Sashimi restaurant by Nonhyeon Station: torched opaleye, Nonhyeon Bada

I'd heard there was a good sashimi restaurant near Nonhyeon Station, so I went to Nonhyeon Bada (논현바다). It's a place where you can enjoy wild-caught fish and all kinds of seafood dishes like a full course, and the table got packed with so much food that I was completely "food-assaulted" (that's the Korean slang for being stuffed silly). So here we go with my Nonhyeon Bada review.

Where is Nonhyeon Bada, and what are its hours?

Nonhyeon Bada is on the 1st floor of 17 Hakdong-ro 2-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and it's open Monday to Saturday from 11:30 until 5 a.m. It's closed on Sundays, and there's no parking.

It's a 3-minute walk from Nonhyeon Station, so access is great. It sits inside the food alley between Nonhyeon Station and Sinnonhyeon Station, which makes it a good spot for company dinners or get-togethers too.

Nonhyeon Bada's fish tanks and dining room

The first thing that caught my eye was the fish tank outside the restaurant. When an order comes in, they catch a fresh live fish and slice it up on the spot. Seeing the tank full of live fish, I thought, okay, this is a real sashimi restaurant where you get properly fresh fish.

Inside was cleaner and more stylish than I expected. At a lot of sashimi places it smells fishy and feels messy from the entrance, but Nonhyeon Bada felt really tidy. It has bar seats, tables and private rooms, so it looks good for a date near Nonhyeon Station, a company dinner or a group gathering.

What comes in the ₩55,000 Bada Wild Sashimi Set?

I ordered the Bada Wild Sashimi Set at ₩55,000 per person. The lineup was really generous for the price, so I was excited to see what would come out.

Side dishes: hijiki and wakame seaweed

The starter sides were seaweeds like tot (hijiki-type seaweed) and wakame, and even those felt a cut above. Instead of the usual banchan (side dishes), you get seaweed, which feels very much like a proper seafood restaurant.

Seaweed porridge and mussel soup

The first dish out was the seaweed porridge, soft and moist, and its warmth heated up my stomach first, which is perfect before a meal.

The mussel soup came packed with mussels, and just picking them out one by one was fun. The broth from the mussels was clean yet deeply savory, the kind of side dish (anju, food to go with drinks) where your spoon keeps going back.

Wild seasonal sashimi: what does torched opaleye taste like?

The wild seasonal sashimi at Nonhyeon Bada came in a variety: opaleye, sea bream and flounder. Maybe because it was freshly caught live fish, the springy texture and freshness hit me the moment it went into my mouth.

Live fish has its own chewiness that's different from aged sashimi, so I got a range of textures all the way through. Opaleye in particular was a first for me. The skin was lightly torched, so it had a subtle smoky flavor and a rich, nutty taste that was really appealing.

I think the biggest plus of Nonhyeon Bada is that you can taste rare, wild, in-season fish that you don't usually eat.

Sushi, corn cheese, jeon (Korean pancakes), seafood and tempura

Besides sashimi, the set also brought corn cheese, jeon (Korean pan-fried pancakes), seafood, sushi, tempura and grilled dishes, so generous. The food just kept coming no matter how much I ate, and by the end I was seriously full.

The highlight: sushi and big maki rolls

My favorite was the sushi! The quality was so good I'd have believed it came from a sushi specialist, and the maki (rolls) were so big I couldn't believe it. I hear they sell sushi menus at lunchtime too, which sounds perfect for a lunch for office workers around Nonhyeon Station.

Crispy sweet potato tempura

The tempura was fried crisp and I really enjoyed it. The sweet potato tempura especially kept its sweetness, and the crispy-sweet combo was great. With even the side dishes this good, ₩55,000 felt like great value.

Finishing with a spicy fish stew full of bean sprouts

The course ended, of course, with maeuntang (spicy fish stew). It was full of bean sprouts, so it was spicy yet deeply savory. With every spoonful it felt like it was curing my hangover as I ate. Even after filling up on sashimi and side dishes, the broth was superb, so I could finish happily to the very end.

Is Nonhyeon Bada's Bada Wild Sashimi Set good value?

I only ordered one set menu, yet dishes kept filling the table, and I got properly food-assaulted at this Nonhyeon Station sashimi restaurant. For Gangnam, where prices are high, this lineup at this quality felt like really great value. That was Nonhyeon Bada.

Being able to taste wild seasonal sashimi is Nonhyeon Bada's biggest strength.

I got to try opaleye sashimi, which I'd never had, and enjoy a varied food experience at Nonhyeon Bada. If you're looking for a good fresh live-fish sashimi spot near Nonhyeon Station or Sinnonhyeon, definitely give Nonhyeon Bada a visit~~🎣