Sinsa-dong bar for day drinking: same-day yukhoe and uni at Yukhoedam

What is Yukhoedam like at 3pm, when day drinking starts?

Yukhoedam is a bar in Sinsa-dong's Apgujeong-ro 2-gil that uses only same-day-butchered, top-grade hanwoo for its yukhoe (raw beef tartare). The ease of daytime drinking plus the joy of good food — isn't that exactly what a yukhoe and uni spread is for?

Around 3pm — that awkward hour where you can't quite tell if it's daytime drinking or not — more than half the tables were already full when we arrived. There were even people enjoying daytime soju out on the terrace, and the whole atmosphere was great. Let me show you around piece by piece.

Order your first soju and they bring you fresh lemon like this! I recommend a drink alongside the yukhoe platter.

Yukhoedam location, hours and parking in Sinsa-dong

• Address: 46 Apgujeong-ro 2-gil, Gangnam Sangga 1st floor, Unit 1, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: 15:00 – 2:00 the next day (last order 01:15)
• Separate men's/women's restrooms
• Delivery available / parking available, valet ₩5,000

The whole place has a clean, tidy feel, and the menu explanations are laid out well! Book through Naver Reservation and you can get a coupon for a coconut ice cream or a highball, so make sure to grab it!

Yukhoedam menu and prices, plus the highball list

• Same-day-butchered yukhoe ₩42,000
• Same-day-butchered mungtigi (medium) ₩49,000
• Hanwoo chadolbagi yuksashimi ₩46,000

There are so many highball base options. If you like whiskey, you can freely pick your own base to match your taste exactly. The highballs come out on the stronger side 👍 Really good to drink alongside your food.

A savory, delicious glass of water! Even people who don't usually drink much water find this one goes down easily thanks to its nutty flavor.

From beef seaweed soup to same-day-butchered yukhoe

A beef seaweed soup with real, generous chunks of meat! The broth itself is rich and lightly salty, and the seaweed is so soft — perfect for settling an empty stomach before the meal.

Not long after ordering, the yukhoe arrived, neatly arranged. Even just the bright red color under the light told you how fresh it was. Without hesitation I picked up my chopsticks for the first bite, then popped the egg yolk.

The eggs used here aren't ordinary eggs either — they use only top-grade eggs (egg shell number 1) so the flavor pairs even better with the nutty richness of the yukhoe.

The first thing you notice on the first bite is a clean, refined flavor with zero gamey smell — just the pure taste of the beef itself. It's really nutty, and texture-wise — sometimes yukhoe has tendons or fascia that make it chewy or catch in your teeth, but here it's genuinely soft. They said they carefully remove every bit of fascia during prep.

Dip the yukhoe in sesame oil salt sauce: the key move

One thing you can't skip here is the 100% Korean, mill-pressed sesame oil salt sauce served alongside. Definitely dip it lightly in the oil sauce! Just having that little dish of oil on the table sends this nutty, wonderful aroma wafting up — you can tell right away this is the real thing.

The yukhoe itself isn't heavily seasoned, so I'd recommend enjoying the beef's natural savoriness first, then dipping it lightly into the salt sauce. After that, you can round things out with biscuits and cheese for even more variety.

Uni platter and Hibiki Harmony highball: how the pairing works

Next up! Before the lingering taste of yukhoe had even faded, the next star appeared: the 'uni platter.' It must have been very well prepared, because the condition was excellent. No fishiness, no odd saltiness — just soft, rich flavor that blended beautifully with a hint of the sea.

Just looking at it, you can tell how fresh it is, right?

The accompanying spread was great for wrapping up bite by bite, too — the salted fish roe that popped in your mouth and the soy-based sauce had a hint of that ganjang-gejang (soy-marinated crab) flavor, which was a nice extra touch.

And on top of that, a highball~ The Hibiki Harmony highball has exactly the clean crispness you want for daytime drinking. It didn't overpower the yukhoe or uni at all — the carbonation's refreshing lift and the clean finish of the drink just maximized the flavor of the food.

Fresh lemon with every highball: would I return to Yukhoedam?

A place that gives you fresh lemon — first time for me!

If you're in Sinsa-dong looking to enjoy delicious food in a great atmosphere while savoring the ease of daytime drinking, keep 'Yukhoedam' in mind!! It's genuinely so good. I'd go back 200%.