Jongno sushi restaurant with sea cucumber gunkan: Choe Uyeong Sushiya

I was looking for somewhere to eat dinner near Jongak Station and suddenly craved sushi, so I ended up here — Choe Uyeong Sushiya Jongno Branch. I went around 7pm on a Saturday, and customers kept walking in the whole time I was eating. After tasting the food, I understood why haha.

The sushi overall had thick cuts of fish, the cuttlefish sashimi was 10,000 won, and the udon topped with three pieces of shrimp tempura was 6,000 won but came in a generous portion. On top of that, corkage was only 3,000 won a bottle. I found a great-value spot near Jongak Station, good for a proper meal or a drink with some sashimi.

Choe Uyeong Sushiya Jongno Branch: address and opening hours

• 📍 7 Jongno 5-gil, B1 Unit 104, Jongno-gu, Seoul
• ⏰ Open daily 11:00–21:30
• ⏰ Break time 15:00–17:00
• ⏰ Last order 21:00
• 🚗 2 hours free parking at Tower8
• 🍾 Corkage ₩3,000 per bottle

How to walk there from Jongak Station exit 1

Choe Uyeong Sushiya Jongno Branch is about 235m from exit 1 of Jongak Station, in the basement of Tower8. The first time you go, the entrance can be a little confusing since it's underground. Come out of exit 1 and walk straight, and you'll see a Baskin Robbins. Go in between the Baskin Robbins and the Banapresso, and you'll find the entrance down to Tower8's basement. Head down to B1 and look left — there's Choe Uyeong Sushiya right there.

At about 235m from exit 1, it's pretty accessible. If you're driving, you can use the Tower8 parking lot, which currently offers 2 hours free.

How big is the restaurant, and can you eat alone?

The restaurant itself isn't huge. That said, the tables weren't packed too close together, so it wasn't uncomfortable during the meal. There are also bar-style counter seats on one side, good for sitting alone, so it looked like a solid option for Jongno office workers to eat solo at lunch or after work. We visited at 7pm on a Saturday, and people kept coming in the whole time we were eating.

Ordering and paying at the table

Ordering is convenient too. Select your menu on the tablet at the table → order → pay right away, and that's it. No need to flag down staff, which was nice. Takeout customers can order separately at the kiosk by the entrance!!

We first ordered the premium sushi set for 33,000 won, the top sushi set for 27,000 won, cuttlefish sashimi for 10,000 won, and a small bottle of sake. Partway through, we craved something with broth, so we added the shrimp tempura udon for 6,000 won!

Premium set (33,000 won) vs top set (27,000 won): both tried

The premium sushi set is 17 pieces for 33,000 won, and the top sushi set is 16 pieces for 27,000 won. Ordering both to compare, the base composition was similar, but the premium set added pieces using sea urchin roe and ankimo (monkfish liver).

So, to sum it up simply from my perspective: if value matters most, go for the top set. If you want to try a bit more premium ingredients, go for the premium set. I liked the uni and ankimo in the premium set enough that paying a bit more felt worth it. Haha.

Thick cuts of fish on every piece

Eating through everything, the first thing I noticed was how thick the cuts of fish were. This wasn't the style with one thin slice of fish over a big mound of rice — you could really feel the texture of the fish itself.

The rice also seemed well aged, so everything was overall soft with decent umami.

The uni: sweet, nutty and not fishy at all

I especially loved the uni (sea urchin). If you get bad uni, you can end up not wanting a second bite because of that distinct fishy smell. Mine had none of that — it was sweet and savory. The shrimp was also plump and sweet, which was great. It wasn't like a few premium ingredients were thrown in just for show — I could clearly see why the premium set was worth choosing.

Sea cucumber innards gunkan, an unusual find in Jongno

And partway through, I went "oh? they have this?" when I saw the gunkan (battleship-style sushi) made with sea cucumber innards. It's not something you see often at your average neighborhood sushi place, so if you're into that kind of thing, the menu itself is fun to explore. Instead of just a run of familiar salmon, flounder, and shrimp sushi, having a slightly different ingredient mixed in made things less repetitive.

Why the 10,000-won cuttlefish sashimi is worth adding

If you're going to have a drink, this is what I'd recommend — cuttlefish sashimi, 100g for 10,000 won. Seeing the price, I thought "ten thousand won?" but I was even more satisfied after eating it. If you ordered this as a side dish at an izakaya, I feel like it wouldn't be strange to pay around 20,000 won for the look of it, but here it's just 10,000 won.

The texture was chewy while the flesh still felt rich, so it went great with sake. If you feel like sushi alone isn't quite enough, I'd recommend adding this as a side. Great with drinks.

The 6,000-won shrimp tempura udon and its surprising portion

Eating sushi and sashimi while drinking sake, I started craving something warm and brothy partway through. So without thinking much, I added the shrimp tempura udon for 6,000 won… and when it came out, I went "wait, this is 6,000 won?" haha. There were three pieces of shrimp tempura on top, and the udon portion itself was quite generous.

I usually like my food a bit strongly seasoned, so the broth tasted slightly bland to me at first. So I added a little of the house-made soy sauce on the table, and it turned out amazing haha. It suited my taste perfectly and made the broth taste even deeper, so I enjoyed it a lot more after that.

Is Choe Uyeong Sushiya worth a return trip near Jongak?

Overall, what stuck with me most was how generous the portions were for the price. The sushi had thick cuts of fish, the uni was sweet and savory without any fishiness, the cuttlefish sashimi was a satisfying 10,000-won drinking snack, and the 6,000-won udon I ordered last surprised me again with three pieces of shrimp tempura haha.

The pricing overall felt fair, from the 33,000-won premium sushi set to the 10,000-won cuttlefish sashimi, the 6,000-won shrimp tempura udon, and the 3,000-won corkage. It's good for a proper meal near Jongak, good for sashimi and drinks after work, and with the bar-style seats, it looked fine for solo dining too. The restroom was also convenient — a shared restroom in the building right next door.

Next time I'm craving sushi near Jongak, I think I'll come back here often. If value matters, go for the top set; if you want to properly enjoy uni and ankimo, go for the premium set. And if you're drinking… make sure to order the 10,000-won cuttlefish sashimi too haha.