Gangnam izakaya second round: Suntory draft beer and sweet shrimp
In short
Sakai is an izakaya in Gangnam, Seoul, tucked in an alley 6 minutes on foot from Seolleung Station Exit 2. This visit was a second-round stop after dinner elsewhere, ordering Suntory draft beer for ₩10,000, potato salad for ₩8,000, and an assorted sushi plate including sweet shrimp — worth booking ahead for the counter seats next time.
Good to know
- Location
- 6-minute walk from Seolleung Station Exit 2, tucked in an alley
- Address
- 1F 101, 15 Yeoksam-ro 67-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
- Seating
- Counter (dachi) seats + table seats — reservations recommended for the counter
- Suntory draft beer
- ₩10,000
- Potato salad
- ₩8,000
- Ordering method
- Check the Post-it notes listing what's available that day, then write your order on a blank Post-it
as written by the visitor on Sep 8, 2026
Today I'm bringing you my review of Sakai, a Seolleung favorite.
The sushi quality here is great and the vibe is clean and tidy, so let me walk you through it in detail.
Getting to Sakai from Seolleung Station, and what's the inside like?
It's a 6-minute walk from Seolleung Station Exit 2. A hidden gem tucked away in an alley.
We didn't book ahead, so the counter seats were full and we got seated at a table instead.
At Japanese restaurants I always try to grab a counter seat, so this was a bit of a letdown ㅠ_ㅠ Next time I'll book ahead and sit at the counter.
Sakai's menu, prices, and how to order
The lineup is huge, right? Not everything is available every day though — what's on offer that day is written on Post-it notes. You order based on those.
They also gave us blank Post-its and a pen, so we wrote our order by hand and handed it over. It's been a while since I ordered this way instead of on a tablet ^-^
Suntory draft beer, ₩10,000. Since this was our second stop after already having dinner, we just kept it simple with a glass of draft each. That smooth Japanese draft beer taste is always good, no matter when you drink it.
From potato salad to sweet shrimp, the taste report
Potato salad, ₩8,000. I personally love potato salad so much that whenever I see it at an izakaya, I always order it.
Perfect as a light starter. It's packed with cucumber, onion, and egg inside, plus a generous topping of bacon, giving it great savory depth.
The sushi we ordered came out neatly arranged on one plate — salmon, egg, flounder, patterned squid, sea bream, and more! I loved being able to pick one piece at a time according to my mood.
The rice portion was just right and everything was so fresh it melted in my mouth — really delicious.
We were already full so we couldn't eat much, but I think next time it'd be perfect to come here as our first stop for a proper meal plus drinks.
My personal favorite — sweet shrimp ★
I always eat sweet shrimp wherever I go, and paired with the sauce here it was really delicious. Make sure to try at least one piece of this.
If you're looking for a Seolleung favorite or a Seolleung izakaya, give Sakai a try. That's it for my honest review of Sakai.
Address: 1F 101, 15 Yeoksam-ro 67-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea, Sakai
Where it is
1F 101, 15 Yeoksam-ro 67-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea서울특별시 강남구 역삼로67길 15 1층 101호
