Hongdae sashimi spot: Saturday day drinking, live octopus, Eosa Chulto

What kind of restaurant is Eosa Chulto Hongdae Branch?

Eosa Chulto Hongdae Branch (어사출또 홍대점) is a sashimi restaurant about a 5-minute walk from Hongik Univ. Station. It's a franchise, so there are branches all over Seoul, haha. I was in Seoul for a visit after a long time and was looking for a good place for a group meal near Hongik Univ., which is how I ended up here.

I came on a Saturday lunch and had a few drinks, and it felt so good!! It's also prawn season, and they had prawn dishes and a nice variety of gizzard shad, which I loved. It looked great for a group meal with fresh fish, so let me walk you through it in detail!

Is Eosa Chulto easy to find from Hongik Univ. Station?

It's close to Hongik Univ. Station, so it was very easy to find. Let's start with the exterior of Eosa Chulto, a good spot for a group meal near Hongik Univ.

The tank had lots of fresh live fish, including flounder, sea squirt, shrimp and gizzard shad. The tank looked very clean, too.

I hear a lot of people look for lunch specials around Hongdae, and Eosa Chulto Hongdae Branch fits perfectly! With hoejeongsik (sashimi set meal), nakgopsae (octopus, beef and shrimp stir-fry), seafood kalguksu (noodle soup) and more, it looked ideal for a quick bowl before heading back to the office.

Inside Eosa Chulto Hongdae Branch: good for group dinners?

There were a lot of tables inside. With a reservation, it seems they could set up seating for 10 or more.

The space is long and narrow, haha. It's basically set up with 4-person tables, and it looks like they can split or join them as needed.

There are photos of the dishes all around the restaurant, and every single one looked so appetizing that I agonized over what to order to look like I'd chosen well, lol. The interior was pleasant and spacious, which I liked.

What sashimi is on the Eosa Chulto Hongdae menu?

The menu has almost every common kind of fish, from seasonal assorted sashimi to seafood, makhoe (mixed sashimi) and fried dishes.

• Seasonal assorted sashimi / flounder / rockfish / salmon
• Dodari (finless flounder) / sekkoshi (thin-sliced bone-in fish) / red sea bream / sea bass / striped beakfish
• Seafood (sea squirt, live octopus, abalone, sea cucumber)
• Makhoe (mixed sashimi), shrimp and squid tempura

You can find pretty much every kind of fish we usually eat here. I can see why it's so popular as a good-value sashimi spot near Hongik Univ. Station, haha.

Autumn gizzard shad and prawn menu

What comes to mind when you think of autumn!? For me, it's grilled gizzard shad and gizzard shad sashimi. And grilled prawns too, haha. Eosa Chulto Hongdae Branch has all of it! There's a two-way gizzard shad set with both grilled and raw, and the price was really nice. Also, makhoe comes with free spicy fish stew, so that could be a very reasonable choice.

Lunch specials for Hongdae office workers

Attention, office workers near Hongdae!! The lunch specials at Eosa Chulto Hongdae Branch are a great lineup: cockle bibimbap, seafood kalguksu, nakgopsae, mulhoe noodles (cold spicy raw fish noodles), hoedeopbap (raw fish rice bowl), sea squirt rice bowl, dongtaetang (pollock stew) and more. You can fill up properly at lunch.

Today's Special for two at 59,000 won: portion and taste

The Today's Special for two that I ordered at Eosa Chulto Hongdae Branch comes with assorted sashimi, live octopus and spicy fish stew. I had my group meal at a good place near Hongik Univ., lol. A meal for just two can count as a group meal too!

Cheongha goes really well with raw fish. Cheongha, the Korean sake!

The assorted sashimi was flounder, rockfish and salmon. The portion was bigger than I expected, which was great!! Sashimi, live octopus and spicy fish stew together for ₩59,000, and 25–26 slices on top of that, is amazing. Honestly, many places don't give you even this much, T_T. The freshness of the live fish was excellent, too.

The side dishes were macaroni salad and white kimchi. The macaroni is delicious, haha. Get a refill!

Flounder fin and the assorted sashimi platter

My beloved fin... How can flounder fin be this good? It has a chewy texture, and the clean-tasting fat is really appealing too.

With flounder, rockfish and salmon, it was great dipped in wasabi and soy sauce. I got to taste for myself why Eosa Chulto is so popular as a sashimi restaurant near Hongik Univ. Station, lol.

Wriggling live octopus

Next is the live octopus. It kept wriggling nonstop... which makes it taste even better!!

The tentacles were all tangled up, lol, and wouldn't come apart, so I bit them apart with my teeth. Dipped generously in the salt and sesame oil sauce, one big bite brought back a texture I'd missed for a long time.

Finishing with spicy fish stew

Finally, one more bottle cleared with the spicy fish stew.. The meat clinging to the bones is secretly delicious. The spicy broth with refreshing radish and bean sprouts felt like it reset the alcohol. If you're looking for a sashimi restaurant near Hongik Univ. Station, Eosa Chulto is really good value with a nice atmosphere.

I hear prawns are in season right now. Eosa Chulto Hongdae Branch has grilled prawns and butter-grilled shrimp on the menu, so give them a try.