Sadang bar for two guys, ₩39,000 each course: Jindallae Silbi

I was looking for somewhere good to drink near Sadang Station with a former coworker, and we ended up at Jindallae Silbi, a Sadang restaurant/bar I'd wanted to try for a while. I'd heard it's one of those trendy 'samchon omakase' style places where the side dishes just keep coming, so I was already excited before we even walked in.

Where to find Jindallae Silbi near Sadang Station

Jindallae Silbi is in the food alley close to Sadang Station. Walk about 5 minutes from Exit 8 and you'll spot a building called 'Sopungganeunnal' on the ground floor — Jindallae Silbi, the place I'm introducing today, is on the 2nd floor of that building.

A 90s retro bar plastered with H.O.T and Fin.K.L photos

The vibe hits you the moment you walk in. Photos of H.O.T and Fin.K.L — which I hadn't seen in ages — are right there at the entrance.

True to its retro reputation, the place is drenched in 90s and 2000s nostalgia. Even the music playing is mostly the songs I loved back then. It felt like walking straight into the Crayon Shin-chan movie, The Adult Empire Strikes Back.

Chae Yeon was really so young back then... haha

If you write a receipt review, you get to try a nostalgic lucky draw. I never have any luck with these, and that day I pulled 5th place again...

We ordered the Jindallae course for two — 15 dishes

There's a 15-dish Jindallae course and a 6-dish course available after 8pm. Naturally we went with the Jindallae course for two, Jindallae Silbi's signature menu. The infused liquor caught my eye, but I'm not really into highballs, so we stuck with soju-and-beer.

Even the water bottle isn't ordinary — it's one of those nostalgic Del Monte juice bottles everyone had one of growing up.

My jaw dropped the second the first spread arrived. Seven side dishes came out first, and I regretted not skipping lunch.

Boiled pork belly, or bossam suyuk (boiled pork belly with kimchi) — the well-cooked meat paired beautifully with the well-fermented kimchi.

Personally, I really loved this odolppyeo (spicy stir-fried soft cartilage). I like spicy food, and the smoky char plus the heat made it a great drinking snack.

Flounder and salmon sashimi, made with Wando 'daegwanghyeo' flounder

And then came what might be the main event of the Jindallae course — flounder and salmon sashimi! Even though this isn't a dedicated sashimi restaurant, the fish was seriously good. Turns out the flounder isn't just any flounder — it's daegwanghyeo, a large flounder caught off Wando in Jeollanam-do. Tastier than plenty of dedicated sashimi joints.

From seafood jjim to flatfish, pork cutlet, and seafood pancake

Next up was the seafood jjim (braised seafood), and the visual was just violent. I was already starting to feel full and genuinely wondered if we could finish it.

Just as I tried to catch my breath, out came flatfish, pork cutlet, and seafood pancake. Every single one was solidly good, nothing weak among them. With the side dishes never stopping, the soju kept flowing too — that's the real problem here. You really need to come with someone who can drink. It felt like each dish alone could empty a full bottle of soju.

Right when things started feeling a bit greasy, out came the spicy fish stew. The owner clearly knows flavor. It felt like the course was carefully built alternating spicy and rich dishes. I thought this stew was the finale — I was wrong.

Maybe because we'd ordered a lot to drink, suddenly out came a free smoked duck dish —

— and then they even gave us precious peaches. Protein, carbs, fat, and fiber — a nutritionally complete samchon omakase.

Overall verdict

We ate an incredible variety of side dishes until we were stuffed. Since basically every dish was a guy's soul food, this is a place where two men could really drink themselves silly. The soju kept flowing without me even noticing, and I ended up drinking a bit too much. Sob. But in an era of expensive everything, a place where you can eat a belly-busting course for ₩39,000 a person is rare. I'd especially recommend this to guys near Sadang Station who want good side dishes, good drinks, and a hit of old-school retro nostalgia.