Jongno sashimi restaurant with cut name tags: Suksseong Susan

I went back to Jongno's Street of Youth after a while. That day I was looking for somewhere to enjoy tasty sashimi with a shot of soju and chat comfortably, and ended up at Suksseong Susan Jongno Main Branch near Jongak Station.

These days, sitting close to other tables at a sashimi restaurant can make me a bit self-conscious about talking, but I liked that this place has room-style seating. We ordered aged sashimi, grilled shrimp, and a few side dishes, and ate leisurely.

How to find Suksseong Susan Jongno Main Branch from Jongak Station exit 4

Suksseong Susan Jongno Main Branch is tucked inside the main alley of the Street of Youth, a short walk from Jongak Station exit 4 toward Cheonggyecheon. It's quite close to the exit, so walking there isn't a hassle at all.

It's on the 3rd floor of the building, but the big yellow sign for a beer hall on the first floor made it easy to find even on my first visit.

On weekdays from 11am to 2pm, they also sell lunch sets like kaisendon set, Hanwoo yukhoe bibimbap, and chicken nanban set. Since there are so many office workers around Jongno, I imagine plenty of people stop by for lunch too. I visited in the evening this time, so I'll save the lunch menu for next time — straight into the restaurant we go!

What the curtained private room seats are like

Inside, the lighting was soft and the wood tones gave the place a calm mood overall. What I liked most was the room-style seating — the space is separated by tall partitions and curtains, so you can talk without worrying much about the next table.

When people think of drinking in Jongno, a loud, bustling place usually comes to mind first, but I thought this kind of atmosphere near Jongak Station works well too. It seems good for dates or a quiet chat with one other person, and it'd also suit a bigger group.

Suksseong Susan says they fully bleed the fish and then age it at low temperature for 24–36 hours before serving.

I was curious how aged sashimi differs from regular live-fish sashimi in texture and flavor, and I noticed a separate aging fridge on one side of the restaurant. Seeing large fish actually hanging upside down while aging got me quietly excited even before the sashimi arrived.

What two people ordered: small aged sashimi and salt-grilled shrimp

We ordered the small size of aged sashimi and salt-grilled shrimp, which are in season right now. At first I wasn't sure this would be enough for two, but in the end we walked out very full.

The free starter at Suksseong Susan: soft tofu with half a bottle of soju

After a short wait, the complimentary starter came out first — soft tofu topped with bonito flakes and sauce, and it was surprisingly delicious.

The soft tofu paired so well with the salty bonito flakes that I kept reaching for more even before the sashimi arrived. Honestly, I think we went through half a bottle of soju on this tofu alone before the main dish even showed up, haha. It also came with green peas and pickled side dishes, which was a nice light way to start drinking.

Small aged sashimi platter: every slice comes with a cut name tag

And finally, the aged sashimi arrived. The slices were arranged neatly over round stones and on plates, and the first thing that caught my eye was that each piece had its own label. Someone unfamiliar with sashimi types might just eat without noticing, but with each cut labeled, it was fun to check them off one by one. I'd worried the small size might be too little for two people, but that worry turned out to be unfounded.

The slices were cut quite thick, so as a drinking snack for two, the portion was more generous than expected. The variety was great too.

There was red seabream with the chewy skin left on, glossy salmon, thick-cut olive flounder, bluefin tuna, and jack mackerel — quite a variety. Alongside these came sweet shrimp, raw shrimp, flying fish roe, and various sauces, so we could mix and match.

First I tried the most basic way — a dab of wasabi dipped in soy sauce. Because the slices were thick, the texture was noticeably firm from the first bite. Chewy but not tough, and the savory fish flavor built up the more I chewed. Being aged sashimi, it had a texture distinctly different from live-fish sashimi, and personally I really liked this chewy bite.

I tried the bluefin tuna wrapped in seaweed — a thick piece of tuna topped with wasabi, radish sprouts, and flying fish roe, all in one bite, and the soju just kept flowing.

The tuna's savory richness paired with the pop of the flying fish roe — a perfect drinking snack. You know how one bite of something like this makes the next sip of soju taste extra sweet, haha.

Seasonal shrimp grilled on coarse salt

Once we'd made good progress on the aged sashimi, the salt-grilled shrimp arrived. It's grilled by placing raw shrimp over a bed of coarse salt, and even before the lid came off, you could hear the shrimp flapping inside, haha.

After a while, steam started rising and the shrimp turned an appetizing orange as they cooked. Waiting for this part is oddly fun too.

The staff also brought cotton gloves and plastic gloves, which made it easy to peel the hot shrimp shells. Once well cooked, we peeled them one by one with the gloves on. Eating them fresh off the heat, the meat was plump and sweet.

Dipped in chojang (vinegar-chili sauce), it was a familiar but still delicious combo. If the sashimi was cold and chewy, the shrimp was warm and plump, so alternating between the two worked really well.

Red snow crab innard cream croquette, finished even when full

Last, we ordered the red king crab innard cream croquette. Honestly, we were already pretty full when we ordered it, but seeing how it looked, we just couldn't skip it, haha. The big croquette came topped generously with tartar sauce and a rosé-colored sauce, with fried cheongyang peppers on the side.

Cutting the croquette in half revealed a generous filling of red king crab innards and cream inside. Crispy outside, soft and moist inside. The distinctive savory, rich flavor of crab innards came through strongly, and eating it with the sauce and fried peppers helped cut through the richness. Even full, we ended up finishing this one too, haha.

Of everything we ate that day, this croquette surprisingly stuck with me the most. If I come back, even if I order something else, I think I'd get this again.

Free corkage rules and parking near Suksseong Susan

Suksseong Susan also runs a corkage-free policy. It applies only to alcohol not sold in the restaurant — wine, sake, traditional liquor, whiskey, gaoliang, etc. — and you can bring in up to 5 bottles based on one bottle per person. However, liquor that the store sells isn't eligible for corkage-free and costs ₩20,000 per bottle, so keep that in mind before visiting.

There's no parking lot in the building, so if you're driving, you'll need to use an outside lot. Nearby options include the Gwancheol-dong public street parking and the Miryeo Building private lot, so it's worth checking ahead if you're bringing a car.

Is Suksseong Susan good for a quiet drink over aged sashimi in Jongno?

When looking for a place to drink in the middle of Jongno, most spots are loud and bustling, so I really liked that Suksseong Susan, which I visited this day, let us talk comfortably in a private room.

The aged sashimi came in a wide variety, and with the salt-grilled shrimp and red king crab innard cream croquette on top, it was a quite generous spread for two as drinking snacks. The labeled cuts of sashimi also made it fun to check off each one as we ate.

If you're looking for somewhere in Jongno to talk quietly over aged sashimi and a drink, this is worth a visit. Next time, I'd like to try the other aged sashimi menu items I didn't get to that day.

Suksseong Susan Jongno Main Branch: address, hours and menu

• Address: 3F, 16 Samil-daero 19-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul (285m from Jongak Station exit 4)
• Hours: Weekdays 11:00–24:00 (last order 23:00)
• Weekends 12:00–24:00 (last order 23:00), open daily