Daejeon Korean restaurant for gochujang yukhoe: Usul

A creative Korean meal near Sungsimdang

One place I never skip on a trip to Daejeon is Sungsimdang. After stopping by for some bread shopping, it was suddenly dinner time, so we looked for somewhere nearby to eat. This time, we visited Usul (우슬), a great fusion Korean restaurant near Sungsimdang.

It’s five minutes from Sungsimdang, right next to the Daehung-dong church!

I usually love Korean food, but rather than dishes that are too familiar, I tend to prefer food with a slightly more inventive take on it. That’s why I checked out the menu and came here.

Usul is open from 11 AM to 9 PM, with last orders at 8 PM. (Closed Mondays.)

A relaxed interior in deep wood tones

The restaurant isn’t large, but the high ceiling and generous space between tables made it feel relaxed. Its deep wood and changhoji, traditional Korean paper, suited a fusion Korean restaurant so well—the atmosphere was really lovely!

Inside, there are tables for two and four, plus bar seats that are great for dining alone.

The three dishes we ordered for two

Here’s what the two of us ordered!

• Gochujang yukhoe and yubu mari — ₩19,900
• Clear Yangban gomtang — ₩10,900
• Shiitake ink fritters — ₩9,900

Those shiitake ink fritters looked so good that we ordered three dishes including a side, and it was a choice I didn’t regret. All three beautifully presented dishes arrived almost at once! The complimentary sides were pickled garlic scapes and aged kimchi, a combination that went nicely with the dishes.

The memorable gochujang yukhoe

My personal standout among everything we ordered that day was the gochujang yukhoe (Korean raw beef tartare). Ordinary yukhoe brings to mind a light, nutty flavor based on soy sauce or sesame oil, but Usul’s version had the savory depth and spicy flavor distinctive to gochujang.

That said, it wasn’t very spicy—just pleasantly spicy with lots of savory flavor :) Mixing in the egg yolk made it wonderfully rich, and it was also delicious topped with a little aged kimchi and wasabi! The yubu mari that came with it let us enjoy aged kimchi and egg wrapped in perilla leaf, with a little rice and sweetly seasoned tofu pouch. Wrapping it gently in that perilla leaf was such a genius touch! The sweet-and-salty balance of the tofu pouch and aged kimchi, together with the fragrance of the perilla leaf, was so good.

Six pieces of shiitake ink fritters

These are the shiitake ink fritters we ordered as a side because we were curious. First, I was startled by the portion haha. I mean, at only ₩9,900, I expected two or three pieces—but there were a whopping six! It could practically count as a main dish?! Such incredible value. The shiitake mushrooms were combined with shrimp fish cake and a squid-ink batter, so every bite was nutty, tender, and crisp, with a lovely mix of textures. They were also fantastic with the wasabi mayo sauce that came alongside!

Clear gomtang that pairs well with seasoned dishes

It would be a shame to leave out a soup dish with a Korean meal. We ordered the clear Yangban gomtang (beef soup) as a meal dish, and as its name suggests, the broth was clear and clean-tasting. It was lighter than a rich, hearty gomtang, which made it easy to enjoy alongside the other dishes. In particular, sipping the warm, clean broth between bites of seasoned food like the gochujang yukhoe made the combination work even better. It was less distinctive than the other dishes, but gomtang is still a good choice if you want a satisfying meal with rice!

They also serve refreshing barley tea, and this was just the right strength and so clean-tasting too! A restaurant known even for its water :)

A thoughtful finish to dinner

There was a separate clothes rack by the entrance, and when we were leaving, I noticed they had thoughtfully set out disposable mouthwash and hair ties too.

We took two disposable mouthwashes and were able to finish on a refreshing note :) We had such a satisfying, great-value dinner of three dishes for ₩40,000. The space was so clean and pleasant that I think it would be great for a family gathering or a date too! If you want a slightly special fusion Korean meal around Daejeon Jungangno Station, I highly recommend Usul!