Gwanak sushi omakase with Dassai 23 corkage allowed: Sushi Ryeo

I was curious about the price and the course lineup at Sushi Ryeo near Seoul National University Station, so I went and I'm giving you the honest review here.

• Address: 서울 관악구 봉천로 456 202호
• Hours: Mon–Sun 12:00–22:00
• Break time: 15:00–17:30
• Last order: 20:30

Hi, this is Nodimon. Today it's Sushi Ryeo, a well-known restaurant near Seoul National University Station. Let me tell you what I actually thought while eating there.

Where is Sushi Ryeo, and where do you park?

Sushi Ryeo is a sushi omakase restaurant on the 2nd floor of the building at 456 Bongcheon-ro, near Seoul National University Station. Parking is available for free — there's a mechanical lift and separate open spaces on the left side of the building. This was a great spot for a date near Seoul National University Station, just like us — let's get started on this Sushi Ryeo review!

You can't really see it from outside since it's tucked inside the building. But from the building exterior, you can tell it's on the 2nd floor.

Next, parking. There's a mechanical lift and a separate open lot on the left side of the building, and parking is free — good to know.

This is the entrance to Sushi Ryeo. There's a Blue Ribbon award sticker at the door — they've received it for 9 years running, so it's a trustworthy place.

Inside Sushi Ryeo: counter seats and the private room

The interior has a wood-tone look with cozy lighting. The whole space was clean and tidy, which I really liked.

There's a spot on one side to hang your coat or bag, which is convenient.

Besides the counter seats, there are table seats too, so you can dine comfortably with whoever you came with.

What I liked even more about Sushi Ryeo was that they have a private room — quiet and private, perfect for gatherings too. Inside, there's also a spot to hang coats and bags.

Sushi Ryeo menu, prices and the corkage fee

Ryeo's basic menu has just two options: lunch omakase (₩50,000) and dinner omakase (₩100,000). The order goes: chawanmushi > tsumami > suimono > grilled dish > sushi > kaisendon (seafood rice bowl) > tempura > soba > dessert.

Beyond that, there's also à la carte sushi and a sushi box (₩45,000).

Next, drinks. Being a sushi place, they have sake ready, including our favorite, Dassai 45.

Besides sake, they also have soju, wine, highballs, several domestic drinks, and beer. Corkage is also possible, at ₩25,000. Since it was a special day for us, we brought our own bottle of Dassai 23.

What we ordered: the 21-course September omakase

Our order at Sushi Ryeo today: dinner omakase (₩100,000) for two, two extra sea urchin + sweet shrimp add-ons (₩9,000), and corkage for our Dassai 23 (₩25,000).

At Sushi Ryeo, the menu changes depending on that month's seasonal seafood and circumstances, and even the number of courses varies. When we went, it was September, and including dessert, a full 21 courses came out.

Chawanmushi and tsumami starters

First up was chawanmushi — think of it as Japanese-style steamed egg custard.

Inside was shrimp and mushroom — the shrimp was plump and the mushroom's aroma was incredible. Two mushroom-related dishes came out that day, and both had wonderful fragrance.

The chawanmushi had a pudding-like texture and softness, with the savory, clean taste of egg plus the mushroom aroma coming through.

We put the Dassai 23 we'd brought into an ice bucket they set up for us — that's the kind of service they provide.

Next came a tsumami of flounder tossed with konowata (sea cucumber intestines).

You could taste the flounder's texture along with the savory umami of the sea cucumber intestines and a real ocean fragrance. This is when we started drinking the sake — wow, sake really has to be paired with seafood, haha, I'm getting emotional just thinking about it.

Sashimi: tuna belly and greater amberjack

Next, sashimi arrived. Starting with tuna belly!

They recommended eating the tuna belly with a generous amount of wasabi on top. You might think, wait, isn't that a lot? But it's not spicy! And the tuna itself — no need to say more, it was superb.

Next was greater amberjack, served with a sauce on top — they recommended adding just a touch of wasabi for this one.

The amberjack was soft with just the right amount of fat, and it blended beautifully with the flavor and umami of the sauce on top — I loved it.

Mozuku, steamed abalone in liver sauce and suimono

Next was mozuku (seaweed), great for waking up the appetite. It came topped with whelk and cherry tomatoes.

The tangy, refreshing flavor was really nice, and it felt like it reset my palate. It paired especially well with the sake.

Next up, feels like the true start of the omakase — steamed abalone with liver sauce. The rich, deep flavor of the liver sauce combined with the soft, umami-packed abalone was so good.

Next was suimono, a clear soup that helps cleanse the palate partway through.

Inside were shrimp and mushroom, and the mushroom especially had an incredible aroma — turns out it was wild pine mushroom, we found out when we asked.

The sushi course paired with Dassai 23

By the time the sushi started coming out, the Dassai 23 had chilled to just the right cool temperature, so we enjoyed the sushi together with the sake.

First was clean, savory red sea bream. It was well-aged, chewy, with fantastic umami, and after we tried it, they thoughtfully asked whether the rice amount and seasoning were to our liking — a nice touch of attentiveness.

Next was Japanese jack mackerel, famously one of Japan's favorite fish. I personally love it too. It has a clean flavor with just the right fattiness, a taste you can't find in other fish.

Then came cuttlefish with a fantastic chewiness — bouncy texture with subtle sweetness and clean flavor. It was topped with salt.

Our favorite as a couple — sweet shrimp with sea urchin. Just looking at the photo makes me want it again — the sweet, rich flavor of the shrimp with the umami and briny depth of the urchin had us drinking sake nonstop, haha.

The biggest surprise was the silver cod with miso sauce. I don't actually like cod, but wow — you really need to try this. The clean flavor of the silver cod paired so well with the miso sauce.

It matched especially well with the clean Dassai 23 — I almost wanted to learn the recipe and make it at home. Please teach me, haha.

Next, the star of sushi, right?! Tuna belly. No need to say more — the flavor of the tuna, the richness of the fat, the wasabi — all wonderful.

Next was herring, which apparently takes a lot of prep work. Herring feels like an upscale saury, if that makes sense. The fattiness, cleanness, and its distinctive texture and flavor were great as sushi.

Grilled thornyhead, pufferfish tempura and kaisendon (sashimi rice bowl)

Then came grilled thornyhead (red fish). Even though it's a whitefish, it's known for its rich fattiness, which makes it delicious. Thornyhead is great in hot pot rice, grilled, as sushi, in soup — anything.

Then, tempura pufferfish. It might seem unfamiliar, but it has a texture like dense cod, clean flavor with firm, chewy flesh. Pairing this with beer — ahh, so good.

Next, kaisendon. It includes tuna, salmon roe, and sea urchin — they recommend mixing it up and wrapping it in seaweed to eat. The clean savoriness of the tuna, the richness of the sea urchin, and the umami and texture of the salmon roe were all excellent.

Next, conger eel sushi. The soft flesh, subtle sweetness, and savory fat came through, made even better by the sweet-salty sauce.

Next, marking the finale, tamago (Japanese egg omelet). Think of it as a dessert-like rolled egg — sweet and soft egg flavor.

Finally, we added another round of sweet shrimp with sea urchin and finished off our sake with it. Sweet shrimp with urchin really is the best, haha.

Soba and ice cream to finish

And for the last dish, soba to fill us up~

For dessert, you can choose between mango ice cream and matcha ice cream — since there were two of us, we each picked one.

The tangy, sweet mango ice cream was perfect to end on, and the matcha ice cream had great matcha flavor with just the right sweetness, plus some chocolate pieces mixed in, which I liked.

Is Sushi Ryeo worth it, and who should book?

Sushi Ryeo, a favorite near Seoul National University Station.

• Anyone looking for a good restaurant near Seoul National University Station
• Anyone looking for sushi near Seoul National University Station
• Anyone looking for well-priced sushi omakase
• Anyone looking for a date spot near Seoul National University Station
• Anyone who wants a special place and special food for a special day