Busan Gwangalli sashimi restaurant with hoejang gimbap: The Bangpaje

While traveling in Busan I came out to Gwangalli, looked at the sea and took a slow walk around the area. Since I'd come all the way to Gwangalli, I naturally wanted raw fish for dinner, and while looking up where to go I found The Bangpaje (The방파제), a Blue Ribbon restaurant with a nice atmosphere, and went.

Usually when you think of a sashimi restaurant near the beach, you picture something a bit relaxed and casual, but here the first impression was a little different.

It felt more like a dining space than a typical sashimi restaurant, and even the exterior was clean and upscale, so I was quietly looking forward to it before I even walked in.

After actually eating there, I felt it was a place where you enjoy the atmosphere along with the food rather than just somewhere to eat raw fish. So I figured it would work for a date in Gwangalli or when looking for somewhere to eat with your parents too, and if you're looking for a Blue Ribbon sashimi restaurant in Gwangalli, you can come here with confidence!!!

Where The Bangpaje is and how to get there

The Bangpaje is located near Gwangalli Beach. Walk along the beach, pass the waterside park and then Millak The Market and you'll spot it, so getting there felt like a stroll around Gwangalli.

If you're driving, there was a notice that parking support is available if you use the Millak Public Parking Lot or the Jeongdaun Nursing Hospital parking lot. It was a nice route for taking in the sea during a Gwangalli trip and moving naturally on to dinner.

Clean and upscale from the entrance on!!

I saw the Blue Ribbon sticker by the door and walked in going 'yep, certified Gwangalli Blue Ribbon restaurant~' haha

An interior that feels more like fine dining than a sashimi restaurant

Inside, the kitchen extends toward the back, and the front area was done up like an upscale Japanese dining room.

On the 1st floor there are partitions between the tables, so you're reasonably screened from the next table, and the tables are spaced generously enough that you can chat comfortably while you eat. Classical music played softly and the whole atmosphere was calm, so it suited an evening when you want something a bit more atmospheric than a typical sashimi restaurant.

There were also seats for 2 to 4, good for coming with a friend or for a date, and at lunch I don't think eating alone would feel awkward at all.

The 2nd floor in particular is set up as private dining rooms, which looked great for a date or a family gathering when you want a slightly more private meal, and the 3rd floor even has a dining banquet hall, so it looked like a space that would work for larger gatherings or events too.

So if you're looking for a sashimi restaurant in Millak-dong, Busan and care about the atmosphere of the space as much as the food, wouldn't this be a pretty good option!!

A good place to keep in mind when you want a slightly more atmospheric meal in Gwangalli!

Lunch and dinner courses and à la carte menu

The menu is divided broadly into lunch and dinner dining courses, and for dinner there were course meals you could choose by composition, such as the special course and the Eohang and Eorak sets. If you're visiting on a slightly special day like an anniversary or a birthday, going for a course looked like a fine idea.

The à la carte menu was quite varied too: the seasonal assorted sashimi hanssang set (full-table set) lets you enjoy several kinds of assorted sashimi together with spicy fish-bone stew, grilled fish, ankimo (monkfish liver) and more, and there were rice and noodle meals like mulhoe (cold raw fish soup), seafood mulhoe, raw fish bibimbap, assorted sashimi rice bowl, marinated salmon rice bowl and seasonal soup.

There were also dishes that go well alongside sashimi, like hoejang gimbap, tataki, grilled vinegared mackerel and assorted tempura, so it was easy to add on to taste, and with such a wide range of choices it looked good for everyone from travelers looking for raw fish near Gwangalli Waterside Park to people who want a leisurely dinner. There's a wide selection of drinks too, so pairing them with sashimi would be just right!

Ordering the seasonal assorted sashimi and hoejang gimbap

• Seasonal assorted sashimi, à la carte (S) ₩45,000
• Hoejang gimbap (half roll) ₩13,000
• Daesun ₩6,000

Even though I ordered the seasonal assorted sashimi à la carte, it didn't come out as just a lonely plate of fish. Salmon salad, vinegar-pickled sea pineapple and sea cucumber, and several side dishes came with it, so the spread felt fuller than I expected.

In particular, everything from the plates to the plating felt carefully done, so the moment the food arrived I was straight into lining up photo angles.

For side dishes there was mugeunji (aged kimchi), a dip made of sesame oil and ssamjang (soybean-chili paste), wasabi, ssamjang and garlic sauce, soy sauce and so on, so you could combine the sashimi however you like. The pickled sea pineapple and sea cucumber came in a small portion with onion, nice to nibble on between bites, and let you lightly enjoy that distinctive seafood aroma and texture.

The main seasonal assorted sashimi lets you enjoy several kinds of raw fish on one plate, which is nice because you can switch up textures and flavors instead of eating one fish the whole time. It came as four kinds, flounder, red sea bream, sea bass and milhoe (밀회), four pieces each, cut thick, so this alone was a fair amount of food. (The sea bass, that chew!)

Dipping it simply in soy sauce and wasabi, or pairing it with mugeunji or ssamjang, the mood changed with each combination, so it was good to eat slowly.

Of them all, the red sea bream and the sea bass were really chewy and delicious!

The salmon salad was finely chopped salmon with onion and a sesame-mayo dressing. The nutty dressing went well with the salmon, and the onion added a fresh crunch, so no way this wasn't good either. It seemed to be part of what comes with a sashimi order, and it was nice that a dish like this came alongside even an à la carte sashimi order.

The hoejang gimbap that stuck with me

The hoejang gimbap was personally the dish that stuck with me!! It's a gimbap (seaweed rice roll) made with rice seasoned with saeu-jang (soy-marinated shrimp), and the overall shape was similar to futomaki; even though I only ordered a half roll, the filling was quite generous, so it never felt like too little.

Inside it was packed with salmon, carrot, burdock, egg strips and more, so in one bite you got the textures of several ingredients together, and the savory depth of the saeu-jang had soaked into the rice, so it went well with the sashimi too.

In Busan, so of course a Daesun (Busan's local soju)!! Overall every dish was neatly put together, and not just the sashimi but the sides were delicious too, so it became a memorable dinner on my Busan trip.

In particular, if you're looking for a Blue Ribbon sashimi restaurant in Gwangalli and want a space that's a bit calmer and more atmospheric than a typical sashimi restaurant, this should suit you well. It made me want to come back on a special day like an anniversary or a birthday and enjoy a course in a 2nd-floor dining room, and it's a place I'll think of again when looking for a sashimi restaurant in Millak-dong, Busan.

One-line summary

A Gwangalli sashimi restaurant that satisfied on atmosphere too. It's an easy walk from Gwangalli Beach, with seasonal raw fish and a wide range of side dishes. A clean, upscale dining atmosphere that works for small groups through private gatherings, plus distinctive dishes like the hoejang gimbap. The Bangpaje, which I visited while looking for somewhere to eat raw fish in Gwangalli, was a place to enjoy the space as much as the food!!😁