Daeheung-dong drinking spot with sea cucumber: Jaecheoldameun Mapo

This time I'm introducing a Daeheung-dong favorite in the making, Mapo's new sashimi restaurant Jaecheoldameun Mapo Bada (제철담은 마포바다).

Jaecheoldameun Mapo Bada in three honest lines

• A spot for seasonal ingredients
• A drinking place where the drinks go down easy
• Perfect composition

What Jaecheoldameun Mapo Bada looks like at Daeheung Station Exit 3

Jaecheoldameun Mapo Bada sits right on the main road at Daeheung Station Exit 3, so it's super accessible. It's a new spot near Daeheung Station that opened on September 2.

Fall arrived in a flash, so I welcomed the start of autumn with autumn's seasonal food. I visited the newly opened Daeheung-dong restaurant Jaecheoldameun Mapo Bada.

A shrimp festival is happening at Mapo Bada, a new spot near Daeheung Station that opened September 2. A set featuring autumn gizzard shad and shrimp had the drinks going down easy, haha.

Outside, a spotlessly maintained tank held all kinds of fish and shrimp. These days it's full of fresh seasonal ingredients.

Full house right after opening: inside Jaecheoldameun Mapo Bada

Even though Jaecheoldameun Mapo Bada just opened, it was already packed with guests. We came with a reservation, and every seat besides our reserved table was full — a real seasonal favorite.

The inside is clean and comfortable. There are more tables than I expected, and the men's and women's restrooms are separate and pleasant.

Menu and signature set at Jaecheoldameun Mapo Bada

The Jaecheoldameun Mapo Bada menu board — it's a set menu that brings out a wide variety of dishes.

What comes in the Mapo Bada signature set

• 20 salt-grilled live shrimp
• Live shrimp + gizzard shad sashimi + assorted sashimi
• Assorted seafood
• Grilled gizzard shad
• Cold pork
• Abalone innard porridge
• Fried shrimp heads
• Tofu kimchi
• Various other side dishes (sukidashi)

The signature set lets you taste a wide range of seasonal flavors. There are also individual menu items and drinks available.

The 151,000 won signature set that slides onto the table whole

A massive table setting comes in. Here, they slide the whole set onto your table at once, and it just glides smoothly onto the tabletop in one go. I'd never seen this kind of system before, and it looked so convenient. Instead of setting down every single dish one by one, everything is complete in one motion — really handy.

The ₩151,000 Signature Set — a table full of seasonal food, everything a snack that makes the drinks go down easy, haha. A true Daeheung-dong drinking spot.

A whole table of delicious seasonal food. The cups the owner made by hand are even cuter in person. It was fun that each cup was a slightly different size — there was a natural, unpolished charm to it.

Corkage at Jaecheoldameun Mapo Bada: one bottle free

Jaecheoldameun Mapo Bada offers free corkage for one bottle (an opening event, subject to change later). Even after it changes, it'll be a reasonable ₩10,000 per bottle. We brought sake, and they even gave us a handmade dokuri (sake decanter) to go with it, thumbs up.

A toast first to a perfect table setting — a seasonal drinking spot near Daeheung Station.

Abalone innard porridge and seaweed soup. Since we came for dinner, this warmed up our stomachs first.

Seasonal sashimi platter: sea bream, rockfish and the best eating order

The seasonal sashimi platter at Jaecheoldameun Mapo Bada was made up of amberjack, red sea bream, rockfish, flounder, gizzard shad, and raw shrimp. Staff explained everything kindly and even told us the order to eat in. Their tip: red sea bream and rockfish lose their umami faster over time, so eat those first, thumbs up. All the sashimi was chewy and sweet — I especially loved the red sea bream.

Grilled shrimp. Plump, springy shrimp meat — the freshness at Jaecheoldameun Mapo Bada is on another level.

Raw shrimp and grilled shrimp, both had a different charm. The raw shrimp especially was so sweet and delicious.

Assorted seafood with sea cucumber and grilled gizzard shad

The assorted seafood plate had scallops(?), abalone, sea squirt, and sea cucumber. A perfect drinking snack. I personally love sea cucumber — that crunchy texture is the best.

Grilled gizzard shad. It's the legendary seasonal fall dish, but I personally don't eat much grilled fish so I just had a taste. But I noticed the table next to us ordering a huge amount of grilled gizzard shad and digging in — this place must be famous for it.

Cold pork, tofu kimchi, and the fried dishes. All three exceeded expectations, better than I imagined. The cold pork especially had such high-quality meat — the texture and flavor were both excellent.

Is Jaecheoldameun Mapo Bada worth it? Final verdict

A seasonal drinking spot in Daeheung-dong, a brand-new opening right in front of Daeheung Station: Jaecheoldameun Mapo Bada. A drinking place with a table of seasonal food that made the drinks flow easily, complete with sashimi and seasonal shrimp and seafood — a perfect restaurant.

Jaecheoldameun Mapo Bada address, hours and info

• Address: 1F Bonghwa Building, 104 Baekbeom-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul (Daeheung-dong 210-1, Mapo-gu, Seoul)
• Hours: 17:00–23:00, last order 21:30 / opens 12:00 on Saturday and Sunday / closed every Tuesday
• Parking: Not available
• Amenities: Wi-Fi, separate men's/women's restrooms, baby chair, groups welcome