Seafood restaurant in Cheonan with sashimi and braised seafood: Donghae Bada Hoetjip

When you’re craving a full seafood spread in Dujeong-dong

You know those days when you just want to properly enjoy a whole spread of seafood? I found a place that is perfect for exactly that kind of day, haha. The variety was great and the portions were so generous that my boyfriend and I left truly satisfied! It’s Donghae Bada Hoetjip (동해바다횟집)~

Donghae Bada Hoetjip exterior and parking

Donghae Bada Hoetjip is easy enough to find thanks to its large sign. It says it specializes in seasonal raw fish, and it also lists seafood soup, braised seafood, and braised monkfish, so even before going in I thought the menu would be pretty varied, haha.

And best of all, the parking lot was quite spacious! There was plenty of space in front of the restaurant, so it looked convenient for visiting by car.

As you head in through the entrance, you immediately see the fish tanks. There was even a sea squirt tank right by the door, which was so interesting, lol. The seafood-specialist vibe was absolutely bursting from the entrance! It really made me feel like I had come for fresh seafood.

Inside, with tables and private rooms

When we went inside, there were more people than I expected. There were lots of diners in the spacious restaurant when we visited, so I thought it must be a local favorite. So good~~~

There were table seats as well as several separate rooms, so it looked like a nice option for a meal with a group or a gathering. It also seemed good for company dinners, family meals, or treating an important guest!

Browsing the seafood menu at the kiosk

There was a kiosk at the table, which made ordering easy. It looked like a lot of people ordered the seafood dish sets! Braised seafood seemed especially popular, so we ordered that too, haha.

But when I looked at the kiosk, there were so many seafood dishes: sashimi, gizzard shad, lobster, seafood soup, braised seafood, braised monkfish, squid, octopus, and more. We came for sashimi but nearly got swayed by the other dishes, lol.

And sashimi means soju, right? I checked the drinks menu too and was surprised by how many kinds of soju they had, lol. My boyfriend likes oak-scented liquor, so this time we decided to try Seonyang Oak soju together, lol.

What came with the two-person assorted sashimi and braised seafood set

We ordered the two-person assorted sashimi and braised seafood set, and when the table was first laid out, I was honestly surprised at how much more generous it was than expected, lol. It was not just sashimi—boiled pork, grilled saury, seaweed soup, salad, scallion pancake, and beondegi (silkworm pupae) came too, so it already felt like we had received a proper full table spread.

The sashimi included various kinds such as flounder, olive flounder, bluefin tuna, and swordfish. It was fresh, and each fish had a different texture, making it fun to choose what to eat.

The olive flounder and flounder were clean-tasting and pleasantly chewy, while the bluefin tuna and swordfish had a rich, fatty flavor that was perfect with soju, lol. The Seonyang Oak soju was cleaner than expected and paired well with the sashimi! It had been a while since my boyfriend and I had really gone for the soju, lol.

We also received fried king crab as part of a review event. It had just been fried, so it was warm, super crisp, and savory—great for nibbling on one piece at a time in between, haha.

Spicy braised seafood, prepared for us

The sashimi and side dishes alone were already more than satisfying, and then the braised seafood arrived! The staff prepared it so it would be easy to eat, and the octopus, abalone, shrimp, blue crab, and other seafood were all thoroughly coated in the spicy sauce. It was the ultimate drinking food, lol.

And finally, the clean-plate shot! Eating it with drinks made it feel like everything went down even better, lol. My boyfriend and I both enjoyed it so much, haha.

Finishing a generous seafood meal

Wow, we really ate a seriously generous meal today!

Donghae Bada Hoetjip was the kind of place that made me feel this way for the first time in a while. There were many types of sashimi, the basic side dishes were substantial, and the braised seafood came at the end, making it a great place for a day when you want to properly enjoy seafood.

The next time I need to treat an important guest or want a truly generous seafood meal, I would like to come back to Donghae Bada Hoetjip, haha.