Seolleung 5pm sushi reservation: mottled squid nigiri at Sakai

What kind of place is Sakai?

Sakai is a sushi sakaba (a restaurant where you pair sushi with drinks as bar food). I went to a sushi sakaba once before and it left a good impression — surprisingly refined for the format.

What's really appealing is that you can order exactly the sushi you feel like eating, piece by piece. I'd been wanting to go with my husband for a while. This time, a fairly well-known chef had opened the place, so I figured it had to be good, and went to check it out. It was a very satisfying meal, so here's my honest review of Sakai.

Sakai: address, hours and parking

• Address: 15 Yeoksam-ro 67-gil, 1st floor, unit 101, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
• Hours: Daily 5pm – 1am the next day (last order midnight)
• Closed the first Tuesday of the month
• Parking: not available

What's on the menu at Sakai

There's a wide range of sushi and sashimi, simmered dishes, and more — plus daily recommendations and limited items.

Agemono (fried dishes), yakimono (grilled dishes), soup, and a wide range of drinks.

The fish available for sushi here changes every day, so you have to check the space above the sushi counter or the day's fish list posted on the wall! (A staff member kindly explained it to us.)

Inside Sakai: the room and the counter seats

We had a 5pm reservation and walked in around 4:55, and were warmly greeted.

Overall it's a wood-toned space with lighting over each table — a great atmosphere for a chat over a glass of sake. The restaurant isn't huge, but the tables are spaced generously apart, which makes it feel intimate for conversation.

We were seated at a table, but personally, I think the counter seats at places like this are really the draw. You get to watch the sushi being made up close, and when they grill or torch something, the smell hits you like you're in a 4D movie theater seat — I'd really recommend the counter.

A variety of drinking glasses — looks perfect for pairing with sake.

My eyes kept drifting to the counter seats. I should have booked that…!

The meal: nigiri we picked piece by piece

We ordered egg, red sea bream, gizzard shad, benjari, sweet shrimp, mottled squid, scallop, and negitoro hosomaki.

The table setting overall was neatly arranged and very clean.

Since it was a Sunday, we ordered alcohol-free beer. My husband can't drink much.

The sushi came out neatly arranged on flashy plates. The presentation alone got me excited.

Negitoro hosomaki. You get a strong tuna flavor — delicious.

Red sea bream. There was a light right above this spot, so oddly it was hard to get it in focus, which was a shame. But the sea bream itself had that familiar great flavor — fresh and firm.

The mottled squid had that signature mottled squid taste — squid texture with a rich, shrimp-like flavor. Delicious proof that mottled squid season had arrived.

Scallop. The adductor muscle was rich, and with the sauce drizzled on top, there wasn't a hint of fishiness — the scallop flavor really came through.

Gizzard shad. Maybe because it's not quite peak season yet, but it melted in the mouth. The oily fish flavor was great.

Fatty tuna belly. The slice was nice and thick, with a knife cut through it, so it was easy to eat in one bite. Savory and melts in your mouth.

Top pick: sweet shrimp nigiri with kimi sauce

Next up, sweet shrimp — this was my number one pick. The shrimp meat was rich, and three fairly large sweet shrimp were piled on top. I'm not sure if the kimi sauce drizzled over it was made from the tomalley, but it adds a deeper ocean flavor. It's not fishy at all, and pairs perfectly with the sweet shrimp. I'd really recommend ordering this.

The egg nigiri also surprised me — not the shape I expected. Whether it's the shape or not, the flavor is fun and sweet in a delicious way. It was good enough that I seriously considered ordering another piece. The benjari looked a bit plain, but the oily fish flavor was great!

In the end, the last three pieces we ordered were mottled squid, sweet shrimp, and flounder. We finished every last piece, right down to that final round.

When is Sakai worth a visit?

Sakai is a sushi sakaba where the vivid 4D feeling of the counter seats meets a fresh nigiri lineup that changes daily — pretty much art. It's the perfect spot to hand-pick exactly the high-quality sushi you want and pair it with a fragrant glass of sake.

Thanks to the intimate, upscale atmosphere, Sakai makes a great date-night choice for an anniversary or a special occasion with someone you care about.