Gwanghwamun sushi restaurant with a 12-piece set: Elephant Sushi

I went out in Seoul for the first time in a while and visited a great sushi spot. It is close to Gwanghwamun Station, so it is easy to get to, and above all, the quality of the sushi made by the chef is incredible. If you are looking for quality sushi in Seoul, I recommend Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun.

How to get to Elephant Sushi from Gwanghwamun Station

It is in the basement of KT Tower, connected to Exit 2 of Gwanghwamun Station. Since it is directly connected to the subway station, it is perfect if you are looking for sushi around Gwanghwamun Station.

• B1 B109-5, 178 Sejong-daero, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea (서울 종로구 세종대로 178 지하 1층 B109-5호)
• Daily 11:00–21:00
• Break time 15:00–17:00
• 2 hours of parking support at the KT Gwanghwamun Branch underground parking lot

Being connected to Gwanghwamun Station definitely made it easy to come here. It has an underground food-court feel. Maybe because it is known as a Gwanghwamun Station sushi place, there were really a lot of customers.

There are two-person tables, four-person tables, and bar seats, so there is plenty of variety.

There are sushi sets, individual pieces, meal dishes, sashimi, sides, and a children's menu.

There are alcoholic drinks, takeout, and desserts too. I liked that there were lots of choices beyond sushi, including assorted sashimi, kaisendon (seafood rice bowl), and karaage. I photographed all the menu pages, so take a look.

Ordering Elephant B and ika geso karaage

• Elephant B (12 pieces + cold soba), ₩28,000
• Ika geso karaage, ₩10,000

The basic sides are salad and soup. Each table has soy sauce and rakkyo (pickled scallion bulbs).

Elephant Set B for enjoying several kinds of fish

Elephant Set B lets you enjoy several kinds of fish: two pieces of white fish, salmon, shrimp, blue-backed fish, two pieces of tuna, ankimo (monkfish liver), amberjack, and shima aji (striped jack), among others.

It also includes a small portion of soba.

The flounder I ate first had thick, fresh slices of fish. Sometimes the rice portion is so small that a sushi meal does not feel filling, but this had just the right balance.

The tuna akami was clearly different, perhaps because it was low-temperature aged in the traditional sushi style. The second white fish was pleasantly chewy and thick. Since the Elephant B set is mostly fish-topped sushi, I was definitely very satisfied.

The second tuna was so glossy~~ You can tell it looks soft and delicious, right? It melted so gently in my mouth. Every piece of fish was in excellent condition. It is not overly fatty and has a fairly springy texture, so I think anyone can enjoy it.

The soy-marinated shrimp was plump and nicely salty.

The spear squid has a shiso herb sauce, whose aroma really blooms and could divide opinions. I personally thought it paired well, but I told my partner, who does not like strong aromas, to scrape some off before eating it.

The salmon is topped with an onion-mayo salad, which brings out its flavor even more.

It is lightly seared with a torch on top, so you can really taste that smoky flavor. Personally, I thought the flame-grilled flavor handled the slight fishiness well. The sauce on top is the kicker.

It was beautifully glossy and very well aged.

The ankimo, or monkfish liver, was rich and not very fishy.

A big futomaki (thick sushi roll) tastes best eaten in one bite. I considered it the highlight, so I saved it for last. All the different flavors came together at once and filled my mouth. Its large size definitely made it even more satisfying.

The must-order ika geso karaage

The ika geso karaage is ₩10,000. It is fried squid tentacles, and honestly, this is a side you absolutely have to order. It came out freshly fried and crisp, and it was such a specialty that they could practically run a fried-squid shop.

Notification-follow and review-event perks

Follow their notifications and you can get one glass of sake; the review event gives you three potato croquettes.

I joined the review event!! They came out freshly fried and were so crispy, while the inside was full of soft potato. The crunch and softness were a dream combination.

Since you can receive them for free, I definitely recommend joining the receipt review event.

The two of us each had a plate of sushi plus sides, and we were almost bursting haha. Since every piece is fish-topped sushi, I thought ₩28,000 for a 12-piece set was great value.