Fall gizzard shad sashimi and DIY sushi at a Namdong raw fish spot

If you've eaten your fair share of raw fish in Gu-wol-dong, Incheon, you already know this place!!

I visited Veteran General Fish Market Incheon City Hall Branch. The fish was beautifully prepared and the whole vibe was perfect for drinking. Follow along~ where is it, you ask?☆

Walkable from Yesulhoegwan and Incheon City Hall stations

It's just 386m from Exit 1 of Yesulhoegwan Station on Incheon Line 1, and 432m from Exit 5 of Incheon City Hall Station, so it's really easy to reach by public transit.

The moment I walked in, I noticed the huge fish tank right at the entrance — kept so clean, and it was fun watching the shrimp, sea bream and yellowtail swimming around inside.

It was shrimp season, so they had fresh shrimp on hand — what were the menu prices like?

Seating is spacious with private rooms too, so it would work great for group gatherings or company dinners. That's exactly why I can confidently recommend this as a go-to raw fish restaurant in Gu-wol-dong.

What's on the menu?

So what's on the menu? There were so many items I could only think the chef must be seriously skilled.

Assorted sashimi sets, portioned by group size — the good stuff.

Seasonal fall gizzard shad — now or never, right?¿

Raw fish mul-hoe (cold raw fish soup) and seafood mul-hoe. Raw fish or seafood... tough call.

Chef's recommended assorted sashimi & build-your-own half-and-half, spicy fish stew after the sashimi, and sushi rice~

• Flounder & striped mullet & sea bass
• Red sea bream & salmon & rockfish
• Marbled flounder (dodari) — a flatfish that lives on the sea floor, smaller than regular flounder with white flesh. Thin-sliced (sekoshi) or as regular sashimi... decisions
• Jeolla-do perilla leaf raw fish salad... decisions
• Sea squirt & abalone & octopus & sea cucumber & spoon worm

Seafood tempura. Raw fish always pairs well with something fried, haha.

Grilled dishes.. roe stew & codfish stew & whole rockfish spicy stew, crab stew & raw fish rice bowl & fish roe rice, sushi & seafood ramyeon.

What I ordered — premium raw fish platter with sushi rice

☆ My order ☆ I got the manager's recommended premium raw fish platter for ₩39,900, 2 bottles of soju for ₩10,000, and sushi rice for ₩2,000.

What comes with the table setting and self-serve bar?

The side dishes included makjang (spicy dipping sauce), tartar sauce, wasabi, salted pollack roe, aged kimchi, seaweed, grilled saury, seaweed soup, hoe-muchim (spicy mixed raw fish salad), cabbage salad, lettuce and perilla leaf wraps, corn kernels, and self-serve kimchi pancake.

I think this was gizzard shad — really nutty and rich in flavor.

Started off with the nutty basic sashimi side dish~☆ The soju tasted extra sweet.

The self-serve bar even had mayo corn. Really delicious with raw fish.

There was salted pollack roe among the basic side dishes, which was delicious. White kimchi, wasabi, seaweed, makjang, tartar sauce too.

The grilled saury came out hot and freshly grilled, plump with lots of flesh.

You can make your own kimchi pancake at the self-serve station. Not that there's any risk of leftovers... haha? Top it with seafood and you've got a seafood kimchi pancake. I made and enjoyed one.

The manager's recommended premium platter (small) — what's in it, how does it taste

From the bottom: seasonal gizzard shad sashimi, sea bream, salmon, rockfish, yellowtail (or seasonal mullet), and flounder fin meat.

It all comes piled generously on one plate, and the flounder fin meat (engawa) was so thick I could immediately tell they used a large flounder.

The aging was just right, so each bite went down smoothly with barely any fishy taste.

With the flounder, adding a piece of aged kimchi and dipping it in sesame oil sauce really brought out the umami,

and the salmon came with a refreshing white sauce, onion and radish sprouts — so soft it just melted in my mouth.

The sea bream had a chewy texture with a rich, nutty umami, tasty enough to eat even without chojang (vinegared chili sauce).

The yellowtail (or mullet)? had really tender flesh, and topping it with salted pollack roe and wrapping it in seaweed made for a combo that melted in the mouth.

It felt like they picked out only the best cuts for us. Everything melted in my mouth. The side dishes were so good I ordered more soju. Raw fish is already the ultimate soju pairing, but paired with these sides, the soju tasted extra sweet.

How was the seasonal gizzard shad sashimi?

The gizzard shad sashimi had a faint earthy smell characteristic of the fish. The prep was clean enough that the small bones weren't bothersome, and the chewy texture was the appeal — I'd recommend wrapping it in perilla leaf with makjang.

A mini omakase with ₩2,000 sushi rice

Add sushi rice for ₩2,000 and you can top the raw fish onto it to enjoy bite-sized sushi,

and just like that, a mini omakase opened up. Wondering how good homemade sushi can be~¿

I became my own omakase chef. Made my favorite combo — aged kimchi with flounder. Making my own favorite pairings was such a fun part of the experience.

There's also raw shrimp and grilled shrimp on the menu, which made me want to come back and try the shrimp options next time.

It all wrapped up with pollack seaweed soup, which warmed up my stomach nicely — a perfect ending to the raw fish course.

Good for company dinners and family meals too?

The menu is varied enough that it would work well for family meals with kids as well as company dinners, and since Naver reservations are available, booking ahead for your group size makes things even easier.

If you're looking for a place that does seasonal fish well, save this one as your go-to raw fish restaurant in Gu-wol-dong — you won't regret it.