Odarijip

As a fan of soy-marinated crabs, it is impossible for me not to check out one of the more popular restaurants that appear on everybody’s social feed. Odarijip started to get extremely popular as it topped Instagram and Tiktok posts as the best raw soy-marinated crab restaurant to visit in Seoul

Due to its popularity, the restaurant has expanded from its original location to a second location that is much bigger in space. We went to the original location, which is on the 2nd and 3rd floors and has extremely limited seats. They also served barbeque so the staff will ask you which menu you will be taking before directing you to the correct floor. Most of the barbeque orders are sat on the 2nd floor nearer to the kitchen

We were seated on the 3rd floor which has limited space as well as there are only a couple of long tables. Group will be made to share a table so expect a very tight and cosy environment but for those who are more introverted, it would be quite awkward to be sharing a table with another group as there is no space between you and the next person. We had so many plates that we had to eat into the next table space. Most of the customers are foreigners and tourists and they have become so commercialised that the servers can speak multiple languages like Mandarin, English, Thai, Korean and Japanese

They serve quite a wide variety of side dishes like cabbage kimchi, seasoned spinach, bean sprouts, water kimchi, seaweed, fish cake and lotus root. The table was so narrow that after all the side dishes were served, we had limited space for other dishes

As part of the set we ordered, it came with steamed eggs and kimchi soup. The serving size is smaller than the usual single-service but it is more than enough for 2 to 3 people to share. The egg is fluffy but quite bland in flavour while the kimchi soup was on the watery side as it was not a jigae. The flavour of the soup was general and decent but nothing too punchy in the taste

The set we ordered had 3 medium-sized crabs with roe as well as 5 pieces of prawns. We went for the set suitable for 3 to 4 persons. I forgot to take down the cost of the set as it was a treat from my friend. There was quite a bit of roe as they use AA female crabs but I personally find that I could not taste the sweetness of the roe and crab meat and only the saltiness of the sauce. Even though it was not as bad as my experience at Mrs Han Soy Crab I did not like that saltiness is the first taste on my palate. The prawns were using the same sauce so it has the same flavours

Part of the set also includes rice with fish roe and seaweed which can be eaten with the soy crab or made into rice balls

Overall, the taste of the crabs isn’t that bad but also not the best I had in Seoul according to my tastebuds. I feel that the restaurant is overly hyped from social media and I did not really like dining in a very tight space with no privacy. The staff were also busy serving customers and clearing tables like a factory to get as many customers so there was no enjoyment in the meal except to quickly eat and exit the restaurant. The bigger location might have a better experience but I personally would not visit Odarijip again

Address: 2F, 28 Myeongdong 8na-gil, Jung District, Seoul, South Korea

Opening hours: 9 am to 11 pm