Busan sashimi pub with smoky Spanish mackerel: Rigo Susan

This is an honest review written after a personal visit. I received partial support for the meal voucher and paid the rest myself.

How do you find Rigo Susan?

With two signs—the blue Rigo Susan sign below the upper sign—and large windows that let you see brightly into the restaurant, you can take in the atmosphere at a glance.

The entrance is not at the front of the building; you need to go into the alley on the left to find it. A lot of people smoke here, so non-smokers should keep that in mind.

Since it was a weekend evening, every seat at this Jeonpo drinking spot was full. Luckily, one window-side seat had just opened up, so we asked for it to be cleared.

Once seated, I felt something cute on the white wall. Looking closer, there was a sticker of a mouse opening a door and a cat figurine—haha, it gave me a little laugh.

Along with the basic setting, they gave us a paper cup filled with slightly soft, sweet popcorn.

What side dishes came with the assorted sashimi set?

The table-order menu had a solid lineup, from seasonal gizzard shad to raw shrimp, giant shrimp, salmon, and assorted sashimi. We chose the assorted sashimi set for ₩49,000.

After ordering, I noticed the digital board by the kitchen said there would be eight kinds of sukidashi (small side dishes), and that the selection changes each time.

The spread included dressed boiled squid, buckwheat soba, fried items, corn cheese, okonomiyaki, boiled shrimp, California rolls, and tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes). The tteokbokki used soft wheat rice cakes, and while the fried squid and sweet potato were a little disappointing for me, the tartar sauce served with them was delicious.

The California roll, filled with pickled radish and imitation crab mixed with mayonnaise, was probably made with mustard—it was intensely tangy the moment it hit my mouth and really woke up my appetite.

The dressed boiled squid had fragrant sesame oil at the bottom, so the instant I poured on the chojang (sweet-tangy chili sauce) and mixed it, a nutty, spicy aroma hit my nose.

The okonomiyaki flavor came from a cabbage pancake on a hot plate, topped with tonkatsu sauce, mayonnaise, and katsuobushi (bonito flakes).

The side dishes were so generous that we finished a whole bottle before the sashimi arrived. Haha. Right after ordering another bottle of soju, I saw a staff member bringing the sashimi our way.

How was the flounder, salmon, and Spanish mackerel sashimi set?

Just 15 minutes after ordering, the ₩49,000 assorted sashimi set arrived neatly arranged with flounder, salmon, and Spanish mackerel.

Opposite the sashimi were four portions of shari (seasoned sushi rice) for making sushi, plus lemon, rakkyō pickled scallions, and pickled ginger. Fresh wasabi came in a small dish, and it was seriously strong, so be careful. Haha.

When I lifted a slice of flounder, it was incredibly thin—like fugu sashimi! You could see right through it with the chopsticks, and after a few chews, it simply disappeared.

With just the right amount of wasabi, the salmon's rich nuttiness really came through.

The thickest of the three was the Spanish mackerel sashimi, which I had not had in a long time since trying it as aged fish on a trip to Yeosu. It was my first time seeing Spanish mackerel in an assorted sashimi platter in the Gyeongsang region, so that was interesting—and it had been lightly torched, leaving a lovely smoky aroma.

Perfect pairings for Spanish mackerel and salmon sashimi

For the Spanish mackerel sashimi, I adapted something I learned from the owner of an aged-sashimi restaurant in Yeosu. Wrap Spanish mackerel, wasabi, and a sauce of chojang, ssamjang (seasoned soybean paste), and garlic in seasoned seaweed for a delicious bite.

For the salmon, salmon sashimi with tartar sauce and wasabi on a spoon was such a perfect pairing. Every staff member was kind, and Rigo Susan Jeonpo Station Main Branch (리고수산 전포역본점) was a Jeonpo drinking spot where we could enjoy eight satisfying side dishes and aged live-fish sashimi for ₩49,000.