Mackerel restaurant in Haeundae for a family dinner with kids

The story in 3 lines

• Location: near Haeundae Station and Haeridan-gil (super accessible!)
• Highlight: fresh live mackerel sashimi with zero fishy smell, paired with wood-fired grilling and aged-kimchi braise — a dream combo!
• One-liner: a top Busan food-trip spot that turns even mackerel-sashimi newbies into regulars

Whenever I travel to Busan, a food tour is a must, right? For this summer vacation, I booked a place to stay in Haeundae, holding hands with my other half and our little one. The highlight of this trip was going out to eat live mackerel sashimi, famous for its short temper!

I'd heard that mackerel truly tastes best the moment it's caught, so I headed to a Haeundae Station favorite: Haneobuui Godeungeosarang (한어부의고등어사랑, 'A Fisherman's Love for Mackerel'). It's really close to both Haeundae Station and Haeridan-gil, perfect for planning a travel route.

Inside Haneobuui Godeungeosarang: the room seating and the mood

Haneobuui Godeungeosarang is a sashimi restaurant on the 2nd floor of a building on Haeundae-ro594beon-gil, split into a main hall and inner private rooms. Even on a weekday evening, lots of people were already dining! I'd worried it might have that typical fishy sashimi-restaurant smell, but the hall was so clean and there was zero fishy odor — my first moment of being impressed…❤️

Inside, there were also nicely set-up private rooms, perfect for group gatherings or family meals.

Seeing the sparkling, fresh mackerel tank on one side of the restaurant got my anticipation building up fast!

What the mackerel table set costs at Haneobuui Godeungeosarang

The mackerel table set at Haneobuui Godeungeosarang is ₩50,000 per person, based on 2 people. Sitting down and looking at the menu was one surprise after another! As a first-order event, 2 pieces of grilled gizzard shad were offered at the ridiculously generous price of ₩2,900, and various review events were also running.

From sashimi-only dishes to the hearty table set combining sashimi, grilled, and braised dishes, plus fish course meals and mulhoe (cold raw fish soup) — the options were really diverse.

We ordered the mackerel table set for 2 (₩50,000 per person), which comes generously loaded with live mackerel sashimi, grilled mackerel, and aged-kimchi mackerel!

The side dishes that call for a soju-and-beer mix

Even before the main dishes arrived, the table was already packed with basic side dishes. The crispy kimchi pancake, refreshing salad, and clean rinsed aged kimchi that whet the appetite were all so good.

Especially the moment I tried the sushi with its subtle torched flavor, I thought — the main dishes are going to be seriously good.

With such great side dishes, drinks were a must, so I sneakily ordered beer and Busan soju. Haha — it was my first time seeing 'Busan' soju, a smooth soju from Daesun, and mixed as a soju-beer combo, it went down so easily!

How the live mackerel sashimi tastes at Haneobuui Godeungeosarang

Finally, the main event: live mackerel sashimi! As befits the main dish, it made a dramatic entrance with smoke curling up.

The skin was glistening with shine — pure freshness itself. Honestly, this was my first time having mackerel sashimi, so I was really curious what it would taste like. But the moment I took a bite, I thought, 'Ah! This is why people who've tried mackerel sashimi only ever want mackerel sashimi!'

Nuttiness and softness burst in my mouth at the same time, with absolutely no fishy smell. I immediately understood why this place is known as the mackerel sashimi spot near Haeundae Station, and why you should only eat mackerel sashimi at a place that truly knows how to prepare it.

3 ways to get the most out of mackerel sashimi

Gamtae combo: as the staff suggested, wrap a piece of mackerel sashimi and chive salad in crispy gamtae (seasoned seaweed laver) for an explosion of umami!

Aged-kimchi wrap combo: place crunchy aged kimchi and a little ssamjang (seasoned soybean paste) on lettuce for maximized nuttiness.

Mackerel sushi: gently place mackerel sashimi on top of the accompanying sushi rice to make your own 'mackerel sushi.' The combo of tangy sushi rice and nutty mackerel sashimi... you genuinely have to try this!

Braised butterfish, wood-fired mackerel and aged-kimchi braise: the dishes our child finished

Just as I was captivated by the sashimi, the braised butterfish arrived. Its sweet, clingy sauce flavor meant our little one ate it up happily too!

Next came the grilled mackerel — truly cooked in a wood-fired oven, with just a bit of moist fattiness left while still being wonderfully clean-tasting.

The final aged-kimchi braised mackerel was the ultimate rice thief. It came loaded generously with big chunks of aged kimchi.

They also served rice packed tightly into a bowl along with warm seaweed soup, and even though I already felt full to bursting, the braised mackerel was so good I ended up finishing a whole bowl of rice.

It was a charming mackerel table set where you could taste different flavors of mackerel through each cooking method.

Who Haneobuui Godeungeosarang is best for

• Anyone wanting a proper food tour while traveling in Busan
• Anyone who wants truly delicious sashimi rather than the usual, at a Haeundae Station sashimi restaurant
• Anyone wanting a neat table-set meal for a family outing with kids or parents
• Anyone planning a group gathering or work dinner in a private room

I felt, with my whole body, why the owner named this place Haneobuui Godeungeosarang — 'A Fisherman's Love for Mackerel.' Now I've fallen for mackerel love too, and I think I'll keep coming back! With fresh, absolutely fishy-smell-free top-quality mackerel dishes, this place truly completed the food-loving side of our Busan trip. My revisit intention is 200%^^!!