Seongnae-dong restaurant for weeknight soju and octopus: Jjuksami

There's an octopus alley in Seongnae-dong, Gangdong-gu. Lots of octopus restaurants line it, and I went with a friend to Jjuksami, a place I've been going to for a long time~ Let me introduce Jjuksami Cheonho Main Branch, a jjuggumi (spicy octopus) spot close to Cheonho-dong but technically in Seongnae-dong~

Jjuksami Cheonho Main Branch address, hours and parking

• Address: 50-21 Seongnae-dong, Gangdong-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: 12:00 PM – 1:00 AM
• Open year-round
• Located on a pedestrian-only alley, so parking looks difficult.

Walk into the alley and Jjuksami appears~ Almost everything around it is an octopus restaurant haha. Even on a weekday evening it was packed. (On the way out it was basically full.)

Inside Jjuksami and the full menu prices

Quickly snapped a photo while it was empty! Haha. The tables are round, perfect for a group to sit around and eat together!

The menu is so simple, I love it!

• Plain octopus: ₩15,000
• Octopus + pork belly: ₩16,000
• Octopus + shrimp: ₩16,000
• Octopus + pork belly + shrimp: ₩18,000

And spaghetti and glass noodle sari (extra noodles) come free!

Octopus and pork belly for two with extra cheese: how does it taste?

We got the octopus + pork belly with added cheese~

This is octopus + pork belly for two~ Octopus alone is delicious, but doesn't it sound even better with pork belly mixed in? The combo of chewy octopus and tender pork belly haha. Adding shrimp on top might make it even better. Next time, going all in with the shrimp too!

Free sides at Jjuksami: corn cheese, steamed egg and scorched-rice water

Corn cheese, steamed egg, and scorched-rice water (sungnyung) all came free... amazing! Hadn't had corn cheese in a while and it was so sweet and delicious ㅜㅜ (the soju just keeps going down haha)

And the cheese isn't just plain cheese — it comes topped with sweet potato mousse. Once melted, the combo of cheese and sweet potato mousse is incredible. Even eaten with the octopus and pork belly, it's so good!

Looking at these photos again is making me hungry... doesn't it look really appetizing? Watching everything bubble away, we sipped soju and beer alongside the free corn cheese and steamed egg. Nom nom nom... the sauce cooked down richly and deliciously. Time to dig in, right? Haha

How spicy is the octopus? Wrapping it in perilla leaf with mayo

Try the octopus wrapped in perilla leaf with mayo and pickled radish~ Genuinely delicious. It's a slightly spicy, slightly sweet flavor~ haha. On days you're craving something spicy or want a glass of soju, this is going to keep coming to mind... For reference, it's not very spicy. (No custom spice level option.)

Finishing the meal with the free spaghetti noodle sari

The final flourish... is spaghetti! (You have to try the spaghetti~ haha) The way the spaghetti noodles soak up the delicious octopus pork belly sauce is amazing!!! Fried rice looked tempting too... but I'd had too much to drink and was already full. Skipping it this time, but next time I'm getting the fried rice too!

Where to eat octopus in Cheonho and Seongnae-dong

If you're looking for a good octopus restaurant in Cheonho-dong or Seongnae-dong, how about Jjuksami? There are so many places to eat in Cheonho that it's hard to choose... I recommend Jjuksami Cheonho Main Branch, where you can have octopus and pork belly together in one dish~

Spicy food can taste great at first but get tiring fast — but octopus and pork belly have such different flavors and textures that you can enjoy it deliciously all the way to the end. With every bite you alternate between the springy texture of the octopus and the savory richness of the pork belly, and in between, mayo wrapped in its perilla leaf armor ambushes your mouth~ Perilla leaf and mayo, sneaking up on you haha. Felt great to have octopus in Cheonho-dong again after a long while.