Gangnam Station Japanese rice bowl spot: staff-picked aburi-don, Ilpum

I visited Ilpum in Gangnam Station, famous for its kaisendon (sashimi rice bowl) and eel rice bowls. They say it's been on TV and even a famous TV personality vouches for it!

Ilpum Gangnam Branch location and opening hours

Ilpum Gangnam Branch (일품 강남점) is at 23 Seocho-daero 74-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul (B1, Unit 106). It's about 195 m from Gangnam Station Exit 6, so you can get there in around 2 minutes on foot.

• Hours: Mon–Sat 11:00–21:30
• Break time: 15:00–17:30
• Last order: 14:00 for lunch, 20:00 for dinner
• Closed on Sundays

Seating at Ilpum Gangnam: fine for solo diners or groups?

There are counter seats (dacchi-seok) and regular tables. The counter is great if you're dining alone or as a pair sitting side by side, while tables seem more comfortable for bigger groups. If three or more of you are coming, I'd recommend reserving a table through Naver Place first.

Ilpum Gangnam menu and prices

The main menu is rice bowls (donburi) and sushi, plus sashimi and fried dishes. Kaisendon is ₩26,000 and aburi-don is ₩30,000.

My boyfriend ordered the kaisendon and I got the aburi-don. Honestly, I can't really eat raw fish, so I'd planned on unagi-don (eel rice bowl), but it was sold out when we came, sob. I was panicking about what to eat when a staff member recommended the aburi-don, explaining that the surface of the seafood is lightly cooked. It turned out to be a total success!

Served before the bowls: clear soup, shrimp steamed egg and seaweed

Once you order, Ilpum brings out clear soup, steamed egg and seaweed before the rice bowls arrive.

The steamed egg was soft and moist, Japanese style, with shrimp inside too. It was salty with a really good savory depth. The texture was so silky that it melted in my mouth when I scooped it up with a spoon. The main dish hadn't even arrived and the egg was already so good that I waited excitedly for what was coming next.

Cold udon topped with karaage, served mid-meal

The cold udon came out partway through, while we were eating the rice bowls. Japanese food can get a bit heavy as you go, right? Just as that heaviness crept in, the chilled udon arrived, which was perfect. The noodles were springy and the broth was cool, really cleansing the palate.

There was also a piece of karaage (Japanese fried chicken) in the udon, and it was so good that I thought a chicken karaage bowl would have been tasty too. Having the udon come mid-meal made the whole set feel more generous.

How generous is the kaisendon (₩26,000) at Ilpum Gangnam?

This is the kaisendon my boyfriend ordered. Doesn't it look generous just from the looks? Sashimi of all kinds, like tuna and salmon, was piled high over the bowl.

The color of the tuna was especially nice. He said the sashimi had no fishy smell at all and every piece was delicious. I also liked that you can taste so many kinds of seafood in one go.

The perilla-like leaf on the kaisendon is an herb called shiso. Its strong aroma divides opinion, but if you like herbs, try cutting it very small and eating it with the sashimi.

The kaisendon also had ankimo, made from monkfish liver. My boyfriend said it was much richer and nuttier than he expected and enjoyed it, haha.

At Ilpum Gangnam you get a generous amount of varied sashimi, and the portion was so big that even my boyfriend, who normally eats two bowls of rice, said he was full. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants plenty of different sashimi.

Is aburi-don (₩30,000) okay for people who can't eat raw fish?

This is the aburi-don I ordered. It was topped with cuttlefish, smoked mackerel, salmon, scallop, rolled omelet, salmon roe, wasabi, scallions and more.

I'd wanted unagi-don but it was sold out, so I ordered this on the staff's recommendation. I can't handle the fishy taste of raw fish well, so I was a little worried at first. But the seafood comes lightly seared, and I couldn't taste any fishiness at all!

The salmon and scallop had no fishiness either, and the smoked mackerel was tender and tasty. The Japanese rolled omelet on top had a lovely sweetness.

The cuttlefish was sliced thick, so one bite filled my mouth. It had a nice chew too.

The rice had a good amount of furikake (rice seasoning) mixed in, so each bite had a little pop of texture and was seasoned well. If you're like me and can't really eat raw fish or are sensitive to fishy smells, aburi-don seems like a good choice. Personally, I felt like the unagi-don selling out led me to discover a great dish, so I was actually happy about it!

Dessert to finish: panna cotta with mango purée

Near the end of the meal, Ilpum even served dessert. With dishes coming out one after another like a course, it felt like being at a traditional Korean full-course restaurant, hahaha.

The dessert looked like panna cotta topped with mango purée. It tasted like soft milk pudding with sweet mango added. Finishing with a sweet dessert ended the meal on a happy note.

Overall verdict on Ilpum Gangnam Branch

The main dishes were good, but what I liked most was how the whole meal was put together. From the steamed egg at the start to the cold udon in the middle and the dessert at the end, everything was delicious. The toppings on the bowls were tasty with not a hint of fishiness.

If you're looking for a generous kaisendon or aburi-don near Gangnam Station, I recommend Ilpum Gangnam Branch.