Daegu tuna restaurant for birthday bluefin course: Jongno Darang

A bluefin tuna course in Daegu Jongno for my friend's birthday

It was my friend's birthday recently, you know? We love tuna enough that we once went out for tuna at night while staying in Jeju, haha, so for this birthday we went BIG on tuna!!! It was a birthday, after all~ We found Jongno Darang, a tuna spot said to be hot in Daegu Jongno, and went! We ate until we were absolutely stuffed for ₩50,000 per person!!

The address is Jongno Darang, 46-1 Jongno, Jung-gu, Daegu, South Korea. It is open daily from 3 PM to 1 AM the following day, with last orders at midnight. There is no parking, and it is 239 m from Exit 1 of Jungangno Station.

The atmosphere at Jongno Darang near Jungangno Station

This is the exterior of Jongno Darang! It is super close to Jungangno Station and REALLY close to busy areas including Hyundai Department Store, Myeonggwan Cinema, and Seomun Market!!! It is perfect for meeting up with someone~~

This is the interior of Jongno Darang! I visited around 6 PM on a Sunday, when there were only one or two tables occupied, but once dinner time came around, every seat was totally full?? It really lived up to its reputation as a great sashimi restaurant in Banwoldang!

They brought water over as soon as we sat down! The weather was subtly warm that day, and the water was so cold that I gulped it right down.

Ordering the bluefin tuna course by kiosk

Jongno Darang's menu! You can order from the kiosk at each table. We ordered two bluefin tuna courses at 5.0 each and two Cokes at 0.2 each. We nearly ordered the bluefin tuna plus large flounder course for 4.5, but we are tuna fanatics!! So we ordered straight-up bluefin!!

They give you mochi tofu if you write a receipt review!! You can even check the Wi-Fi from the kiosk at your seat instead of standing up to look for it, which was so convenient!!

The course begins: side dishes and chawanmushi

Jongno Darang's side dishes! First came rakkyo (pickled shallots), pickled green chili peppers, pickled ginger, and baek-kimchi (white kimchi)!! I am still a baby when it comes to understanding pickled ginger, but I really love rakkyo, pickled green chilies, and baek-kimchi~~~~~

Jongno Darang's salad! This salad was really delicious!!! It had Oriental dressing, and the tomatoes did not seem like ordinary cherry tomatoes—they seemed like stevia tomatoes~~ Sweet and so good~ It was a great start, yes yes!

Jongno Darang's chawanmushi (Japanese steamed egg custard)! Think of it as Japanese-style steamed egg! It was so soft and delicious!! It even had crab meat and mushrooms, so the flavor was doubled! It was so silky that I thought I was eating pudding!!!

Next came Jongno Darang's herring roe tofu! I have been to quite a few tuna restaurants because I love tuna, but places that serve herring roe tofu are rare~ For anyone who enjoys a drink, this is perfect drinking food!!

Put the tofu on gim (seaweed), top it with herring roe and one chili, and that is it!! It is incredible! You do not often get to eat herring roe, but eaten this way, it was such a delicacy! I piled it on so diligently that I did not even notice the grains of rice, haha. Please pretend you did not see them ><

Jongno Darang's steamed abalone in sake! It came with the herring roe tofu, and it was a truly special treat. Especially when you dip the abalone deeply into the abalone innards and place it on rice ㅠ-ㅠ It is so delicious!! You will automatically find yourself saying, “Ma'am!~~~ One more serving of abalone innards, please~~”

A plate of bluefin tuna, from throat meat to otoro

Jongno Darang's plate of bluefin tuna! Finally, the star has arrived~~~ But there had already been so much food from the start that I almost did not notice the star arriving~~~ My mouth had been happy from the very beginning! Can you see the color of that plate of bluefin? Ah... writing this blog post is making me want it again ㅠㅠㅠ

Selection: throat meat, navel meat, otoro, chutoro, akami

The owner came over and explained every item to us!! It truly made me feel so well looked after~~

Recommended order: throat meat → navel meat → akami → chutoro → otoro

They recommended eating in this order, starting from the middle and working outward!

The chewy throat meat and navel meat

Starting with Jongno Darang's throat meat! Throat meat is a special cut with a chewy texture, you know?? This cut was really delicious!!

Next was Jongno Darang's navel meat! The tastiest cut that comes to mind when you think of tuna! Navel meat!!! That nutty, rich flavor is still lingering with me..!!!

Akami sushi and the baek-kimchi pairing

Next was Jongno Darang's akami! Akami had a soft, clean flavor! I put it on rice and made sushi! They went so, so well together!

Then Jongno Darang's chutoro. Chutoro was on the lighter side for tuna, but richer than akami? It went extremely well with baek-kimchi!! I recommend this combination ><

The otoro sushi you absolutely have to make

Lastly, Jongno Darang's otoro. After navel meat, otoro is one of my very, very favorite cuts~ I love otoro because it is so rich and seems to melt in your mouth!! And Jongno Darang's otoro was incredibly delicious!!!! Ah... I am still salivating ㅠㅠ Make otoro sushi, please please please!!! Truly, out of every possible combination, otoro sushi is my top recommendation!!!!!

From soup to assorted tempura, the dishes kept coming

Jongno Darang's clear soup! It cut through the richness!! When you start getting tired of tuna, take a sip of soup~~ What more is there to say!!!

Jongno Darang's yakisoba! Food just kept coming, so I was like, what on earth is this place? When is it going to stop! Hahahahaha. The yakisoba!!! It was sooooo delicious! There is no need to go to Japan! Come to Jongno Darang and you can get a real taste of Japan~ Good things deserve one more photo! Both the texture and flavor of these yakisoba noodles were exactly my style!! I had been wanting yakisoba!! I never thought I would have such a chance encounter at Jongno Darang.

Jongno Darang's grilled collar meat. They said this grilled collar meat tastes best when eaten hot! They prepare it right in front of you so it is easy to eat! All I had to do was eat it while it was hot~ It was tender and delicious!! Personally! It was already seasoned to some extent, so it was good even without the salt they gave us~

Next came Jongno Darang's mulhoe (chilled raw-fish soup)! It seemed like they serve ramen in winter and mulhoe in summer!! The mulhoe was seriously so delicious... but by this point I was so full that I could not even finish it all!

Lastly came Jongno Darang's assorted tempura! It really had to be the last dish. I said, “I have no more room left in me,” hahaha. I took a bite of tempura, and it was delicious even though I was full!!!!! The sweet pumpkin was my favorite. My friend said the shishito pepper was delicious!! The eel was plump too!! But because of the fullness situation, we could not finish it and packed it up~~~~🪽

Restroom amenities and takeaway information

This is Jongno Darang's restroom! They had hair ties and mouthwash stocked in there, you know?? My friend and I said, “That is so thoughtful~~” and took turns using the mouthwash!

If you need to charge your phone, you can do so at the counter. There is a bell there too, so ring it if a staff member does not come over~~~~ A Japanese poster displayed at Jongno Darang! It was tastier than Japanese food I had eaten in actual Japan~~~~ I mean~~ this is a great sashimi restaurant in Banwoldang!!!! How could it not be delicious~~~~

And here is the assorted tempura, all neatly packed up~~~ If you get too full, do not push yourself—just ask for it to be packed up!