Jongak Station sushi: brushing soy sauce with ginger, Choe Uyeong

Choe Uyeong Sushiya Jongno Branch review start!

I was wondering what to eat for lunch near Jongak Station when I suddenly craved sushi 🍣 I'd heard the quality-to-price ratio here was great, and 17 pieces of premium sushi for 33,000 won really is a steal!

Choe Uyeong Sushiya Jongno Branch: location, hours and parking

• 📍 Location: 7 Jongno 5-gil, B1 Unit 104, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• ⏰ Hours: Daily 11:00-21:30 (break 15:00-17:00 / last order 21:00)
• 🚘 Parking: 2 hours free in the building's parking lot

Come out of Jongak Station and walk into this building. There are lots of offices around, so I'd guess it gets packed with office workers at lunchtime. You need to go down to the basement, just so you know!

Choe Uyeong Sushiya is on B1, and there are several other restaurants on the same floor.

Walk down the basement corridor and Choe Uyeong Sushiya is right there!

The knife-wielding silhouette sign is a nice touch. There's a tuna belly photo next to it too, so I was already drooling before I even walked in 🤤

How much are the sushi sets and kaisendon?

Choe Uyeong Sushiya Jongno Branch's sushi sets range from mixed 12pcs at 13,000 won up to premium 17pcs at 33,000 won. Kaisendon is 14,000 won mixed, 19,000 won special, 25,000 won top.

• <Sushi sets> Mixed sushi 12pcs ₩13,000
• Special sushi 15pcs ₩19,000
• Top sushi 16pcs ₩27,000
• Premium sushi 17pcs ₩33,000
• Beef brisket fire sushi 5pcs ₩9,500
• <Kaisendon> Mixed ₩14,000 / Special ₩19,000 / Top ₩25,000

Besides the sets, there's also à la carte sushi from 1,000 to 3,000 won, so you can pick and choose only what you want. I really liked this setup!

Inside the restaurant: bar seats and tablet ordering

The inside is clean and bright. There's a bar-style seating area plus table seats, and quite a few people were dining solo!

Each bar seat has its own individual ordering tablet.

Ginger and pickled radish come as a basic side, so you can help yourself to as much as you want. The à la carte sushi is grouped by price from 1,000 won to 3,000 won. Handy tip: there are photos of everything, so it was easy to choose 👍🏻

Ordering two 17-piece premium sushi sets and shrimp tempura udon

We ordered two 33,000-won premium sushi sets (17 pieces each) plus 6,000-won shrimp tempura udon.

Tuna belly, sea urchin, abalone, monkfish liver, freshwater eel, crab meat gunkan, negitoro gunkan, egg, and halibut fin — with a lineup like this in 17 pieces, I couldn't believe it was only 33,000 won..🫢

How to eat sushi: brushing soy sauce with a slice of ginger

Don't dip the rice in soy sauce — use ginger like a brush to lightly dab soy sauce onto the fish side only, so the rice grains don't fall apart⭐️

The 17-piece premium sushi set, piece by piece

In order: red sea bream, salmon, tuna belly, and sea urchin sauce over raw shrimp. The red sea bream was prepared with the skin left on, so it had a nice chewy texture. The salmon was clean and soft, melting in my mouth. Look at that marbling on the tuna belly.. the fat spreads instantly the second it hits your mouth and just melts away. On the right is the sea urchin sauce raw shrimp — the sweet chewiness of the raw shrimp topped with the deep ocean flavor of sea urchin was truly a delicacy.

The lightly seared scallop aburi sushi has a subtle smoky char that makes the sweetness even stronger. On the right is abalone — scored finely so it wasn't tough, just chewy in a good way. There's a reason monkfish liver is called the foie gras of the sea. Rich and creamy.. personally it reminded me of canned tuna! Delicious. The bluefin tuna was clean and light, great as a palate cleanser in between.

Sea urchin gunkan!! Full of uni haha. The seaweed aroma rises along with the sweetness of the sea urchin, and it's the perfect finishing piece! Halibut fin (engawa) has an appealing chewy texture. The egg sushi comes with the surface lightly seared, sweet and great as a final bite. The freshwater eel was also brushed with sauce and grilled — really good haha.

6,000-won shrimp tempura udon with three shrimp

The shrimp tempura udon we ordered alongside. At this price it comes with a whopping three pieces of shrimp tempura!!

The tempura was bigger and tastier than I expected><

Is Choe Uyeong Sushiya Jongno Branch worth it?

17 pieces of premium sushi for 33,000 won, including tuna belly, sea urchin, abalone and monkfish liver — this really is top-tier value for money. The building's 2 hours of free parking also makes it easy to visit by car. If you're looking for a lunch or group dinner spot around Jongak Station or Gwanghwamun, I highly recommend this place~!