Seasonal sashimi and motsunabe at Ilsim, a Jongno izakaya near Jonggak

I recently found a place that genuinely ranks among the best izakayas I've ever been to. The taste was great, but the vibe was just as good, so much so that I already want to come back with my husband and with friends!!! If you're looking for an izakaya near Jonggak, definitely remember Ilsim near Jonggak Station.

*No parking support — you'll need to use a nearby public or paid parking lot.

What's the exterior and interior atmosphere like?

This was my first time visiting an izakaya near Gwanghwamun, and this place already seems to be well known among nearby office workers, because there were even waiting chairs set up outside haha. Today's sashimi lineup was posted too — check the photos below (looking back, I ordered exactly the sashimi and September recommended menu items haha).

We walked in right at opening, 5:30pm, and there were already customers ahead of us haha. Definitely a popular spot. The seating had a nice variety of configurations, and the space wasn't too bright, just dim enough — the vibe was great even at a glance!! Exactly the kind of moody, deep-conversation-over-drinks izakaya atmosphere done right!!

Menu and what we ordered

There were more dishes on the menu than I expected — plenty of soup-style dishes and lots of simple skewers too! But since our sashimi cooldown had worn off, we went with motsunabe (offal hot pot) and the seasonal assorted sashimi!!

• Motsunabe ₩39,000
• Two-person sashimi + sake decanter set ₩69,000

The fantastic two-person sashimi + sake set

True to izakaya form, edamame (salty soybeans) came out as the standard side dish! A cute sake decanter and cups arrived as a set with the sashimi!! Instantly put me in a good mood haha.

Ugh... truly stunning. In recent years I've actually had bad sashimi experiences at izakayas so I stopped reviewing them, but here even just the plating and color of the sashimi looked gorgeous...🫶🏻

Today's sashimi lineup was flounder, red seabream, spotted seabass, salmon, bluefin tuna, swordfish, mackerel, monkfish liver (ankimo), greater amberjack, Spanish mackerel, and mullet. Not in order, but I photographed each one below!

Zero fishiness at all, and the condition of the sashimi was so good that any seafood lover would lose their mind — (major praise). The moment I took a bite I was like, wow, this is so fresh, and the aging was done so well too (it was so fresh I honestly couldn't tell if it had even been aged). The quality was seriously great — fresh and chewy, the sashimi itself was delicious, and eating it in between bites of ankimo and aged kimchi made it even better.

I'd always been curious about okra, that star-shaped vegetable, and this place served it alongside the sashimi so I finally got to try it haha (kind of like yam but cleaner tasting).

Most of all, while other izakayas usually just cycle through a basic, limited sashimi lineup (flounder, salmon, sea bream), you could really see how much thought Ilsim put into the sashimi composition!! And even though it's a two-person set, the portion was huge, which made me even happier haha (still thinking about it...).

The fantastic motsunabe

Wait... chef, isn't your plating a little too good?... The portion of ingredients was huge, the amount of beef intestine (daechang) was huge, and every single ingredient was firm, not mushy, just pure freshness. A friend who joined us and is a good cook took one look at the motsunabe and said, ah, this place really uses fresh, quality ingredients!!!

You can see it, right? Silken tofu packed in, beef intestine packed in. The shiitake mushrooms were huge, plenty of glass noodles, and the other chive-and-vegetable ingredients were pure fresh.

At first the broth looked clearer than I expected, so I worried it might be bland — but don't worry at all~~~ The broth was insanely rich and deep... my friend and I kept marveling at how that was even possible haha (in the end we ended up ordering a broth refill too).

The orange sauce on the left was a real highlight — a tangy, sauce-like condiment, and dipping the beef intestine deep into it was... just... incredibly good. Have I ever eaten this much beef intestine while having motsunabe? We really enjoyed it in every combination possible!! (Major praise.)

In the end, after the sake, we ended up ordering two more highballs haha. That's how good both dishes were — genuinely, no complaints on either menu item, the best izakaya dishes I've had so far!!!!!!!!!!!

Final verdict

Hmm... I'm being a bit over the top so it's a little embarrassing, but that's exactly how good it was — the best izakaya I've visited in recent years. A place I was satisfied with enough to genuinely count among my favorites!! Vibe, taste, plating, ingredient freshness, portion size — top marks on every front.

The sashimi lineup was insane, fresh and clean, and the motsunabe had a deep, rich broth with a crazy amount of beef intestine😉

As we left, the place was fully packed with a 3-4 group wait... (even on a weekday evening haha). After eating there, I understood exactly why it's so popular with nearby office workers. I'm definitely planning to come back — with friends next time, and with my husband for sure!

For anyone near Jonggak looking for a good-vibe izakaya, or wanting to enjoy delicious sashimi and motsunabe together, I highly recommend this place. Among everywhere I've visited recently, Ilsim near Jonggak Station left me genuinely satisfied.