for 8pm on a Monday, and aside from our table, every other seat was completely full. The photo above was taken as we were leaving after eating, and even then the tables were almost all occupied. As soon as one group left, another walked right in — the staff must never get a break.

We ordered the seafood-and-meat grill set (해물로스4합, four kinds) and the cuttlefish fritters today. We also added one bowl of rice.

Side dishes and perilla leaf refills

The side dishes came out as soon as we ordered. The minari (water dropwort) salad was fresh, and we enjoyed the kelp and dried perilla leaf too. The staff member said they use a lot of dried perilla leaf for wrapping the grilled set, so they'll refill it right away if we run out. Both the staff and the owner were extremely kind.

We also got dongchimi (radish water kimchi) broth and chojang (vinegared chili sauce), which go well with the grill set.

How to eat the seafood-and-meat grill set

Before grilling the seafood-and-meat set, they piled on a generous amount of butter.

I thought we'd be grilling it ourselves, but the staff member kept adding more and cooking it for us, hovering nearby the whole time in case we let it burn haha.

They helped us with a touch more careful than my own mom's

It was great being able to grill so many things together — beef brisket, minari, onion, scallops, cuttlefish, shrimp, plus other seafood, meat and vegetables.

The seafood cooked first, and the brisket took a little longer. They told us the shrimp cooks fastest of all, so we ate that first.

This was the dipping sauce for the grill set — they told us the red sauce is for dipping the seafood, and the white sesame salt is for the brisket.

This was my first time ever trying a dish called the seafood-and-meat grill set, and the butter was rich and salty in a way that paired really well with the seafood, and having meat too added a nice chewy texture!!

The minari was fragrant too, so wrapping it in dried perilla leaf with the seafood, plus the grilled onion, garlic and brisket, made for a really healthy and delicious bite.

Cuttlefish fritters in the ₩10,000s

The second dish we ordered, the cuttlefish fritters, came out. Being able to eat such a generous amount of cuttlefish for just ₩10,000-something made me really happy. Honestly, it's hard to find cuttlefish elsewhere — there aren't many places that serve it well, so today I really ate my fill.

The owner was about to cut the cuttlefish for us, but since I was busy filming a video and taking photos, they told me to just cut it myself whenever I was ready, and to take my photos first. They were genuinely kind — constantly checking if we needed more side dishes, and asking if we wanted refills of the onion and garlic that go with the grill set. We ate really well and really generously.

I think a restaurant that's doing well has good food as a given, plus staff who are thoughtful and kind. Next time I'd like to try the stir-fried cuttlefish, seasoned cuttlefish, and cockle bibimbap haha. Why is there so much delicious food in the world~