Gangnam Station dinner seafood bowls at Ilpum, a Seoul Japanese restaurant

I picked up my office-worker otter husband, who works near Gangnam Station, and we arrived at Ilpum Gangnam Branch (일품 강남점), a great Japanese restaurant by Gangnam Station! I lived in Japan for a long time and used to enjoy kaisendon (seafood rice bowl), so I was happy when it started appearing in Korea a few years ago. But Ilpum really recreates those Japanese flavors, so it is a restaurant I have visited several times even in Korea 🐾

Getting to Ilpum, a Gangnam Station kaisendon restaurant

It is easy to find on B1 of Seocho Trapalace, just across the road directly behind Samsung Electronics' Seocho office building.

It is also a Blue Ribbon–listed restaurant, and in my experience Blue Ribbon spots have always been satisfying, so I was excited. Ilpum Gangnam Branch, which I recommend for a Gangnam Station office-worker lunch, is closed on Sundays. We made a Naver reservation for the first weekday dinner seating at 5:30 p.m., and there were plenty of other guests opening up the dinner service right along with us.

This Gangnam Station restaurant also offers up to one hour of free parking in the Seocho Trapalace garage!

Inside Ilpum Gangnam Branch and its seating

Ilpum Gangnam Branch had around 12 counter seats, two tables for four, and one table for six.

It is a Gangnam Station Japanese restaurant that can easily accommodate a group by joining the two four-person tables. Although it is underground, it did not feel stuffy at all—rather, I loved how cozy it felt.

You can conveniently order from the QR code at each seat, and because it has an open kitchen, it is quietly fun to watch the chefs at work!

My otter couple and I, excited to eat something delicious haha

It is also a celebrity-favorite restaurant that many famous people, including Kim Sook, Park Kallin, and Han Moon-cheol, have visited.

Naver reservation perks and corkage

At Ilpum Gangnam Branch, you get two croquettes as a service item when you leave a Naver receipt review! There are also various coupons when you reserve through Naver, so there were so many events that it almost feels like a loss not to book ahead. In particular, the one-free-bottle corkage coupon seemed perfect for a gathering near Gangnam Station or a special-day visit!

Kaisendon and sashimi don menu prices

Ilpum Gangnam Branch sells everything from kaisendon to sushi, sashimi, and fried dishes, plus drinks ranging from sake and highballs to beer and soju, making it a great Gangnam Station spot for office workers to enjoy with drinks.

The prices are somewhat on the higher side, but they do not feel wasteful at all: the precious ingredients, generous portions, udon, and dessert give you the same thrill and satisfaction as eating in Japan 👍

Premium Kaisendon and Special Sashimi Don

Premium Kaisendon (₩37,000), Special Sashimi Don (₩30,000). The neat setting immediately put me in a good mood. There is a water dispenser at every table too, which is so convenient! We ordered one Premium Kaisendon and one Special Sashimi Don.

Then this spread arrives: gim (roasted seaweed), aged white kimchi, miso soup, and Japanese steamed egg. I especially liked the rinsed aged-kimchi white kimchi—its tanginess cut through the slight richness you can get with Japanese food 👍

One of the pleasures of Japanese food is eating pudding-like steamed egg before the meal to wake up your stomach, and Ilpum, a great Gangnam Station sushi spot, gets a perfect 100 out of 100 for its steamed egg. There was even a shrimp inside, and the seasoning was savory and full of umami—so good!

Special Sashimi Don on the left and Premium Kaisendon on the right! The visuals alone are truly overwhelming. I think it is true that you eat Japanese food with your eyes first!

The Special Sashimi Don comes with thick slices of various sashimi, including salmon, yellowtail, red sea bream, and tuna, so I recommend it if you want to focus on the sashimi!

The Premium Kaisendon had such a huge range of ingredients—more than 10 precious items! Swordtip squid, smoked Spanish mackerel, steamed abalone, raw salmon and aburi salmon belly, greater amberjack, tuna, monkfish liver (ankimo), sea urchin (uni), precious salmon roe (ikura), raw shrimp, scallop, and more. I gave up trying to write them all down while asking haha. That is how much of a feast it was: rare seafood you would not find at an ordinary sushi restaurant and would normally have to go to omakase for!

The uni and ankimo melted in my mouth—it was moving!

Sweet shrimp sashimi, with an outstanding natural sweetness!

Large pieces of steamed abalone and patterned squid!

The rice was seasoned too, and the umami was exploding—it was delicious enough to eat on its own!

You can wrap it in gamtae (seaweed) and unseasoned gim too, enjoying all sorts of flavors. They say the ingredients change from time to time, but the overall balance was truly excellent!

And because all the ingredients are high in protein, it also makes an excellent high-protein diet meal if you reduce the rice by about half. I strongly recommend it to anyone managing their figure too!

The kaisendon was already quite filling, but then springy cold udon with karaage and a chilled mango pudding dessert arrived, so it really felt like a meal where we were properly treated!

My final take on Ilpum's Gangnam Station kaisendon

A great Gangnam kaisendon restaurant for a high-protein diet, a Gangnam Station Japanese restaurant that feels like you have come to Japan, and a Gangnam office-worker favorite within walking distance of Gangnam Station! If you are looking for a Gangnam restaurant with free corkage, make a Naver reservation and be sure to visit Ilpum Gangnam Branch at least once.