Mapo sashimi restaurant: ₩75,000 yellowtail in 5 cuts, Mapo Bamdada

When large yellowtail season approaches, you just start looking for a place to eat seasonal sashimi, right?! Thick, fatty slices of yellowtail with a cold drink feel like truly enjoying winter ◡̈ This time I went looking for a spot near Mapo-gu Office Station where you can eat good yellowtail. It's Mapo Bamdada (마포밤바다), also known as a Mangwon sashimi restaurant!! Not just the yellowtail but the side dishes were satisfying too, so here's my honest review :)

Where is Mapo Bamdada?

Mapo Bamdada is a sashimi restaurant about a 3-minute walk from Exit 4 of Mapo-gu Office Station. It's easy to reach by public transport. It's also close to Mangwon, so it's a good location for anyone looking for a sashimi restaurant in the Mangwon area.

Mapo Bamdada, which you'll come across as you walk around Mapo-gu Office Station!

What's the atmosphere like on a Wednesday evening?

I went to Mapo Bamdada around 8 p.m. on a Wednesday and it was already almost full. Inside, it had the friendly feel of a sashimi place that locals drop into casually.

The interior was comfortable, a nice place to sit down for sashimi and a drink.

The moment we sat down, we ordered the large yellowtail without a second thought!

Mapo Bamdada yellowtail set price and starter sides

The large yellowtail sashimi set at Mapo Bamdada is ₩75,000. The whole point of this visit was the yellowtail, haha. It's seasonal sashimi at its best time, so I waited excitedly, wondering how good it would be.

Before the sashimi came out, a variety of starter sides (sekkoshi) landed on the table first. At a sashimi restaurant, checking out the side dishes is half the fun as much as the main fish, right?! Mapo Bamdada's lineup was more varied than I expected, so it was nice to try them one by one while waiting for the yellowtail.

Mulhoe with thick slices of fish

The most memorable of the sides was the mulhoe (cold spicy raw fish soup)! When it comes as a side, mulhoe is sometimes just a small taste, but the mulhoe here had thick pieces of fish in it, which was quite satisfying. It was tangy and cold, great for getting your appetite going.

Sweet and spicy braised pollack with bean sprouts

Braised pollack (codari) with bean sprouts came out too. The well-seasoned pollack was sweet, spicy and savory, and it went nicely with the crunchy bean sprouts. With side dishes arriving one after another like this, it was already perfect for a drink before the main dish showed up!!

How do the cuts of Mapo Bamdada's yellowtail differ in taste?

Finally, the yellowtail sashimi I'd been waiting for!! Wow… I loved the look of it right away ♡

Vivid color, and white fat running between the flesh! Can you feel that rich, oily look of yellowtail even through the photo? 🥹🥹

The cuts we had were saitsal (between-cut meat), tail, back, gamatsal (jaw-area meat) and belly!

Tail

Yellowtail tail is a muscle that moves a lot, so it's said to have a chewier texture than other cuts. It has relatively little fat, so it was nice and clean-tasting.

Back

The back is a thick, meaty cut. Fat and lean meat were nicely balanced, giving a rich, nutty flavor. A great cut for enjoying that signature yellowtail richness.

Gamatsal (jaw-area meat)

And the one that stuck with me most that day!! The gamatsal had a wonderful crisp-yet-chewy texture when you bite into it. It's a different texture from ordinary sashimi, so if you like something to chew on, please try it!!

Saitsal (between-cut meat)

Saitsal is the meat found between other cuts, and it has yet another texture. It's chewy and crunchy (jjeondeukkodok) but still rich, so I found myself savoring it slowly, one piece at a time.

Belly

And of course the belly, which you can't skip with yellowtail!! It's from the stomach side and rich in fat, so the flavor is deeply nutty. Springy and chewy, with a richness that builds the more you chew, it really showed off what makes yellowtail great. Every cut had a different texture and taste, so comparing them one by one was fun.

Yellowtail is best wrapped in seaweed with white kimchi

My favorite way to eat the yellowtail at Mapo Bamdada was a piece on a sheet of seaweed topped with white kimchi (baek-kimchi, the non-spicy kind). Yellowtail is good on its own, but how you pair it gives it a different charm, right?

I really recommend this combo!! The tangy, clean taste of the white kimchi cuts the rich nuttiness of the yellowtail so it never feels greasy. Personally, it was my favorite combination.

Mapo Bamdada's clam soup served with the yellowtail

Along with the yellowtail, Mapo Bamdada served a spicy, refreshing clam soup! I love it when a warm broth comes with sashimi like this. After the very first spoonful I thought, this is perfect drinking food, haha. A sip of soju followed by a spoonful of clam broth is such a good match!! Especially after eating something rich like yellowtail, the warm broth left my mouth feeling clean. From reviews I read, the clam soup can apparently be refilled too. Great news for anyone having a drink!!

Would I go back for the yellowtail at Mapo Bamdada?

My first visit to Mapo Bamdada! I went for the yellowtail, but I was happy with not just the sashimi but also the variety of side dishes and the atmosphere. What stayed with me was being able to eat while hearing about each cut, and how the tail, back and gamatsal each had a different texture. The thick yellowtail was rich and fatty, and eating it with seaweed and white kimchi was seriously good. Add the tangy mulhoe, braised pollack and spicy clam soup, and the lineup felt really full.

I also liked the friendly neighborhood sashimi-place feel, where customers show up even at 3 p.m. on a Sunday! I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a sashimi restaurant near Mapo-gu Office Station, or who wants seasonal yellowtail at a Mangwon sashimi spot. It's also a decent place for a casual Japanese-style pub night with sashimi and drinks in Mangwon-dong. Next time I crave other seasonal sashimi, I'd like to come back ♡