Magok sushi restaurant white fish sushi set for two: Ilpum Magok

A Magok kaisendon spot, a Magok sushi spot. Premium seafood rice bowl that melts in your mouth, at Ilpum Magok (+white fish sushi)

Where is Ilpum Magok and what are its hours?

• Location: Ilpum Magok, 228 Gonghang-daero, Unit 112, Gangseo-gu, Seoul
• Detailed location: 1st floor, Leaders Tower Magok
• Directions: 394m from Balsan Station Exit 8, about a 4-minute walk straight ahead from Balsan Station Exit 8, about an 8-minute walk straight ahead from Magok Station Exit 4
• Parking: available in the Leaders Tower Magok underground lot
• Hours: Tue–Sun 11:00–21:30
• Break time: 15:00–17:30
• Last order: 20:00, lunch last order 14:00
• Closed: every Monday

Trying Ilpum Magok's kaisendon by delivery first

Ilpum Magok, a well-known kaisendon spot, is an old friend of mine — I'm such a kaisendon addict that there was a period when I ordered basically every kaisendon near my house for delivery.

⬆️ The Ilpum kaisendon I ordered back then (note: it was a year ago, so the composition may have changed). The lineup was great and the delivery was clean, so I ate it very happily — this time I visited the store near Magok Station with my mom.

It's seriously famous as a Magok kaisendon spot. It's been on TV a lot too, and it's a hot spot known as a favorite of Lee Young-ja and Hwang Jung-min.

Inside Ilpum Magok: bar seats that work for solo diners

The atmosphere at Ilpum Magok is really neat and calm — an interior anyone looking for a Japanese restaurant in Magok would like✨ There are bar-style seats facing the kitchen (recommended for solo dining in Magok), and there's also a 4-person table inside.

Premium kaisendon 37.0 / White fish sushi set 33.0

Order complete🤗

Chawanmushi and side dishes served only at the restaurant

Chawanmushi (Japanese steamed egg), miso-style soup, and baek-kimchi (white kimchi). Ilpum Magok unusually gives white kimchi instead of pickled radish.

A perk of eating in-store!!! They give you chawanmushi. The steamed egg is completely soft, like pudding-style egg custard—

and inside there's a plump, springy shrimp tucked in. The moment it hits your mouth it melts away before you even chew, and the deep umami of the bonito broth spreads out, gently coating your empty stomach.

White fish sushi set, 33,000 won: thick-cut neta

The white fish sushi set my mom ordered — 33.0. Ilpum Magok is known for kaisendon, but the sushi is also famous.

Seeing the sushi laid out on a stylish plate made me so happy❤️ The neta is sliced thick, and they carefully score it too. A direct hit for sushi lovers who care about the chewy texture.

The cute little sweet tamagoyaki (rolled egg) tucked to one side looked so fluffy and delicious.

I carefully lifted a piece of sushi with my chopsticks and could really feel its heft~ True to a Magok sushi spot, the air pockets between the rice grains were well preserved, so the shari (sushi rice) had this artful texture that loosens up in your mouth.

Especially the mild yet subtly sweet flavor of the white fish, and the texture of the aged sashimi — chewy verging on springy — got a big thumbs up👍

What comes in the premium kaisendon, 37,000 won

Premium kaisendon — 37.0. Tuna, salmon, sweet shrimp, abalone, scallop, salmon roe (ikura), sea urchin (uni), cuttlefish, and white fish (the basic kaisendon plus added toro, salmon roe, uni, and abalone). The seafood is piled up like a tower, overflowing off the bowl — it looks like a bouquet, impossible not to photograph. The colorful composition is so pretty. So pretty I almost couldn't bring myself to touch it.

Underneath the heap of sashimi is rice seasoned with sushi vinegar.

To really enjoy kaisendon, seaweed is essential (and they give you plenty😋😋)

How to eat kaisendon: seaweed, vinegared rice and fresh wasabi

Put a crisp sheet of seaweed on your hand, add a bit of perfectly seasoned vinegared rice, top it with a glossy piece of sashimi, add a touch of fresh wasabi, dip it in soy sauce, and eat — absolutely delicious🎉🎊 This is the class of a top Magok restaurant~

I went extravagant and put uni on top of the tuna too haha

I ate the sweet shrimp on its own, and it was very sweet.

I put the precious toro on gamtae (seasoned laver) — especially the tuna, which melted like cotton candy the moment it hit my mouth, oil spreading everywhere (it was there, then it was gone).

The monkfish liver and crab meat were incredibly rich.

The scallop released a slightly sweet juice the more you chewed it, the kind of flavor that makes you scrunch your face involuntarily.

The cuttlefish and the salmon~~ nothing to skip. A gift set packed entirely with things I love.

Mini cold udon and pannacotta to finish

Mini cold udon — a clear yet deep broth with scallions sprinkled on top, finished off perfectly with crispy karaage on top!! It was perfect for cleansing your palate in between bites. The springy udon noodles were completely my style~ Eating in-store, you get a lot more than just the main dish.

Lastly, the pannacotta dessert they gave us.

It was a pretty, yellow puree-like dessert — taking a spoonful, it was subtly sweet and cleanly cleared out any lingering oceanic taste in the mouth.

Is Ilpum Magok good for a date in Magok?

It felt like I finally had a proper Japanese meal after a long time💜 If you're going on a blind date near Balsan or Magok, or looking for a Magok date course with a great atmosphere and even better food, I strongly recommend Ilpum Magok, the Magok kaisendon spot!!