Mapo Japanese restaurant for salmon ochazuke: Ochaya Yeonnam

While looking for somewhere to have dinner with a friend in Yeonnam-dong, we decided to try a slightly different kind of Japanese food this time. I usually love rice bowls and Japanese dishes, and the place we visited was Ochaya Yeonnam, which specializes in ochazuke (rice served with tea or broth).

I knew what ochazuke was, but I hadn't properly tried it many times, so I went for the salmon-topped sake chazuke this time. To give you the conclusion first, it was an easy, unfussy dish to eat, and the comfortable atmosphere made this a nice place for a meal.

Ochaya Yeonnam location and parking

It is on the second floor at 38 Donggyo-ro 38-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul. Walk from Hongik University Station Exit 3 toward Yeonnam-dong, and it takes about eight minutes on foot from the station. It is on the second floor of a building further into Donggyo-ro 38-gil, so you should spot it as you follow the alley.

It is open daily from 11:30 to 20:30, with last orders at 19:50. There is no dedicated parking, so public transportation seems more convenient than driving.

A neat and comfortable dining room

When I went up to the second floor and entered, the restaurant was more spacious than I expected.

There were quite a few tables, so it felt good for visiting with friends and relaxed enough for eating alone, too. Personally, when I eat by myself, I get a little conscious of places that feel too exposed or have awkward spacing between tables, but here it just felt easy to walk in, eat, and leave. It seemed like it would not feel especially awkward to come alone.

Yeonnam-dong has so many pretty cafés and restaurants, and lots of places have that going-out-with-friends feel. Ochaya felt closer to somewhere you go for a proper meal than to one of those places.

Also, I quietly consider the restroom important when looking at restaurants, so I liked that the restroom was inside the restaurant. It was convenient not having to go outside in the middle of a meal.

Kiosk ordering and the menu

Rather than ordering directly from a staff member, you can use the kiosk. It was convenient because I could look over the menu and choose at my own pace.

Ochaya has several kinds of ochazuke, including salmon sake chazuke, eel unagi chazuke, seafood kaisen chazuke, and pollock roe ochazuke, as well as dishes such as Buta no Kakuni (slow-braised pork). The moment I saw the menu, I chose the salmon sake chazuke! My friend ordered Buta no Kakuni, known as one of Ochaya's signature dishes.

How I ate the salmon sake chazuke

The dish I had was the salmon sake chazuke, ₩15,000. At first I thought it might simply be a salmon rice bowl, but it is a little different from a typical one.

It is a Japanese-style dish with salmon over rice and warm broth served alongside. At first, I ate the rice and salmon as they were,

then about halfway through, I poured in the broth for a completely different feel. I love salmon so much that I was already sold on the salmon topping haha. And I liked that it was less strongly seasoned than I expected.

There are so many richly flavored, intense foods these days, but a clean meal like this was nice too. It did not feel too heavy for lunch, so if you are looking for lunch near Hongik University Station, this could be a good option. If you like salmon, I think sake chazuke is worth trying at least once!

The Buta no Kakuni my friend chose

My friend ordered the Buta no Kakuni. It is topped with pork that has been simmered for a long time, and even visually it was completely different from my sake chazuke. The pork was tenderly cooked, and its soy sauce-based seasoning made it the kind of dish that goes well with rice. My friend added extra meat, so it looked really filling.

Since I had the salmon rice bowl and my friend had the Buta no Kakuni, it was fun to order different dishes and compare them. If I come back, I think I will try the Buta no Kakuni too.

An easy place for a meal in Yeonnam-dong

What I felt after visiting Ochaya Yeonnam was that it is a Japanese restaurant for an easy, comfortable meal rather than a flashy hot spot. There were plenty of tables, and I liked that it did not feel daunting to come and eat alone. Ordering by kiosk was especially convenient, and I personally also liked having a restroom inside the restaurant.

If you are visiting Yeonnam-dong from Hongik University Station, it is a good stop when you want a filling meal rather than just hopping between cafés. And since ochazuke is not something you come across all that often, it also seems like a good choice when you want to try a slightly different Japanese rice dish instead of your usual rice bowl or ramen. I had the salmon rice bowl this time, so next time I want to try the Buta no Kakuni.

If you are looking for lunch with a friend in Yeonnam-dong or an easy place to eat alone near Hongik University Station, give Ochaya Yeonnam a try :) Personally, it feels like the kind of place I will think of when I want a clean, not-too-heavy meal in Yeonnam-dong.