Hongdae Japanese restaurant, aburi salmon don for two: Makise Hapjeong

The weather was so nice for once that I went out around Hongdae, and by evening I was craving something fancy like raw fish, haha. But since I'd already come all the way to Hongdae, I felt like sashimi alone would leave me hungry again too soon lol. So the dinner menu I ended up picking was kaisendon (raw fish rice bowl)! The place I visited today is Makise, near Hapjeong.

I'd heard people describe Makise's kaisendon as "sushi you eat with a spoon," and now I get why — the rice is piled high with all kinds of sashimi and toppings, so you get to enjoy scooping up a spoonful at a time, and every single piece of fish was fresh and delicious. I enjoyed every bite the whole time and I'm already thinking about coming back, so let's get into my review of Makise, a kaisendon spot near Hongdae 💜

Where is Makise Hapjeong, and what are its hours?

• Location 📍 44 Poeun-ro 2na-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours ⏰ Daily 11:30–21:00 (last order 20:30)
• Break time 15:00–17:00
• Closed every Monday
• 💫 Reservations available

Walking to Makise Hapjeong from Hapjeong Station

Makise turned out to be close by — less than 10 minutes on foot from Hapjeong Station! We came out of Exit 8 and headed toward the Prugio apartments, then found it right away once we went into the alley behind. That said, since you do have to go deeper into the alley, first-timers might get a little confused, so I'd recommend checking a map as you go, haha.

Ta-da!!!! Finally found Makise! The building is set half a floor below street level, with "MAKISE" written in English, big windows, and bright exterior lighting that gave it a nice atmosphere. The Makise logo by the entrance caught my eye too — looking closely, it seemed shaped like a kaisendon bowl! There was also a banner out front listing that day's kaisendon sashimi lineup — flounder, sea bass, salmon, herring and more, apparently changing day to day, so my expectations were already rising before I'd even seen the menu, haha.

Inside Makise Hapjeong: seating on a weekend evening

Inside, the restaurant wasn't huge, but it was decorated in a cute, homey style with a distinctly Japanese feel. Little Japanese-style decor pieces were scattered around, and the overall warm atmosphere really put me in the mood for kaisendon, haha ~_~ We came in around 7pm on a weekend evening, and people kept streaming in until the place filled up completely — so I'd definitely recommend reserving ahead here!

There was an open kitchen on one side of the restaurant where you could watch the chefs slicing sashimi. Next time I think it'd be fun to sit at the bar and watch them work while eating haha.

Ordering a la carte: kaisendon 20,000 won and aburi salmon don 16,000 won

We ordered a la carte — kaisendon at ₩20,000 and aburi salmon don at ₩16,000, two dishes total. Aburi salmon don is salmon sashimi that's lightly torched on the surface (aburi) and served over rice like a rice bowl, so it's a good option even for people who can't eat raw fish! The side menu had plenty of options too, like cheese fries and fried shrimp, but since I wanted to properly enjoy Hongdae-area kaisendon that day, I boldly skipped the sides, haha.

How Makise Hapjeong recommends eating the kaisendon

There was a note on the table about how to eat kaisendon, and here's the fun part — instead of mixing wasabi into soy sauce, they recommend placing wasabi on the rice like with sushi, then laying the sashimi on top!

Side dishes and the kaisendon bowl at Makise Hapjeong

The basic side dishes came out first — pickled radish, seaweed, and miso soup! The pickled radish was better than I expected, so I ended up asking for a refill later lol. The seaweed was nice too, unseasoned rather than the usual salted, seasoned kind — wrapping rice and sashimi in it while eating the kaisendon made it feel like eating a seaweed sushi roll, which worked surprisingly well. And then, finally... the kaisendon arrived!

Salmon, yellowtail, soy-marinated shrimp, sea bass, herring, egg — a huge variety of ingredients piled onto one bowl.

It felt like all the neta (sushi toppings) from an omakase course gathered together into one bowl!? Just looking at all that sashimi piled on rice already made me happy (✿◡‿◡)

How does the aburi salmon don taste?

This is the aburi salmon don we ordered alongside! The salmon had a subtle sheen of oil that made it glisten and look delicious… so I sneakily stole a piece lol (turns out my own kaisendon had salmon too, oops^^;;). Anyway, the salmon was thick and had a fatty richness to it, giving it a soft, clean flavor that I really liked.

Yellowtail, soy-marinated shrimp and the vinegared sushi rice

Digging in piece by piece, my personal favorites were the yellowtail and the soy-marinated shrimp. Especially when I piled on a good amount of wasabi, the aroma of the wasabi and the fish came together really nicely, haha. Also, the rice here is seasoned with vinegar (chodaeri), so instead of plain white rice, it has a slight tanginess that paired surprisingly well with the sashimi. No matter how good the fish is, plain rice can feel a little flat, but with the seasoned vinegared rice, I kept eating spoonful after spoonful — magic~

The flounder was clean and delicious too, and I also tried the herring — I usually worry about a fishy smell with herring, but this one had none at all, which I loved! Picking through everything piece by piece like this, the phrase "sushi you eat with a spoon" really fit — a spoonful of rice, wasabi on top, then a piece of that day's sashimi, wrapped with a bit of seaweed... before I knew it, I'd finished the whole bowl.

Is Makise Hapjeong worth a second visit?

This visit to Makise left a really good impression on me — it's a kaisendon spot near Hongdae where you can enjoy a wide variety of raw fish all at once, haha. The whole appeal of kaisendon is being able to taste many kinds of fish in one bowl, and here every single piece was fresh and delicious, so I stayed happy the entire time I was eating.

The restaurant itself is on the small side, but it's already popular enough to fill up completely on a weekend evening, so I'd recommend booking ahead if you plan to visit! I've saved this as a spot to stop by whenever I'm suddenly craving kaisendon around Hongdae or Hapjeong. If you're looking for kaisendon near Hongdae, or want a day where you eat both raw fish and a hearty bowl of rice, and you're searching for something special among Hongdae restaurants — give Makise a try 💜