Hongdae sushi restaurant with free soba and soup: Yu Iksang Sushi

Sushi restaurant near Hongik University Station: Yu Iksang Sushi

Came to Hongdae?? Craving sushi?? This is Yu Iksang Sushi, run by the owner

Came to Hongdae?? Craving sushi?? This is Yu Iksang Sushi, a Hongdae sushi restaurant where the owner hand-cuts every piece of fresh fish himself.

• 📍 18-7 Wausan-ro 23-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea (Yu Iksang Sushi, 101호)
• ⏰ Tue–Sun 11:00–21:00 (last order 20:00)
• Closed every Monday
• 🚘 No parking available

Where is Yu Iksang Sushi, and can you eat alone there?

It's a bit of a walk from the station but close to Hongdae proper. Being tucked in an alley, parking is difficult. It's an old-school sushi shop that's held the same spot for six years.

The interior isn't huge but feels cozy and has good atmosphere — there's a bar-style table plus two 4-person tables. Sushi is one of those meals that's easy to eat alone, so plenty of solo diners were comfortably eating at the bar table.

What's on the menu at Yu Iksang Sushi

The menu is huge and varied, so it's easy to pick according to your taste. From budget-friendly sets to sashimi that pairs well with a drink, rolls, even raw fish rice bowls — they've got it all. There's also a half-and-half sushi option so you can mix whatever you want!

Honest review of the 26-piece Couple A Plus set

Couple A Plus (₩56,000) — we went all in and ordered the set that comes with a whopping 26 pieces. As an appetizer, cabbage salad and fried shrimp arrive first. The fried shrimp is small but exactly the kind of thing to get your appetite going.

They gave us soup and soba, so I had a warm spoonful. Whenever I eat sushi I always need either udon or soba on the side. So the fact that it comes as a default here is honestly touching.

Yu Iksang Sushi's signature is the long-tailed sushi. As you'll see below, the tail is so long you can't just dip it in soy sauce — you actually have to brush the soy sauce on with a little brush, which is a nice special touch. None of the sushi comes with wasabi already added, so you add it to taste!

And finally, the Couple A Plus platter reveals itself — isn't the visual almost aggressively gorgeous?? I never imagined it would be this big and this much, and the plating came out so pretty too.

Long-tailed sushi with fish cut three times thicker

This right here is the signature long-tailed sushi!! Some of you might think it's just long but thin — not at all, it's thick AND long.

Think three times the fish of a regular piece of sushi. Pop it in your mouth and it fills your whole mouth — big satisfying bites. I get now why people say the portions are huge. Even with the same 10 pieces, you're basically eating twice as much, right??

Aburi rolls and tuna sushi at Yu Iksang Sushi

I wondered what

I wondered what aburi meant — turns out it means lightly seared with fire. This roll had shrimp and egg inside, and it was so big I had to split it in half just to eat it, thick and substantial.

The sauce drizzled on top — some kind of special sauce, maybe — was delicious too, and the tempura crumbs sprinkled on top were totally my thing. It gave a nice bit of texture and paired well with the crispy tempura flavor.

I tried the tuna plain, brushed with soy sauce. It's also good with lemon juice squeezed over it, but I skipped that this time. The tuna was also sliced impressively thick, so the chewy bite was great.

Not sure if the thickness of the fish comes through in the photo. After eating the seasoned pieces, going back to plain sushi reminded me that the classics never get old — genuinely delicious.

While happily eating away, they brought out fried eggplant on the house. Since there's rice under it, maybe I should call it fried eggplant sushi? A nice change of pace — the crispy eggplant was a special little bonus.

Final verdict on Yu Iksang Sushi

A place where the portions are so huge you'll leave clutching your stomach. If you're visiting Hongik University Station and looking for somewhere delicious, I recommend Yu Iksang Sushi — it nails both quantity and flavor.