Ansan bar with cod roe potato gratin and beef sashimi: Yuksul

Yuksul, recommended by a friend! As always, a friend's recommendation doesn't fail. This was the best beef sashimi I've had in Ansan.

But the cod roe potato gratin, which I wasn't even expecting much from, turned out to be delicious too — I really liked this place. Saved it to my regulars list as a spot that's solid across the board for anju (drinking snacks). Hehe.

So let's get into Yuksul's menu and an honest review, from Ansan yukhoe (raw beef) to everything else!

Where is Yuksul, and where do you park?

Yuksul sits on the bar-heavy street of Gojan-dong in Ansan, at 193-15 Gwangdeok 2-ro, Danwon-gu, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, 1st floor. Hours are Mon–Thu and Sun 17:00–01:00, Fri–Sat 17:00–02:00.

🚶 If you're coming by public transit, it's about a 20-minute walk from Jungang Station Exit 2, so I'd recommend taking a bus instead! 🅿️ If you're driving, you can use the building's parking lot, and the Deoksan parking tower gives 2 hours free, so parking was pretty convenient. If you're looking for a bar on Ansan's Gojan-dong bar street, I'd recommend checking the location ahead of time.

Inside Yuksul: the room and the midnight Friday wait

Yuksul has both a 1st and 2nd floor, so the place was genuinely big. The vibe was clean but upscale. I visited around midnight on a Friday, and even at that late hour there were a fair number of customers.

Still, it wasn't enough for a wait, so we sat right down by the window! The tables were spaced generously too, so we could eat comfortably without worrying much about the next table. Given how big the place is, it also seemed like a good spot for group gatherings or work dinners!

Yuksul's menu and ongoing events

Yuksul's menu was pretty varied, from beef dishes to all kinds of side snacks. Signature items include Korean beef mungtigi, Korean beef yukhoe, Korean beef sashimi, and yukhoe bibimbap. They also have popular picks like steamed clams in broth and chicken nanban, good for adding on if just beef anju feels like too much.

There's also a fun review event going on!

Leave a receipt review and you get to spin a roulette wheel — prizes range from ₩50,000 and ₩30,000 vouchers to a draft beer, two highballs, snacks, or nothing at all.

On top of that, there's a service side dish for weekday Naver reservations, and on Fridays, Ilpum Jinro is half price — worth checking the events before you go. If you're after Ansan yukhoe, these perks are worth grabbing too. 👍🏻

I ordered the ₩39,000 Korean beef sashimi and the ₩15,000 cod roe potato gratin!

Free side dishes and refills of beef radish soup

Yuksul's basic side dishes were aged kimchi, gungchae (seasoned greens), and dried squid with radish, which all paired nicely with the sashimi.

And the beef radish soup that comes standard with the Yuksul set, mulhoe set, and the signature spreads — this was genuinely delicious. They said it's made with plenty of Jeju radish and 1++ grade Korean beef brisket. For a soup that just comes as a default, it had really good ingredients in it… 🤍

Refills are possible too! The trick to a refill is simple — just say 'this radish soup is really good,' that's it. Haha. There was quite a lot of beef in it too, and the friend I went with kept drinking it up saying it was too good, lol.

Korean beef sashimi, 39,000 won: gamtae seaweed and house-made meat sauce

Yuksul's ₩39,000 Korean beef sashimi was the dish I was most looking forward to that day.

First of all, the meat was really fresh. I think the condition of the meat matters most with beef sashimi, and this was clean with no gamy smell and had a great texture, so my chopsticks kept going back for more.

There's a salad served in the middle, and it went well too. Eating just the sashimi alone can get a bit repetitive, but mixing in the salad kept it from getting old until the end.

Gamtae (dried seaweed) and sauces come alongside as well. Black sesame sauce, garlic oil sauce, and a house-made meat sauce with garlic and cheongyang chili — so I could pick and choose to my taste.

How to eat it best!

• House-made meat sauce + gamtae or aged kimchi
• Sashimi + garlic oil sauce + shiitake mushroom
• Yukhoe + black sesame sauce

For me, the best way was wrapping the beef sashimi in gamtae with the house-made meat sauce. It was also good dipped in the garlic oil sauce. The meat itself was fresh enough to eat plain, and it paired well with the gamtae or sauces too. So if a friend of mine is looking for Ansan yukhoe, I'd definitely recommend this place.

Cod roe potato gratin, 15,000 won: the surprise of the night

Honestly, since we went for Ansan yukhoe, I wasn't expecting much from the cod roe potato gratin. But it was so good 🤤

The soft potato was loaded with cheese, giving it a savory, salty flavor that was exactly my taste. They said the potato is grated fresh and mixed with cod roe. I have kind of a cheese-loving kid's palate, so this hit the spot perfectly.

Taking a bite of the gratin in between the beef sashimi gave a totally different feeling, so I kept switching between the two. I think I'll order this again next time. Way too good. Once you try it, you won't forget it 🤤

Beyond the signature dishes, the sides were so good too, which made me think this place is great for anyone wanting a variety of dishes at once among the bars on Ansan's Gojan-dong bar street.

Is Yuksul worth a return visit?

Went on a friend's recommendation, and as always, that never fails. The beef sashimi was especially good, and the cod roe potato gratin was a bullseye for my kid's palate 🔫

If you're looking for a bar on Ansan's Gojan-dong bar street, I'll be coming back to Yuksul! If you're searching for good Ansan yukhoe, I'd say it's worth trying the Korean beef sashimi together with the cod roe potato gratin. 🤍