Date-night sushi, kaisendon & kids' set in Gwanghwamun: Elephant Sushi

The weather has been so nice lately, and lots of people are heading out to Gwanghwamun Square, Sejong Center or Kyobo Bookstore, right? My husband and I went on a Gwanghwamun date too, and we had dinner at the sushi restaurant Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun (코끼리초밥 광화문점). It promises the high-quality know-how of traditional sushi at reasonable prices, so I was looking forward to it.

Where is Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun, and what are the seats like?

Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun is in the basement of the KT Gwanghwamun branch building, directly connected to Exit 2 of Gwanghwamun Station. Even on rainy or cold days you can get there without going outside, so the access is really great! We arrived right before break time ended, so we got in as the first customers, haha.

Inside, there are bar seats (dacchi) where you can eat comfortably even alone, and sofa seats where you can relax and chat over your meal.

Menu and how to order at Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun

Every table has a tablet, so you can look through the menu photos at your own pace and order easily. There are even kids' sushi menus thoughtfully prepared for families with children.

I heard Elephant Sushi is a new plate-sushi restaurant from the head chef who has run well-known high-end brands such as Sushi Shimizu, Sushi Umi and Dosan Sakaba Kawasemi. All the live fish is aged at low temperature in the traditional sushi way, with the amount of salt and aging time adjusted for each species, and served when moisture and firmness are at their best ❤️

Once you order, a starter salad and warm clear soup come first as standard, and they freshened up my appetite nicely.

What my husband and I ordered

This time we went all out and ordered the Elephant B set, kaisendon (seafood rice bowl), the Elephant kids' set and potato croquettes (4 pieces).

What's in the Elephant B set (12 pieces + somen)?

The Elephant B set is the main set, with 12 pieces of sushi and warm somen (thin wheat noodles). The generous lineup made me exclaim out loud, and the somen rounds it out into a full meal ❤️

• Seared salmon
• Fatty tuna belly
• White fish (2 pieces)
• Greater amberjack
• Horse mackerel
• Futomaki (thick sushi roll)
• Akami (lean tuna)
• Soy-marinated shrimp
• Vinegared baby squid
• Monkfish liver
• Swordfish

Maybe thanks to the low-temperature aging, the savory depth and texture of the fish were really outstanding! The rich monkfish liver, the tuna belly that melts in your mouth and the generously rolled futomaki were all satisfying, with nothing falling short.

How was the kaisendon?

The kaisendon is a Japanese rice bowl generously topped with colorful, fresh seafood. You get to enjoy many kinds of seafood in one bowl, which has a different charm from sushi. The seafood was so fresh that there was no fishy taste at all, just savory and clean.

Elephant kids' set (6 pieces + somen): can adults eat it too?

The Elephant kids' set comes with 2 shrimp sushi, 2 inari sushi (tofu pouch sushi), 2 egg sushi and somen. The kids' menu is thoughtfully put together, though of course we ordered it for ourselves, haha.

It's made up of the sweet, soft sushi kids love, and with somen included, a child can finish it all happily.

Side: potato croquettes (4 pieces)

The potato croquettes I ordered as a side came out freshly fried, crispy outside and fluffy and soft inside. Eating them between pieces of sushi made the meal twice as filling.

Who is Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun recommended for?

I was honestly amazed that you can enjoy aged sushi and a seafood rice bowl of this quality at this price in the middle of Gwanghwamun. Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun works for a quick lunch, and it's also a fine place for an evening get-together or company dinner. If you're looking for Gwanghwamun sushi or a good restaurant near Gwanghwamun Square, I recommend it.

• Address: B109-5, B1, 178 Sejong-daero, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: 11:00–21:00
• Break time: 15:00–17:00