Gangneung sashimi restaurant hotel takeout: Samsami-ne

On this Gangneung trip, we stayed at the Saint John’s Hotel with Haengun, our little pup. We wanted sashimi for dinner, but I felt bad leaving our dog behind to go to a restaurant, and finding pet-friendly places every time is such a hassle—so we decided to pick it up and eat comfortably in our hotel room while watching Netflix.

It is just a five-minute drive from the Saint John’s Hotel, so the access could not be better. Let me tell you about Samsami-ne Gyeongpodae Main Branch (삼삼이네 경포대본점), a Gangneung sashimi restaurant with a value assorted sashimi set featuring red sea bream yubiki—the kind you usually see only at upscale Japanese restaurants—and thoughtful individual packaging made for hotel stays! 💕

Across from Sogeunjin Beach, an easy spot for takeout pickup

Samsami-ne Gyeongpodae Main Branch was such a dream route from the Saint John’s Hotel—we arrived in just five minutes by car! It sits in an ocean-view spot directly facing Sogeunjin Beach and the Gangneung coast, and there is plenty of parking right in front, so picking up a takeout order came with absolutely no parking stress.

Lots of people were dining in while looking out over the wide-open sea, too, so it is also a perfectly lovely place to eat at the restaurant!

Red sea bream yubiki in a ₩70,000 assorted sashimi set

The two of us picked up the value assorted sashimi set (₩70,000), which was more than generous for sharing!

The standout here is that the set includes a generous main portion of red sea bream yubiki, something you rarely find in a standard assorted sashimi platter from a neighborhood sashimi restaurant!

What is red sea bream yubiki?

Red sea bream yubiki, also called masukkawa, is a premium preparation where only the skin of the sea bream is quickly blanched with hot water, then rapidly chilled in ice water. It preserves the skin’s pleasantly firm, springy texture while maximizing the rich flavor of the fatty layer concentrated just beneath it, creating a texture unlike ordinary raw fish.

With pale olive flounder, chewy flounder, and glistening red sea bream yubiki piled in, plus refreshing mulhoe (cold raw-fish soup) included as part of the basic set, the spread was so substantial that I could hardly believe it was ₩70,000!

Individual packaging that made our hotel room dinner easy

When we got back to our accommodation and unpacked everything, my husband and I just kept exclaiming in amazement!

Usually when you get sashimi to go while traveling, all the sauces, garlic, and chili peppers are mixed into one large plastic container. If your hotel room does not have proper plates or individual dishes, it is really inconvenient to split between two people, right? But Samsami-ne packed two individual dish sets—one per person—with ssamjang, soy sauce, garlic, chili peppers, and aged kimchi neatly separated into compartments!

They also included one pack of sweet-and-tangy pickled vegetables per person, plus plenty of sushi rice so we could put sashimi on top and make fresh sushi on the spot.

The lettuce and perilla leaves were washed and packed so cleanly that there was no prep needed at all. We turned on Netflix and enjoyed the most effortless feast ever in the hotel room, right beside Haengun!

Yubiki and aged-kimchi sushi, plus generous mulhoe

First, I lightly dipped the red sea bream yubiki I had been most excited for in soy sauce. Wow... the combination of the firm, crisp skin and the thick, springy flesh was dancing in my mouth 😭

The savory umami that unfolded as I chewed was seriously overwhelming. The chewy flounder and olive flounder were also freshness itself, without even a hint of fishiness.

I put fresh wasabi on the included sushi rice, topped it with a springy piece of sashimi and refreshing aged kimchi, and made instant aged-kimchi fish sushi—it rivaled a decent Japanese omakase meal! Wrapping it in fragrant perilla leaves and lettuce with a generous dollop of ssamjang made it disappear endlessly, too.

The mulhoe included in the set was practically a standalone dish! Its sweet-and-tangy, ice-cold broth did not just contain vegetables—there were generous thick slices of sashimi all the way down to the bottom of the bowl, which was such a treat.

At this level, it would be completely deserving of the title of a great Gangneung mulhoe spot, not just a sashimi restaurant!

A hotel-room sashimi party for a trip with your dog

It is the best option for anyone like us who is traveling with a dog and hesitant to visit a restaurant, or who wants to enjoy a private, high-quality sashimi party in a comfortable accommodation after a full day out!

Whether you are staying at the Saint John’s Hotel or nearby Skybay Hotel Gyeongpo, SEAMARQ Hotel, or Lakai Sandpine Resort, it is only a three- to five-minute drive for pickup, so do stop by! The tidy individual packaging and distinctive texture of the red sea bream yubiki will naturally make you feel grateful to the owner!

• Anyone staying at Saint John’s Hotel, Skybay, or SEAMARQ and looking for clean, fresh sashimi takeout
• Anyone who wants to try the firm, springy red sea bream yubiki, unlike an ordinary assorted sashimi platter, in the ₩70,000 range
• Anyone who wants an easy hotel meal with individual sauce packs, aged kimchi, sushi rice, and mulhoe included
• Anyone traveling with a dog who wants a comfortable sashimi feast at their accommodation