Guwol-dong sashimi restaurant, seafood ramyeon second round: Veteran

Last Saturday night, after filling up on a solid first round with friends, we went looking for a spot for simple but tasty drinking snacks and ended up at Veteran General Fish Market Incheon Guwol Branch — a Guwol-dong spot said to nail both value and quality!

When we arrived, the place was already packed both inside and out, totally full! Even though this was our second stop of the night, it ended up being even more satisfying than the first — here's my review of this Guwol-dong sashimi restaurant :)

What are the clear-tent semi-outdoor seats like?

The interior of Veteran General Fish Market Incheon Guwol Branch was huge and buzzing with energy. What really caught my eye, though, was the 'semi-outdoor tent' space set up along one side of the restaurant!

There's a terrace-like outdoor area enclosed in clear plastic tents, giving off the exact vibe of an old-school street tent bar (pojangmacha) — haha, loved it.

On a rainy day or a cool evening, sitting in this clear-tent spot looking out while sipping soju with a piece of sashimi would be the ultimate vibe! It set the mood for drinking perfectly from the very start — a truly great sashimi restaurant find in Guwol-dong.

Grilled saury table setting and the self-serve kimchi pancake station

Once seated, you get the hearty basic setup that's classic at any sashimi restaurant — seaweed, umami-packed makjang sauce, tangy aged kimchi, salted pollack roe, fresh wasabi, and cabbage salad all come standard.

They also bring out a warm, rich seaweed soup along with nicely grilled saury!

But the real highlight of this Guwol-dong spot is the 'self-serve corner' set up on one side of the restaurant!

Not only can you help yourself to fresh vegetables and various side dishes without any hesitation, but they even have a frying pan and batter ready so you can fry your own 'kimchi pancake' (kimchijeon)!

One sizzling, freshly fried kimchi pancake and you'll find yourself finishing a bottle of somaek before the main sashimi even arrives — pure magic haha.

What's in the small assorted sashimi platter?

Since this was our second round, we kept it simple: the small assorted sashimi platter, DIY sushi rice, and spicy seafood ramyeon to help us sober up. After a short wait, a glossy, shiny platter of sashimi arrived — and even at the small size, the portion was surprisingly generous!

The lineup was packed with delicious variety — flounder, rockfish, mullet, red sea bream, and salmon. Getting to enjoy such fresh, chewy sashimi at this price instantly explained why the place is always so crowded!

Dipping a thick slice of sashimi into the makjang sauce, then wrapping it in lettuce with aged kimchi and fresh pollack roe before washing it down with a cold somaek — pure happiness, honestly. The salmon especially came with a generous side of sliced onion and a dedicated sauce, so eating it like a salmon salad made it melt in my mouth!

Hand-pressed sushi rice and spicy seafood ramyeon

I ordered the 'DIY sushi rice' out of curiosity after spotting it on the menu, and it turned out to be a brilliant choice! Instead of pre-shaped sushi rice, they give you the rice to shape yourself, which made it surprisingly fun haha.

With plastic gloves on, you roll the rice into little balls, dab on some fresh wasabi, then top it with a piece of red sea bream or flounder sashimi — and voilà, your own top-tier omakase-style sushi!

After all that sashimi and sushi cooled my stomach down, the 'spicy seafood ramyeon' we ordered to finish was the perfect fix. Loaded with seafood, the broth was so refreshing and spicy that it had us mopping up every last bit of leftover soju haha.

Lunch special prices and autumn seasonal seafood at Veteran Guwol

While eating and browsing the menu, I noticed the lunch set lineup here is genuinely insane.

• Sashimi/roe rice bowl ₩7,000
• Roe/cod stew ₩8,500
• Grilled mackerel ₩12,000
• Lunch set ₩13,900 (sashimi + sushi + fried food + spicy stew + rice + 5 side dishes, full course)

The highlight, the lunch set, comes as a full course for a shockingly good ₩13,900! Seeing how packed that deal is, I've already decided I need to come back during the day next time to try it.

And with autumn coming, a lot of you are probably on the hunt for seasonal seafood, right? No need to head all the way to the coast — here you can enjoy Incheon's firm, springy autumn gizzard shad sashimi and its deliciously nutty grilled gizzard shad, both wonderfully fresh.

On top of that, they've also got plump, lively Incheon shrimp sashimi straight from the tank and the season's star dish, salt-grilled Incheon shrimp — perfect for a full seasonal seafood feast!

Whether you come for round one and eat until you're stuffed, or come for round two to soak in the tent-bar atmosphere, Veteran General Fish Market was absolutely perfect for both. If you're looking for a quality, budget-friendly sashimi restaurant, I highly recommend giving this Guwol-dong spot a visit ❤️