Mapo sashimi bar: live squid, flounder and DIY roe sushi, Mapo Bamdada

Why we chose live squid and flounder at Mapo Bamdada

Mapo Bamdada (마포밤바다) is a sashimi restaurant between Mapo-gu Office Station and Mangwon Station. You can order the "live squid sashimi + pick-your-own sashimi" combo, where you add any sashimi you like to the live squid. I wanted raw fish and a drink with a friend not long ago, heard about this combo and went straight away! We ordered one live squid and chose flounder as our pick ✨

Mapo Bamdada hours, parking and reservations

The address is 146 Woldeukeop-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul (1st floor), and it's open every day from 12:00 to 01:00 the next day. Parking is free: there are about 8 spaces right past Ganghwa Tongtong Saenggogigip (강화통통생고기집), and apparently 3–4 of them are usually taken by cars belonging to the building. Better to ask the restaurant when you park!

Reservations are possible too. It opens at noon with no break time, so it's a great place for daytime drinking. If you're looking for a sashimi restaurant in Mapo where you can drink in the daytime, I think it's a pretty good choice.

Where is Mapo Bamdada in Mapo?

Mapo Bamdada is on the main road between Mapo-gu Office Station and Mangwon Station, so it wasn't hard to find, and being on the first floor made it easy to get into. Outside there's a tank with live fish, so I looked around for a bit before going in. Which one is our live squid going to be? 😳

This otter model gave me a shock, hahaha. Mangwon Market and Mangwon-dong's bar street are nearby too, so it's a handy stop if you're looking for a restaurant near Mapo-gu Office Station or a sashimi place in Mangwon-dong!

How many people fit comfortably inside Mapo Bamdada?

The interior is mostly tables, so it looked fine for bigger groups, and it seemed good for family meals, get-togethers with friends or company dinners. Rather than eating alone, I think it suits two or more people sharing sashimi and side dishes!

How much is the live squid + pick-your-own sashimi combo?

The live squid sashimi is at market price. When I went, the squid alone was ₩52,000 and the live squid + pick-your-own sashimi was ₩55,000. We ordered the live squid + pick-your-own sashimi, and chose flounder as our pick.

They also run lots of events here.

• Gold-leaf soju service for birthday customers every month
• Win the "Catch the 10 Seconds" event and get an omakase assorted sashimi set
• A no-blank roulette event when you write a review
• An event for one free bottle of soju or beer

If you like these little events, it's worth checking before you visit!

What free sides come with sashimi at Mapo Bamdada?

Mapo Bamdada starts you off with the basic skidashi (starter dishes), and I love how generous the side dishes always are. Some places are a bit disappointing with their basic sides when you go for sashimi, but even before the main sashimi arrived, the sides here were pretty good.

Starting with a sweet and sour mulhoe (cold raw fish soup),

all the way to soy-marinated shrimp~~

How did the live squid and flounder sashimi taste?

The main: live squid sashimi + flounder sashimi! Wow, live squid really feels like a dish you eat for the texture. The more you chew, the more a slight sweetness comes through, and dipped in chojang (sweet and sour chili sauce) it gets even tangier and sweeter, perfect with drinks ㅎㅅㅎ

It definitely feels different from regular blanched squid.

The flounder was light and clean!! It's soft and nutty, so it paired well with the live squid. The slices weren't too thin, so there was some bite, and it was clean to eat with no fishy smell. A piece of live squid, a piece of flounder, a sip of soju in between~~

DIY sushi with flying fish roe and seaweed

Mapo Bamdada gave us flying fish roe, pickled radish, kkosigarae (seaweed noodles) and gim (seaweed sheets), so we made sushi too, and did a proper job of it.

Is live squid and flounder enough for two?

The amount of live squid + flounder wasn't too little for two, and with the skidashi it was quite filling. If you're still hungry, adding something like mulhoe or clam soup would be good.

Braised semi-dried pollack and clam soup mid-meal

After you've eaten a fair amount of sashimi, Mapo Bamdada also brings braised codari (half-dried pollock) as a side. The seasoning was just right, and the flesh was really plump, so I enjoyed it a lot.

Clam soup comes as a basic too!! It's a little spicy, perfect as a soju snack.

Who should visit Mapo Bamdada?

Mapo Bamdada is a good sashimi restaurant to visit when you want raw fish near Mapo-gu Office Station. Live squid alone can get a bit monotonous, but you get to pick the sashimi you want to go with it, which made the set great. If you choose flounder like we did, you get chewy live squid and light flounder together, and I think you'll be satisfied!!

• People looking for a good restaurant near Mapo-gu Office Station
• People looking for a sashimi restaurant in Mangwon-dong
• People who like live squid sashimi
• People who want raw fish and a drink with a friend
• People looking for a Mapo sashimi restaurant where daytime drinking works

Next time I want to try the omakase assorted sashimi set or the mulhoe too, haha