Hongdae sushi restaurant with sesame-oil tuna, no wait: Yu Iksang

A place to visit in Hongdae, a sushi spot worth knowing in Hongdae — Yu Iksang Sushi

I met a friend in Hongdae after a while and we spent time window shopping. A little past lunch time, we started getting hungry. We debated what to eat, but since we both love sushi, we decided without hesitation to go for sushi again this time.

Where is Yu Iksang Sushi in Hongdae?

While deciding where to go for sushi with my friend, Yu Iksang Sushi in Hongdae came to mind. It's long been known as a great sushi spot in Hongdae, so we trusted it and went. It has good ratings and lots of reviews, so I'd already marked it as a place to try. It's about a 10-minute walk from Hongik University Station, so easy to find.

Is there a wait on a weekday afternoon? Seats and atmosphere

We were able to walk right in as soon as we arrived at the door. Luckily we were seated without any wait at all~ Maybe because it was a weekday afternoon, tables turned over fast so there was no waiting time!

There were counter (dachi) seats as well as table seats, and we chose a table. With counter seats available, solo diners looked comfortable staying without feeling self-conscious.

Ordering at Yu Iksang Sushi on the tablet menu

Once seated, we checked out the tablet menu. There were various set menus, and since you could see exactly what ingredients came in each set at a glance, ordering was easy.

The menu lineup was varied enough that choosing was half the fun, and we went with the Couple A Plus set~ It was a satisfying, well-packed combo that let us try a bit of everything.

Couple A Plus (26 pieces), ₩56,000

What comes in the Couple A Plus set (26 pieces)?

Couple A Plus is made up of raw fish sushi and grilled (aburi) sushi — we got 4 pieces of flounder, 2 salmon, 4 tuna, 2 grilled rolls, 2 garlic mackerel aburi, 4 garlic shrimp aburi, 2 tamago aburi, 2 beef, 2 baby octopus aburi, and 2 scallop aburi.

Soba came out with it too, which was nice as a side. The broth wasn't too salty and had just the right balance — good! I mixed in a bit of wasabi and it tasted even better.

Two pieces of shrimp tempura also came as a side, and my friend and I each ate one while they were still hot. The batter was thin with little oil, so it wasn't greasy at all.

How do the sesame-oil tuna and aged-kimchi flounder sushi taste?

We tried the plated sushi pieces one by one.

The flounder was chewy and the tuna's savory flavor spread through the mouth — we could really taste each ingredient's natural character.

Sweet aged kimchi (묵은지) was placed on top of the flounder sushi, which made the flavor even richer. My personal best pick was the flounder sushi!

The tuna sushi seemed to have roasted sesame seeds and sesame oil brushed on top, which gave it a strong nutty flavor. The tuna's natural richness paired really well with the sesame oil aroma.

The quality of the fish for the price was great, and the portion was massive~~ Eating together, we got so full we had to scrape off some of the rice.

Brush-on soy sauce and the complimentary eggplant tempura

By the way, the sushi tails were long, so you brush soy sauce on with a small brush — brushing it on meant the sauce coated evenly, giving a consistent flavor throughout, which I liked~

Partway through the meal, the owner came by and gave every table a complimentary eggplant tempura. It was crispy outside and moist inside — a real treat! It comes out hot, so eat it as soon as you get it.

Overall the set was so generous that we left completely full. If you're craving sushi in Hongdae, go check out Yu Iksang Sushi!