Hongdae seafood restaurant for shrimp three ways: Eosa Chulto

If you're looking for seasonal shrimp near Hongik University Station

Eosa Chulto Hongdae Branch (어사출또 홍대점) is about a 10-minute walk from Hongik University Station Exit 3. There are so many good restaurants in Hongdae, but I visited Eosa Chulto Hongdae Branch because I could have both seasonal grilled shrimp and raw shrimp at once.

I used to come to Eosa Chulto Hongdae Branch whenever I wanted affordable sashimi at a great-value seafood restaurant! The banchan-style side dishes are varied, and above all, the sashimi is sooo affordable, which I love.

It had been a while since my last visit, and they have lunch specials now too! Since Eosa Chulto's sashimi is delicious, their sashimi set meal and rice bowl with sashimi must be insanely good~

A bustling Friday night in Hongdae

Hongdae on a Friday night..... The place was completely full, so I could only take one interior photoㅠㅠ But the lively atmosphere made the drinks taste even better.

Salt-grilled king prawns, raw shrimp, and butter-grilled shrimp heads

Please refer to the photos for the menu! We ordered the set with salt-grilled king prawns, raw shrimp, and butter-grilled shrimp heads. You can enjoy seasonal shrimp grilled and raw, all for ₩58,000! Such amazing value haha.

And you can't leave out soup. We added a spicy maeuntang (spicy fish stew) too.

The basic side dishes included stir-fried chicken gizzards, white kimchi, corn salad, and even beondegi (silkworm pupae)!

And crispy jeon (savory pan-fried fritters) too~ I love coming to Eosa Chulto because the sseukkdasi (included drinking snacks) are so generous. You could have a drink with just the basic snacks alone haha.

Since we ordered both grilled shrimp and maeuntang, they gave us two gas burners haha.

Oh, you normally have to peel the raw shrimp yourself, but they said they would do it for an extra ₩4,000, so we asked right away haha. Once we got plastic gloves for the grilled shrimp too, we were all set to dig in!

Peppery, spicy maeuntang

Peppery, spicy maeuntang is love.. It was packed with ingredients! There were plump pieces of fish and even bean sprouts inside, and it was ridiculously delicious simmered nice and hot...

King prawns cooked in a salt-lined pot

Ta-da~ For the grilled shrimp, they put genuinely live shrimp into a pot lined with salt. This was my first time having grilled shrimp since last year.

They really were wriggling around when they went into the pot, and I felt bad for them.....ㅠ But they were delicious.... Anyway, that just shows how fresh they were, right!

They said to turn off the heat once they turn this pretty orange color, let them steam for about two minutes, then eat. Even though raw shrimp came separately, there were so many shrimp in the set—once again, the best value!!

They look delicious at a glance, don't theyㅠㅠ The shrimp were so plump, with such vivid color, that they looked delicious before I even tasted them. They had just been taken from the tank and grilled after we ordered, so I was really excited!

Peeled raw shrimp and butter-grilled heads

I love shrimp-head innards, and because the shrimp were so fresh, there wasn't even a hint of fishiness! They cut off the heads with scissors for the butter-grilled shrimp heads. If you prefer the shrimp bodies, it's best to cut the heads off close to the body.

Then the glowing raw shrimp appeared....! They had been peeled so neatly, making them easy to eat. They were plump and firm, with a translucent sheen—I wanted to try them right awayㅠㅠ

Shrimp are sweeter eaten rawㅠ The chewy, crisp texture is totally my style. You really have to eat seasonal food in season.

For raw shrimp, I'm team soy sauce rather than chojang (sweet-spicy vinegar sauce)! A light dip in soy sauce brings out the shrimp's sweetness even more.

A shrimp heart~ ❤️ This time I realized shrimp are also the perfect drinking snack.. With maeuntang and grilled shrimp packed with fleshㅠㅠ It's the kind of flavor that makes you crave soju.

The butter-grilled shrimp heads were crazy good too. Because they were grilled in butter, they had a lovely buttery aroma, and unlike the salt-grilled ones, they were a little crispier.

Just snap off the hard shrimp horn, and you can eat all the meat inside! The crispy, nutty innards were so tasty that I felt like I could keep eating only the heads haha.

As we ate, we wanted more grilled shrimp, so we grilled the remaining raw shrimp in the salt pot too haha. Like magic, the raw shrimp instantly became grilled shrimp!

Final thoughts after having shrimp raw and grilled

You know shrimp are in season right now, right! You have to eat them in season for the very best flavor. I visited Eosa Chulto Hongdae Branch, a truly great-value seafood restaurant and bar in Hongdae, and its set with grilled shrimp, raw shrimp, and butter-grilled shrimp heads is in the ₩50,000 range! Definitely visit Eosa Chulto Hongdae Branch for great value in Hongdae❤️