Jongno seafood restaurant for aged sashimi and gamtae: Suksseong Susan

Aged sashimi found on Jonggak Street

My longtime neighbors will all know this is one of my repeat-repeat-repeat spots!! No more words needed—let’s get into Suksseong Susan Jongno Main Branch (숙썽수산 종로본점), my number-one repeat spot for aged sashimi among all the great places in Jongno and Jonggak!!

It’s on the third floor at 16 Samil-daero 19-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, just 285 m from Exit 4 of Jonggak Station. Hours are 11:00–24:00 Monday through Friday and 12:00–24:00 on Saturday and Sunday, with last orders at 23:00. Reservations and group visits are available, and the restrooms are separate for men and women.

Suksseong Susan Jongno Main Branch sits right in the middle of Jonggak Street, so it’s easy to reach from both Jongno 3-ga Station and Jonggak Station!!!

There are so many buildings along Jonggak Street that the entrance can be confusing, but just enter the Eunjung Building!! When you come up, this sign will welcome you!! So cute. The moment you open the door, you can see aged sashimi maturing nicely in this rather fancy refrigerator, and the owners cook in an open space, so I had absolutely no hygiene worries!

Cozy seats divided by curtains

Just looking at the atmosphere, doesn’t it feel so upscale?!!! Every table is divided with curtains like a private room, so you don’t have to worry about the people next to you. Plenty of people come here on first dates, people who are in the flirting stage seem to get along well here, and it’s also popular for team dinners with important guests!!!

When the weather is nice, they sometimes open the windows at seats like this, and with that gentle breeze, your drinks taste properly amazing hahaha. This was my table—so cozy, right?!! The lighting is just right, and the atmosphere makes you focus more closely on each other’s conversation! There are separate men’s and women’s restrooms inside, so nobody has to feel awkward. None at all.

Suksseong Susan says it uses only top-grade fish and ages it at low temperatures, giving it deep umami with no off flavors~ They give you things like abalone, sea cucumber, or croquettes for writing a receipt review, so you absolutely have to do it!!

They also sell lunch menus. I tried the Korean beef yukhoe bibimbap last time, and wow, it was seriously incredible!!! I thought office workers around Jongno could come enjoy a delicious meal somewhere with a nice atmosphere and feel refreshed at lunch for no reason at all!!

Small aged-sashimi platter with gamtae

It was just the start of autumn, so they’d already sold out of fresh shrimpㅠㅠ But this is an aged-sashimi specialist anyway, so we ordered the small aged-sashimi platter, red snow crab innards cream croquettes, and blue crab roe soup!! Naturally, soju too haha. At a place with such a great atmosphere, even the dishes were so pretty that I wanted to ask where they bought them hahaha. The banchan (small side dishes) were green peas, soft tofu, and maybe gat kimchi?

This soft tofu topped with bonito flakes really whetted my appetite before the sashimi.

Ahh~~ Can you see that aged-sashimi presentation?!! Doesn’t it look top quality just in the photos?!! I’ve visited quite a few places in Jongno that claim to be great for aged sashimi, but Suksseong Susan is truly number one among Jongno’s aged-sashimi spots!!!!!!

From the currently trendy ankimo (monkfish liver) to yellowtail and striped beakfish.

There was a whole spread of delicious bites: flounder, salmon, red sea bream, bluefin tuna, sweet shrimp, and more.

When I eat aged sashimi, I sometimes order chodaeri-bap (vinegared rice) and gamtae (a delicate Korean seaweed) to have alongside it. It fills you up, and it’s more than enough for a first round.

I had it in the flounder + white kimchi + seaweed combination that was so hot last year, and the drinks just went down so easily.

Bluefin tuna with gamtae like this was also a totally luxurious-tasting combination!!

I also made the ankimo gimbap (seaweed rice roll) that got popular because of Kang Min-kyung’s YouTube video.

But the fish quality is so good that it melts in your mouth even dipped only in soy sauce. Melts! Of course there are no off flavors, and the umami is absolutely wild. Wild.

Red snow crab innards cream croquettes and blue crab roe soup

The red snow crab cream croquettes look insane too, right?!!! I’m the kind of person who always orders fried food with sashimi!!!

The crispness of the coating was perfect. The rich sauce itself was so delicious.

Can you see how full the croquette is with red snow crab meat?!! One bite and that rich crab fills your whole mouth—it’s heaven.

Even the shishito peppers were so good fried. I mixed them into the croquette sauce and took a bite—such a perfect excuse to call for somaek, soju and beer mixed together.

For aged sashimi, I recommend Seonyang, which has a bit of a sake-like feel, over plain soju!! With sashimi and fried food, what do you need next?! Soup!!! We ordered the blue crab roe soup too!! It was absolutely packed with ingredients. When you gather it all up, isn’t the presentation crazy? They gave us loads of meaty blue crab and innards—I was so full that I actually left crab behindㅠㅠ As I write this post, I’m thinking about those crabs I left againㅠㅠ It was full of roe and gon-i (fish milt), true soju thieves!! It was even better than roe-and-milt soup at some seafood restaurant right by the ocean.

Every dish was so delicious that every friend I bring along says they want to come back. This is my highly recommended repeat spot: Suksseong Susan Jongno Main Branch, the number-one aged-sashimi restaurant in Jongno and Jonggak. Highly, highly recommended~~~~