Daejeon pub by reservation: squid-ink shiitake & chogye noodles, Usul

📌Address 48 Jungang-ro138beon-gil, 1st floor, Unit 109, Jung-gu, Daejeon, South Korea

📌Hours Tue–Sun 11:00–21:00 Last order 20:00 * Closed every Monday

📌Notes Parking available (free for 3 hours in the building's underground lot) Separate men's/women's restrooms, group seating available, Wi-Fi, reservations, corkage possible (fee)

Having come all the way up from Daegu to Daejeon, I hit two wedding-invitation gatherings in one day, haha! This post is about Usul, a fusion Korean restaurant in Daeheung-dong, Daejeon!

I eat pretty much anything, but I really love fusion food, especially 'fusion Korean,' so I was super excited even before visiting. Using the wedding-invite gathering as an excuse, I ate to my heart's content — here's the review!

Booking Usul: the owner even warned us about construction next door

When I made the reservation I mentioned it was for a wedding-invite gathering, and around the time we visited, there was construction happening next door — the owner reached out in advance, worried it might disturb our gathering! So thoughtful, I really appreciated it!!

I figured it wouldn't be that noticeable so I decided to go on the reserved date anyway, and luckily the construction wrapped up before our reservation time, so we had a comfortable gathering! It was quieter than I expected, so I wonder if the owner had a word with the neighbors beforehand, haha.

Usul's entrance in Hangari Geurim and the dining room atmosphere

Looking at the Naver Place address, it said 'hangari geurim' (jar painting) — what does that mean, I wondered...

Turns out it was referring to this little guy, hahahaha. Jar painting, hahaha, so cute, hahaha.

Stepping through the entrance, you're greeted by an emotive space using pebbles and stepping stones in an East Asian garden concept! You can spot the jar friend from inside too, haha.

The view of the restaurant from the entrance!

A cozy space blending wood-tone interiors with soft lighting — I loved the sentimental design that reinterprets traditional elements in a modern way!

Little cute props like these add an East Asian touch that really brings out the mood of the space — if you look closely at the photo on the right, there's a figure of Kkumdori, Daejeon's mascot, which is such an adorable detail!!

What we ordered at Usul and how much it cost

Here's the menu on Naver Place! We ordered

• Gochujang yukhoe with yubu rolls ₩20,900
• Spicy peanut chogye bibimmyeon ₩13,900
• Squid-ink fried shiitake ₩9,900
• Sweet corn shrimp potato pancake ₩18,900
• Basil doenjang cream sujebi ₩14,900

That's what we ordered!!

You order via the kiosk installed at each table — check the notices tab for the restroom password and Wi-Fi password, useful to know!

The kiosk shows photos of each dish, which made it easy to pick!

Usul's drinks and Korean liquor menu

There's also ade in three flavors — green tangerine, omija, and dare (kiwi berry),

and they also sell craft lager on tap, craft IPA on tap, and Saero Omija!

Being a proper fusion Korean dining pub, they also sell traditional Korean liquors!!

• Surok Signature Blend1 700mL ₩250,000
• [Limited] Surok Cask Finish Porto & Madeira 700mL ₩220,000
• Pungjeongsagye Ha 500mL ₩55,000
• Chusa40 200mL ₩50,000
• Dohan Cheongmyeongju 375mL ₩35,000
• Yosae Rosé ₩16,000
• REAL Strawberry Makgeolli (pasteurized) ₩6,000

I'd never even heard of any of these before!

And on top of that, Usul has its own special by-the-glass liquor menu!

• [Limited] Surok Cask Finish Porto & Madeira ₩14,000
• Surok Signature Blend2 ₩13,000
• 53% somaek made with Surok ₩10,000

Ahh, I'm so curious about all of it... if only it weren't a wedding-invite gathering... if only I weren't dieting... ㅠㅠㅠㅠ!!

Next time I'll definitely come back and try one of these special traditional liquors!

Usul's complimentary snacks and cute drinking glasses

The basic side dishes were garlic scapes and baek-kimchi (white kimchi), which go great with Korean-style anju (drinking snacks)!

And when we ordered soju, they gave us this adorable little glass, hahahaha. 'Liquor doesn't make you fat if you sip it in shots'? 'Liquor is sweet, meow'? Hahahaha, so cute!

Since liquor doesn't make you fat, haha, I poured water into the glass instead and drank that ㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎ, so cute.

Gochujang yukhoe with yubu rolls at Usul, 20,900 won

The first dish to arrive was the gochujang yukhoe (raw beef) with yubu (fried tofu skin) rolls!

The visual is seriously no joke!!

You pop the egg yolk on top of the yukhoe and mix it in,

and then top the yubu rolls — filled with sweet-and-tangy fried tofu, aged kimchi, rolled egg, perilla leaves and a bit of rice — with the sweet, savory yukhoe,

and it's seriously, seriously delicious!!!!

Squid-ink fried shiitake, 9,900 won: a fun-textured side at Usul

Next up was the squid-ink fried shiitake! Is the plating meant to look like Jeju basalt rock?!

The squid-ink fried shiitake is a small bite-sized side dish — raw shiitake mushrooms packed with shrimp fish cake and fried crisp in a squid-ink batter.

This is the feeling when you take a bite! The soft shrimp fish cake, the shiitake, and the crispy fried batter all come together for a really fun, delicious texture!

I'm craving it again just writing this — I meant to hold back since it's fried, but it was so good I ate two.

Spicy peanut chogye bibimmyeon with sous-vide chicken breast, 13,900 won

Next was the peanut chogye bibimmyeon (cold spicy mixed noodles)! The plating is so colorful and pretty!

It comes with bibimmyeon in a tangy special sauce that plays up the nuttiness of peanuts, plus sous-vide chicken breast!

The sous-vide chicken breast is so tender you'd never believe it's chicken breast!

The special sauce gives the noodles a peanut aroma and flavor, and I was surprised at how well it worked — much better than I expected!!

Sweet corn shrimp potato pancake, 18,900 won, cut like a pizza

A crispy potato pancake topped with sweet corn, ricotta cheese, and open-flame-grilled shrimp — the sweet corn shrimp potato pancake!

It looks like a really hearty pizza!

So we cut it like a pizza

It was seriously a rare treat — if I weren't dieting I probably could've eaten the whole thing by myself ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Usul's signature basil doenjang cream sujebi, 14,900 won

Lastly, we ordered the basil doenjang cream sujebi (hand-torn dough soup)! Usul's signature dish — soft sujebi simmered in traditional doenjang and milk, topped with basil pesto and house-made jambon!

The basil doenjang cream sujebi smelled amazing! There wasn't any strong doenjang funk at all — just a savory, creamy aroma wafting up!

Such a huge piece of house-made jambon! I tried it and it wasn't salty at all, just clean and delicious!!

The chewy sujebi — my favorite kind of texture — went really, really well with the cream sauce!

Is Usul in Daeheung-dong a good spot for group gatherings?

Usul, a fusion Korean dining pub that was satisfying from the atmosphere down to every single dish! I'd recommend it for dates, family meals, gatherings with friends, and especially for wedding-invitation gatherings!! If you're heading toward Jungang-ro in Daejeon, I definitely recommend giving it a visit!!