Sadang izakaya Sunday day drinking: braised whole squid at Susan

Susan 水山 :: Sadang Main Branch

🏠17 Nambusunhwan-ro271ga-gil, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, South Korea, basement 1F & 1F ⏰Weekdays 16:00-01:00 | Fri-Sat 15:00-02:00 | Sun 15:00-01:00 ✔️Naver Reservations available, 5-min walk from Sadang Station exits 8 & 7

Sunday 3pm opening — a day-drinking izakaya near Sadang Station

Today my husband and I went for a date-slash-day-drinking trip to [ Susan ], an izakaya near Sadang Station! We went on a Sunday, and get this — Sundays it opens at 3pm!! I often do day drinking because of work the next day, so an izakaya opening this early is super precious haha🤭

Susan izakaya near Sadang Station has two floors, the 1st floor and the basement. We showed up right at opening, but the 1st floor was still being prepped, so we were shown to the basement annex.

Once you're seated, they give you a pre-meal sake! I sat down and downed it in one shot right away✨

The menu at Susan Sadang Main Branch

Susan izakaya menu ➡️ True to its reputation as a Sadang aged sashimi spot, they have flounder, spotted flounder, and squid sashimi, along with yukhoe (raw beef) and oden, plus all kinds of dishes. The menu is varied and every dish seems to get good reviews, because even though it was daytime, the annex was fully booked with people out on dates or with groups just like us!!

Seasonal raw shrimp sashimi, ₩58,000

Our first order! Seasonal raw shrimp sashimi at ₩58,000. Raw shrimp is trendy right now, and it's cleanly prepped here. My mouth was watering the second it arrived.

A plate piled high with 18-20 pieces of raw shrimp sashimi! It's in season, but they clearly know how to prep it — super plump, springy texture, zero fishy smell, and a sweet flavor!!

Top the seasoned gim (dried seaweed) that comes with it with some aged kimchi and wasabi!! Pure bliss.

So sweet ^^

Braised whole squid, ₩49,000 — my favorite dish, worth the 20-minute wait

Second dish, braised whole squid at ₩49,000. Braised whole squid is my absolute favorite!! There aren't many places that do whole-squid braising, so I'm always hunting for it, and seeing it right there on Susan's menu made me so happy!! We were already full from the shrimp sashimi with just the two of us, but I can't skip my beloved braised squid!!! Ordering it, no question!!

Since braising takes time to steam through, it takes about 20 minutes to prepare. The owner said sorry for the wait and threw in an extra squid on the house✨ Handsome owner, generous heart too🤭

Even the squid's innards were cooked to perfection! The innards are rich and creamy, the squid itself is chewy and firm, and eating it together with the cheongyang chili they sprinkled on top!!

I naturally found myself ordering another soju.

Fried shrimp heads come free with the raw shrimp sashimi

And as we kept eating, they brought out fried shrimp heads! Order the raw shrimp sashimi and the fried heads are on the house!!

Today's drinking snacks were on point🙏 The fried shrimp heads called for one more bottle of soju.

Random note, but the wet wipes are cute,, the table next to us was having maki and the smell,, an incredibly delicious smell,, next time I'm definitely coming with a group and saying 'give us everything from here to there.'

Why it's fully booked by 4pm

Eating through the snacks, I finally understood why [Susan] was already full even though it was only 4pm!! Every single dish is genuinely delicious, and it's a rare, precious kind of izakaya that still serves seasonal cooking. If you love aged sashimi or yukhoe for a date or a group gathering, definitely visit. Especially if you love braised whole squid. This is the place👍🏻