Tokkuri sake set and fried chicken skin at Ilsim, a Jonggak bar

Where Ilsim is and when it opens

Ilsim is an izakaya at 94 Building 2F #204, Sambong-ro 94, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 179m from Jonggak Station Exit 2. It's open Mon–Sat 17:30–24:00 with last order at 23:00, and closed every Sunday.

• Hours: Mon–Sat 17:30 - 24:00 (last order 23:00)
• Closed: Every Sunday
• Parking: Paid on-site parking. Nearby public lots or public transit recommended

Why we chose Ilsim for drinks near Jonggak Station

Today I'm introducing 'Ilsim,' a place I found while looking for a bar with good atmosphere around Jongak. It has a wide range of Japanese-style dishes from sashimi to yakitori, nabe, sukiyaki, and karaage, so it works well for both a light drink and a proper dinner-and-drinks night.

What really struck me this visit was that when I think of a Jonggak izakaya, I usually picture somewhere loud, but this place was surprisingly quiet — I liked that! The interior is actually pretty spacious, and there's a separate area for groups, so if you're looking for a Jonggak bar where you can actually have a conversation, this could be it haha.

That day I ordered the two-person sashimi and tokkuri sake set along with the chicken karaage and fried chicken skin. Sashimi with a glass of sake plus a fried side turned out to be a pretty great combo. Here's the detailed review.

Inside Ilsim: a Jonggak izakaya quiet enough to talk

Ilsim is on the 2nd floor of the building, and from the entrance it already had that proper Japanese izakaya feel.

In front of the entrance, the day's sashimi and recommended menu were written up, and it seemed like the sashimi lineup changes a bit each time.

Once inside, it was much more spacious than I expected. There was decent room between tables, and the space was divided here and there by wood partitions, so it didn't feel too cramped next to other seats haha.

There's also a tatami room for up to 16 people, which seemed like it would work well for a company dinner or a bigger gathering.

What is on the menu at Ilsim

Ilsim's menu covers quite a lot, from sashimi to nabe, sukiyaki, yakitori, and fried dishes. There's seasonal assorted sashimi, beef sukiyaki, motsunabe (offal hot pot), kamonabe (duck hot pot), plus yakitori and karaage for lighter drinking food. Looking at the photos of the menu, there are more options than I expected, so if you go with someone else, you'll probably spend a while deciding what to order lol.

Two-person sashimi with tokkuri sake set, 69,000 won

The two-person sashimi and tokkuri sake set, and the chicken karaage with fried chicken skin.

• Two-person sashimi + tokkuri sake set, ₩69,000. When the sashimi came out, the plate was more generous than expected — a good amount for two people to share over drinks haha.

In the photo you can see it came with several kinds together — salmon, white fish, red fish — along with garnishes like lemon and radish sprouts, so it looked pretty nice too.

Each fish had a slightly different texture, so it was fun picking through them one by one.

The salmon was soft and fatty, which went well with sake, while the white fish was relatively light and worked as a palate cleanser in between.

I usually prefer sashimi plates with several types rather than sticking to one, so this was exactly my kind of thing haha.

It was fresh, with a chewy texture, and you could really taste the natural sweetness.

A bite of sashimi, a sip of sake — it genuinely felt like having dinner at a Japanese bar lol.

Since the entrance sign said the sashimi lineup changes each time, I found myself looking forward to seeing what combination would show up on my next visit haha.

Chicken karaage with fried chicken skin, 24,000 won

• Chicken karaage + fried chicken skin, ₩24,000. Next up, the chicken karaage and fried chicken skin I ordered as drinking food.

The karaage was fried crisp on the outside with juicy chicken inside, so the texture on the first bite was pretty solid.

Personally, if karaage is too greasy I can only manage a few pieces, but eating it with sake this time, I ended up having more than I expected lol.

The fried chicken skin had a distinctly crunchy texture, so even though it's also fried food, it felt noticeably different from the karaage next to it.

Especially after eating something as light as sashimi, biting into something crunchy and fried in between made for a pretty good combination.

Is Ilsim worth a visit in Jongno?

Overall, the 'Ilsim' I visited that day had a much better atmosphere than I expected. It was good for talking quietly over sashimi and sake, and the space wasn't cramped, which gave it a more relaxed feel than other Jonggak bars — something I really liked.

I personally prefer a place where you can chat comfortably over a drink rather than a loud bar, and this was exactly that kind of atmosphere haha. Since the sashimi lineup seems to change each time, there's also the fun of seeing what fish shows up on the next visit.

The karaage and fried chicken skin also paired well as reliable drinking food, so ordering one sashimi dish plus a fried side seems like a solid combo. If you're looking for a Jonggak izakaya with good atmosphere, this is worth considering, and it would also work well if you're near Gwanghwamun looking for somewhere quiet to have a drink.

In the end, this felt like the right pick for a day when I wanted to relax over sashimi and a glass of sake.