Gwanghwamun sushi restaurant that takes Seoul Pay: Elephant Sushi

The breeze has been so nice lately, perfect early-autumn weather for getting out and about! With the weekend here, I finally went out to the Gwanghwamun area after a long while~!

It just so happened this was a day when all sorts of festivals and things to see were happening around Gwanghwamun haha. I checked out the Seoul Art Goods Festival, wandered through the hanbok festival too👀, and after walking around so much I suddenly craved clean, fresh sushi — so I looked up good spots nearby, and this is what I found!🍣

Clean interior, thick slices of sashimi piled on the sushi — this time I visited a Gwanghwamun favorite, Elephant Sushi⭐ Let me walk you through it!

Where is Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun, and what are the hours?

📍 Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun 178 Sejong-daero, B1F KT Gwanghwamun Building West, Jongno-gu, Seoul ⏰ Hours: Daily 11:00–21:00 / Break time 15:00–17:00 🚇 1-minute walk from Exit 2, Gwanghwamun Station 🚗 Parking available (KT Gwanghwamun Building West underground lot) 📌 Reservations available, Wi-Fi, separate men's/women's restrooms, waiting area, high chairs, and more

If you drive, you can park at the KT Gwanghwamun Building underground lot! Register your parking in-store and you get up to 2 hours free~!

How to walk there from Gwanghwamun Station Exit 2

It's only a 1-minute walk from Exit 2 of Gwanghwamun Station on Line 5, so it was really easy to find!

💡 Tip! The restaurant is in the basement of the KT Tower, which connects directly to Exit 2 of Gwanghwamun Station, so you can just go straight there underground! If you're coming from the station, instead of going up through Exit 2, head into the building's basement instead — much more convenient~!

If you're sightseeing near Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Gyeongbokgung, or the King Sejong statue like I was, this is a great place to stop for a meal on the way~! Great accessibility, so it worked well as part of my whole Gwanghwamun outing🍣

Inside Elephant Sushi: seating and the wait at 5pm on a Saturday

The wood-toned interior is so clean and tidy!

I visited around 5pm on a Saturday and there was no wait~! (Visited Saturday, September 12, 2026, around 5pm.) Near the entrance there was a CatchTable waiting machine and chairs set up for anyone who does need to wait!

To the left of the entrance is the counter bar seating, and to the right are 2- and 4-person tables! Having the bar seats means it'd be easy to visit solo without feeling awkward~!👀 There are also high chairs, and coat hooks were handy for hanging up outerwear!

Review events and drinks at Elephant Sushi

☑️ Free 3-piece potato croquette for a Naver review ☑️ Free sake with notification sign-up

I joined the potato croquette review event too🥔haha

Elephant Sushi menu: what's in the Elephant A and Elephant B sets

Sushi sets

I went with two Elephant B sets (12 pieces + cold soba) haha. They said it was the best-seller, so that's what I picked!

🍣 Elephant A Sushi Set｜10 pieces Salad + soup + udon set Comes with 2 pieces of fresh white fish, 2 pieces of salmon, shrimp, tuna, monkfish liver (ankimo), egg, and inari (fried tofu pocket) sushi! 🍣 Elephant B Sushi Set｜12 pieces Salad + soup + udon set Comes with 2 pieces of fresh white fish, salmon, shrimp, blue-backed fish, 2 pieces of tuna, monkfish liver (ankimo), greater amberjack, and striped jack, among others!

À la carte sushi / meal & sashimi sets, specialty dishes, kids' menu, and more

With high chairs and a kids' sushi and pork cutlet option, this looked like a good spot to bring children along! Families should be able to eat comfortably here too!

Drinks, desserts, and more

Tissues and utensils are tucked inside the drawer!

Salad, hot soup and the free potato croquettes

First I wet my throat with some barley tea, then eased into the meal with a nutty salad dressed in black sesame sauce and a bowl of soup. Getting ready to feast, hehe. Filling up on veggies first.

Next up, the hot, freshly-fried croquette from the review event — dug right in!

How the Elephant B 12-piece set tasted: monkfish liver nigiri was the surprise

Here comes the main event! Look at that color, ,, honestly, after 2N+ years of eating everything under the sun, can't you just tell if food's going to be good from how it looks? Meaning: fresh, seriously delicious sushi haha.

What do you all eat first with sushi?? I always go with white fish first!! I eat the lighter white fish first and save the fattier pieces for later haha, kind of my own personal sushi rule ★ And I like to dab ginger into the soy sauce like a brush and swipe it right onto the sushi! Then a little wasabi on top to finish haha. Pretty sushi-savvy, don't you think? ㅎ

The soba was great to pair before and after the sushi! And look how generous these pieces are — the salmon had finely chopped cabbage salad on top, perfect for eating in one bite~! The squid wasn't just plain either, it had leafy greens added on top which made it feel even fresher! And then the monkfish liver nigiri! I'm not usually into that kind of thing, but it turned out way nuttier than expected?! Surprisingly suited my taste and I really enjoyed it haha.

Overall the sushi pieces were all generous and there was more variety than I expected, so it was fun picking through them🍣 The monkfish liver nigiri especially was an unexpected discovery for me haha. A solid spot to stop by for a clean, satisfying meal whenever you're craving sushi around Gwanghwamun! Ended a day of sightseeing with a great meal⭐ Do stop by if you're ever in the Gwanghwamun area.

Paying with Seoul Pay and Wrist Doctor 9988 points

Seoul Pay is accepted too, so if you've been saving up points on Wrist Doctor 9988, it might be a good place to come spend them~!haha Highly, highly recommend it,,,♥