Moran Station izakaya, 20-piece sashimi and clam pasta: Robata Sobeu

Robata Sobeu (로바타소브) 📍Jeil-ro 63beon-gil, Jungwon-gu, Seongnam 📆Closed every Monday ⏰17:00-01:00 (until 02:00 Fri and Sat)

What is Robata Sobeu, the Moran Station bar, like?

Robata Sobeu is a robata specialist near Moran Station, the kind of izakaya (Japanese-style pub) usually called robatayaki. The moment you walk in, the smell of fish grilled directly over charcoal drifts over and your appetite wakes right up. The classic robata dishes are great, but aged sashimi and a wide range of other dishes, which no izakaya can do without, are just as appealing, so let me tell you about this Moran Station izakaya.

Robata Sobeu menu and what we ordered

The menu is split into sashimi, dishes and robata (grilled items). We went for dinner plus a few drinks and picked the sashimi plate and the sake-steamed clams. I wanted something light, the sashimi, together with something heavy, and the varied menu made choosing fun. Sashimi plate and sake-steamed clams, my picks! Later I planned to add pasta noodles as a hearty finishing punch. Let me give you the conclusion first: total success.

How far is Robata Sobeu from Moran Station?

Robata Sobeu is about 364 m from Moran Station Exit 3, within a 5-minute walk. Moran Station has subways and buses everywhere, so the location is fantastic. It sits a little away from the bustling Moran food alley, and it reminded me of a late-night diner in a Japanese residential back street. It's a shame when the walk to transit after drinking is long, but here you can drink and zoom straight home!

Atmosphere, seating and Catch Table reservations

The lighting is slightly dim, with charming yellow halogen lamps, and the seating is counter seats, tables for 2 and tables for 4. After a drink or two, the person across from you looks prettier than any celebrity, haha. I sat at the counter, which is great for chatting quietly with a friend, and watching the fish grill right in front of you is fun too. There aren't many tables, so there may be a wait on weekends. You can book through Catch Table (a Korean reservation app), so keep that in mind.

Highballs with soda or tonic water

You can choose soda water or tonic water for the highball, and I asked for soda water for a fresh start. To begin, I lightly ordered two highballs. The fragrance of Suntory and the lemon blended nicely, and a well-made highball lifted my mood. After one highball each, we charged on to soju.

Sashimi plate: what's in it and how much

The sashimi plate comes with 20 pieces: two kinds of tuna, fresh fish, spear squid, monkfish liver (ankimo), sweet shrimp and abalone, plus vinegared rice. With so many kinds of seafood evenly arranged on one plate, picking them one by one was fun. If you love sashimi, you'll be happy with the sashimi at this Moran Station izakaya. The plate looks small, but 20 solid pieces was generous, and I used the vinegared rice to enjoy it as sushi too.

Sake-steamed clams on a chilly day, with pasta noodles added

The sake-steamed clams arrive in a big bowl piled with clams and mussels, and when you're nearly done you can add pasta noodles, which they cook in the reheated broth. The broth was boiled down so richly that the savory depth clung to my mouth, which was impressive. The clams and mussels were plump, and picking out the meat one by one was fun. Green and red chili toppings add a spicy kick, perfect with drinks. The thick, rich broth that kept me reaching for more was a work of art.

The highlight of this Moran izakaya's clam dish was the pasta noodles I added when the first serving was almost gone. Ordering them felt like ordering a whole new dish, because they take the plate to the kitchen and add the noodles to the freshly reheated broth. The portion was so big that I ate and ate and still left some, and now, late at night, I'm thinking about the pasta I left behind.

Robata Sobeu for a first round or second round?

With well-aged seasonal sashimi and plenty of dishes, Robata Sobeu looked right both as a first round at Moran Station and as a light second round. The mood is so good that if two people who are in a "some" (a flirting stage before dating) come, it might become day 1 from tonight! It's great as a date spot or for drinks with a friend. I was very happy with the nutty, savory aged sashimi and the sake-steamed clams. I'm also curious about the robata menu, the foundation of robatayaki, and want to come back to taste the plump grilled fish.