Mapo omakase restaurant for dinner: Danya at Seoul Garden Hotel

I booked Danya at Seoul Garden Hotel (서울가든호텔 단야) for a meal with my mom, who was trying omakase (a chef-selected course meal) for the first time. I had eaten at the hotel a few times, but this was when I discovered Danya on the first basement level. We had the dinner course, which moved from lightly aged raw fish to sushi, warm dishes, and a rice and noodle course.

Getting there from Mapo Station and parking

Danya is on the first basement level of Seoul Garden Hotel at 58 Mapo-daero, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea (서울특별시 마포구 마포대로 58 지하 1층). The listed walking times are 3 minutes from Mapo Station Exit 3 and 8 minutes from Gongdeok Station Exit 8. If you drive, valet parking is available, and 3 hours of parking are covered.

The hours listed in the original post are Monday through Saturday, 12:00–22:00, with a break from 15:00–18:00 and last order at 21:00. The restaurant is closed on Sundays.

Seating and atmosphere for a meal with a parent

There were counter seats and tables separated by partitions. The space wasn't large, but it struck me as a calm, formal Japanese restaurant. There were several chefs for such a small place, and the servers anticipated what we needed, so we felt comfortable throughout the meal.

Dinner omakase price and courses

The dinner sushi omakase I had cost ₩85,000 per person. It included 3 appetizers, jeonbok jjim (steamed abalone), 5 kinds of sashimi (raw fish), and 10 kinds of sushi, followed by a specialty dish, a rice and noodle course, and dessert.

Once we were seated, they brought us oolong tea before the courses began.

Appetizers and steamed abalone

The appetizers were fig, wine-marinated tomato, and an egg dish. Their soft textures and refreshing flavors made a pleasant start to the meal.

The steamed abalone came with a snow crab innards sauce and fried green onion. The abalone had a pleasantly chewy texture, and the salty sauce whetted my appetite.

Lightly aged sashimi and sushi made to order

The five kinds of sashimi were olive flounder, flounder fin, mullet, red sea bream, and croaker, served with herbs and vegetables to eat alongside them. The lightly aged fish retained its texture and had a savory depth. To me, it tasted fresh and went down smoothly.

The sushi was shaped and served one piece at a time. We tried a range of toppings, including olive flounder, red sea bream, tuna belly, and sea urchin roe.

Even the familiar flounder stood out for the flavor it had developed through aging. The tuna and sea urchin roe sushi wrapped in gamtae (a delicate green seaweed) was especially memorable for its aroma. They also gave us complimentary futomaki (a thick sushi roll) that day, bringing the total to 11 kinds.

I'm not usually very fond of miso soup, but the broth tasted refreshing that day, perhaps because it contained blue crab. It went well with the sushi, and I was already full at this point.

The warm dish, rice, and noodles after the sushi

The specialty dish was a salmon steak with mushrooms in balsamic sauce. I couldn't drink that day, but the flavors made me wish I could have a beer with it.

The next course was domi jorim deopbap (braised sea bream over rice) and naeng udon (cold udon noodles). I was already full, but I finished the sea bream rice bowl. The braised fish was good, and the rice was especially tasty, cooked with a pleasantly sticky texture.

Dessert was a wine-marinated yellow peach topped with cream, served with green tea. I liked the cream on the peach, and sipping the tea was a relaxing way to finish the meal.

My mom enjoyed her first omakase, which made me happy I had brought her. The restaurant was small, but the service put us at ease, and the dishes that followed the sushi made it a substantial meal. Based on this visit, I'd keep it in mind for a parent's birthday or an anniversary dinner.