Songni-dan-gil sashimi bar with Gyeongju Beopju rice wine: Daegang

This is a really good spot for a light round of sashimi and drinks — a solid choice for round two or three of the night.

The rolling suitcase crowd fits fine here, but you can also go for a more rustic, outdoor-drinking-tent vibe, so it works well whether you're out with friends or on a date.

I visited Daegang (대강) on Songni-dan-gil wanting a light sashimi-and-drinks session.

It's a bar centered on aged sashimi and halibut sashimi, and that day I went for the mixed sashimi platter, which lets you try several kinds of fish at once, paired with Gyeongju Beopju and Saero.

Daegang's patio tables and indoor seats

The outdoor patio tables at Daegang need to move indoors once it gets late.

That day the patio tables were already full, so we sat inside from the start.

What kinds of sashimi are on Daegang's menu?

Looking at the menu, the sashimi lineup ranges widely, from Gampo halibut sashimi to the mixed aged sashimi platter.

There are also seasonal items like yellowtail and amberjack sashimi, and since the mixed platter changes with the season too, there's some fun in seeing which fish shows up that day.

The aged sashimi certainly isn't small in portion — the slices are decently big and there's quite a variety, so women in particular might find it more than enough.

If you order Saero and ask for it 'upside down,' they'll bring it out just like that.

Daegang's mixed sashimi platter, cut thick

The mixed platter I ordered that day came sliced quite thick, for starters.

At most drinking spots, sashimi comes thinly sliced, eaten a piece or two at a time lightly — but here the slices are broad and thick, so with each piece you get a much richer sense of the fish's own texture and flavor.

Red seabream masukawa, the seared-skin slices

Each kind comes with roughly two to three pieces, so it's a setup for tasting a little bit of several varieties.

The first thing that caught my eye was the red seabream mask-gawa.

The skin-on portion carries a subtle smoky char, giving it a different feel from plain red seabream. With the texture of the skin plus that smokiness, a single piece has real presence.

Flounder engawa, the fatty fin strip

The flounder engawa (fin muscle cut) was good too.

That distinctive fattiness of engawa really comes through, and because it's sliced thick, the more you chew, the more the savory flavor builds. Unlike thinly sliced engawa, a single piece delivers a lot of satisfaction.

Chamgajami flatfish sashimi and salmon

Flatfish sashimi is also included.

You can taste the distinctive chewy texture of flatfish, and having it on the same plate alongside familiar options like red seabream and flounder makes it fun to switch between kinds as you eat.

The salmon was well aged too, and quite enjoyable.

Overall, because the sashimi is sliced thick and wide, each fish's texture and flavor comes through more intensely. It leans toward enjoying the fish's own texture rather than tasting mostly sauce off thin slices.

Adding a sushi rice dish alongside this would probably work really well too.

Pickled radish wraps, hijiki and seaweed on the side

Since the sashimi itself is thick, laying a piece over rice lets you eat it almost like sushi, a different way to enjoy it than sashimi alone.

Pickled radish and hijiki seaweed come out alongside the sashimi.

Eating these seaweeds together with the sashimi adds a crisp or slightly chewy texture, which keeps things interesting. If you eat sashimi non-stop the texture can start feeling repetitive, but mixing in hijiki or pickled radish changes the mouthfeel.

Garlic, chojang (vinegar-chili sauce), ssamjang (dipping paste), and makjang are all set out, so you can dip according to your taste and the type of sashimi.

Personally, I also liked pairing it with seaweed.

Seaweed sheets are available at a self-serve table, so you can grab them whenever you want — laying a piece of sashimi on seaweed with sauce makes for yet another combination.

Gyeongju Beopju and Saero as a second-round pairing

The drinks that day were Gyeongju Beopju and Saero.

Rather than eating a lot of one type, the mixed platter is more about picking up a piece of each fish with your drink, which makes it pair really well as a drinking snack.

In particular, if you're visiting for a second round already somewhat full, this kind of mixed platter seems like a great fit.

Order one plate of sashimi, pick a piece of each kind as you go, and sip your drink — no need to add a heavier dish on top.

As for the Gyeongju Beopju, I'd rank it among the better rice wines sold in Korea — slightly sweet, and very pleasant for light drinking.

Is Daegang's mixed sashimi platter worth it?

With two to three pieces per kind, you can taste a range of fish without it feeling like too much overall.

Overall, Daegang's mixed sashimi platter is an enjoyable order if you like thick-cut sashimi.

The biggest strength is getting to enjoy several kinds of sashimi on one plate — the char on the red seabream mask-gawa, the fattiness of the flounder engawa, the texture of the flatfish, and the well-aged salmon.

On top of that, pickled radish and hijiki add texture, and garlic, chojang, ssamjang, makjang, and seaweed let you mix and match to your taste, so even the same sashimi can be enjoyed in different ways.

When you're on Songni-dan-gil, not too full yet but wanting a light finish with a piece of sashimi and a drink, or when you want to try several kinds of aged sashimi at once, ordering the mixed platter at Daegang and eating it outdoors with that patio-tent atmosphere is hard to beat.