Cheongju fusion omakase bar with a ₩29,900 self-sushi course: Sinbakkase

I visited a newly opened fusion omakase spot in the G-Well City food alley of Bokdae-dong, Cheongju! Sinbakkase (신박카세) is a novel fusion omakase bar where you can enjoy a varied course ranging from seasonal seafood to meat dishes for ₩29,900. It is great for having a drink without feeling burdened by the price, so I definitely want to recommend it to anyone looking for an unusual bar in Cheongju :)

Sinbakkase location, parking, and reservations

Sinbakkase is on the second floor of O Gwang Building ✨

Sinbakkase is a fusion omakase spot where you can enjoy drinks and a meal in one place. Plump autumn king prawns are also in season, and you can order salt-grilled king prawns separately too!! 🦐

There is parking directly behind the Sinbakkase building, but it is rather limited; if it is full, you can park along the main road (no enforcement). I visited at 5:50 p.m. on a weekday and luckily got the one remaining space!

As this is a popular new restaurant, I heard it could close once ingredients ran out, so I hurriedly called to reserve a table an hour and a half before arriving. Seeing a reservation card on the table made me happy 🥹 There were quite a few customers even on a weekday evening, so I recommend calling ahead if you are visiting at peak time on weekends 🙏🏻

Inside, there was bar seating, as you would expect from an omakase place, as well as tables for four and six! The sake tokkuri (sake flask) I saw at the bar was so pretty ✨ As the weather gets cooler, it is becoming the season when I start thinking about warmly heated sake in a tokkuri!

The 10-course menu for ₩29,900 per person

At Sinbakkase, you can enjoy 10 novel seasonal seafood and meat courses for ₩29,900 per person! They also sell a wide range of additional dishes and alcoholic drinks, so it looked like a good place to relax over drinks too :)

• Abalone innards geuwoo soup
• Katsuobushi goma salad
• Monkfish clear soup
• Seasonal steamed or grilled seafood
• Seasonal aged sashimi
• Sushi
• Seasonal seafood
• Beef dish
• Chicken dish
• Hongcho vinegar ade

Since it has just opened, they are also running lots of events!!! Many are easy to enter, so it would be good to check them before visiting 🙏🏻

If you write a photo review of your Naver receipt, the owner gives a surprise service item of their own choosing. It is not a preset item, which made me even more curious! (Even the event is novel.) They are also running an event where, if the restaurant is full and the golden bell rings, they give away round-trip flights for two to Jeju and a 48-hour rental-car voucher. There is also a customer-appreciation event: put your business card, or your name and contact details, into the entry box, and every Wednesday one person is selected to receive a special tasting voucher.

Each table was neatly set with paper cups, soy sauce, chojang (sweet and tangy chili dipping sauce), and small sauce dishes, and I loved that cool, nutty barley tea was served instead of water! From here on are photos and descriptions of the novel course meal for two, so use them as a reference before your visit :)

A course meal from seafood to meat

Abalone innards geuwoo soup

The first dish was geuwoo soup made with abalone innards. It had a thin, smooth consistency that went down easily, with a subtle savory flavor from the abalone innards ✨

Katsuobushi goma salad

The second dish was a katsuobushi goma salad, with katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) over tomato and cucumber. It was a combination I could not easily imagine before trying it, but the crisp vegetables, umami-rich bonito flakes, and sweet sauce worked surprisingly well together 🫢

Seasonal seafood: abalone sashimi

The third dish was abalone sashimi with an appealing crunchy bite. I am quite sensitive to fishy flavors, but it tasted fresh!! Dipped in sesame oil and salt, it even had a gentle sweetness.

Monkfish clear soup

The fourth dish was monkfish clear soup packed with bean sprouts and crown daisy. The broth was so refreshing that it tasted like the sort of thing that would make you order a drink even if you had been holding back through the earlier dishes..! There was also plenty of plump monkfish meat, making it feel generously portioned for a ₩29,900 course 👍🏻

Seasonal steamed dongjuk clams and king prawns

The fifth dish was steamed large dongjuk clams and king prawns. The clams burst with juicy brininess as soon as they hit my mouth, while the peeled prawns were plump and tender. A fresh steamed dish that let me enjoy the ingredients' natural saltiness and delicate sweetness‼️

Seasonal aged sashimi and DIY sushi

The sixth and seventh dishes were seasonal sashimi and sushi you make yourself. The flounder, flounder fin, and salmon were all chewy and fresh! After enjoying the sashimi on its own, you could place each piece on the sushi rice served alongside to make DIY sushi exactly to your liking, making for a satisfying main course :)

Beef yukjeon

The eighth dish was beef yukjeon (pan-fried battered beef), cooked to a golden brown. I was pleased with the course structure: refreshing seafood at the beginning and satisfying meat dishes toward the end, so I could enjoy a wide range of flavors!

Grilled chicken neck meat

The ninth dish was grilled chicken neck meat with grilled green onion. The spicy-seasoned chicken had a smoky charred aroma, while the grilled green onion had a mild sweetness, and they went so well together.

Hongcho vinegar ade and complimentary melon

The last course item was a cool Hongcho vinegar ade. Carbonated water gave the Hongcho a sweet-tart, refreshing taste, and it neatly cleared away the lingering richness after the meat dishes—a great way to finish the course 🍵

For the final complimentary item, they served cool melon. It had a crisp texture, a deep melon aroma, and high sweetness!! It was so good that I thought it was the best melon I had eaten this year, and I wanted to ask where they bought it 🫶

A novel fusion omakase bar in Cheongju, enjoyed for ₩29,900 per person