Bucheon tuna restaurant for drinks: swordfish belly at Nagoya Tuna

It was one of those days when I hadn't had tuna in ages and really wanted some. I heard there was a delicious tuna place near Sinjung-dong Station, so I went to this Bucheon tuna favorite, Nagoya Tuna.

Bucheon tuna favorite: Nagoya Tuna

What are the atmosphere and seating like at Nagoya Tuna?

Nagoya Tuna in Bucheon has bar seats, a hall and private rooms, and the space is fairly large. Friendly staff greet you as you walk in, and it feels like a place where you can chat over a meal or have a drink. It felt clean overall, which I liked.

I had a reservation, and the table was neatly set when we came in! The room was spacious and the table wide, so even when loads of side dishes (seuki) came out, we could spread everything out and keep eating comfortably.

Basic seuki setup

The opening seuki at Nagoya Tuna include rakkyo (pickled scallions) and white kimchi, of course, plus cucumber, carrot and garlic stems. Before you dive into the tuna, you can crunch on fresh veggies and have a light first drink, which is great. There was also a mountain of seaweed, so we could eat it without holding back.

Nagoya Tuna menu and corkage terms

The courses at Nagoya Tuna run from Gold up to Hwanggeum Special, with prices differing by cut. For good value, Gold seems right; if you want a particular cut or feel like treating yourself, go a tier higher.

Drinks range from regular soju to sake. Corkage is ₩20,000, but I hear it's free from VIP up, so if you're thinking of bringing your own bottle, VIP is the better deal, haha.

Seuki before the tuna: pumpkin porridge, pufferfish skin salad, corn cheese

The seuki at Nagoya Tuna in Bucheon really come out nonstop and in huge amounts, so let me introduce them from the start.. First was pumpkin porridge! Places usually serve tuna porridge, so pumpkin was unusual. It was sweet and went down easily.

Next, pufferfish skin salad. It was my first time trying pufferfish skin; it was chewy and the sauce was sweet-spicy, so it was great to keep picking at as a drinking snack.

You get one salad each, and I ate both, my friend's too, haha. I have to defend my blood sugar, right (?)

Now the drinking begins. I felt like Cheongha (sake) so I started with that, but honestly regular soju seems to go better with tuna than Cheongha.

Whenever this dish comes out, I tense up and peek: is it corn cheese or corn mayo? Because I like corn cheese better. It was corn cheese, thank you, thank you.

Which cuts come with the Royal Course at Nagoya Tuna?

The Royal Course at Nagoya Tuna is said to be 80% bluefin and 20% bigeye tuna. Then the gleaming tuna arrived! The chef came in himself and kindly explained each cut.

• Belly navel cut (bokkopsal)
• Large belly (daebaetsal)
• Otoro large belly
• Chutoro mid belly
• Akami (lean red meat)
• Cheek meat (ppolsal)
• Service: a cut normally served in the VIP course (I think he called it sedoro-sal)

They even gave us a good cut that normally comes with the VIP as a freebie,,, are you an angel? I think he called it sedoro-sal, haha. Endless thanks,,

The highlight: shiitake wasabi

The thing next to the wasabi is shiitake wasabi, and it's a real highlight,,

Shiitake wasabi is delicious with the tuna, and just as good eaten on its own. But it's still wasabi, so watch out for the kick, haha.

Thawing and taste of the tuna

The tuna at Nagoya Tuna was nicely thawed from the very first bite. I don't really like rock-hard frozen tuna, but this wasn't stiff from being too frozen or mushy from being too melted. Perfect. It was clean yet rich, really high-quality, delicious tuna.

Soju goes with tuna, so I tried the lemon soju mix too

Soju really is the thing with tuna,, next time I'm going straight to soju from the start.

The Nagoya Tuna menu had a soju mix and I was curious, so I ordered it. You can choose lemon, cucumber or hongcho (a sweet-sour red vinegar drink), and I picked lemon!! It's soju mixed refreshingly with lemon juice, haha.

Ta-da,, so good

Sushi, refills and off-menu swordfish belly

Okay, the seuki aren't over yet. Sushi came out too. My friend said she was full, so I ate all 4, haha. Yay. The sashimi was thick but so soft it just melts,, I'm turning into a food-show judge,,

The Royal Course at Nagoya Tuna allows 2 refills, but even 1 was plenty filling,, don't ask why I'm using the same photo again, it's the refill. I asked for just a little, but I can't even tell how big the chef's hands are. And yet we nearly finished it, haha.

Some refill cuts were the same as before and some were different, so it was nice to try a variety of tuna cuts.

They even gave us swordfish belly. It's not on the menu and they serve it when guests want it, so if you like swordfish, try asking.

Monkfish jiri soup to cut the richness, and more seuki

At Nagoya Tuna, monkfish jiri (clear spicy fish soup) comes right after the tuna. It's seriously delicious,, the soup of my life. Tuna is fatty, so it's easy to feel heavy, and then this cool, spicy soup comes in,, my stomach just resets.

Braised monkfish (agujjim)!! Not the agujjim I knew,, so good.

Still not done, haha. This is flying fish roe gunkan (sushi boat). Pop, pop.

They also gave us nunmuljoo (tuna eye sake?) wow. My friend said she hates it, then tried it and said it was good after all. Gooey. Honestly I don't know why people drink it, but it has its own charm, so I like it.

Fried shrimp and grilled mero (Chilean sea bass) wow. A truly endless parade of seuki. And they were so good that we ate it all.

Closing meal: maki or roe rice bowl

For the last meal at Nagoya Tuna you can choose maki (rolls) or an egg-roe rice bowl (albap), so we ordered one of each. Both were good, but I liked the roe rice bowl more!!

When I'm hungry I tend to inhale food, so even at tuna places I often focus on the tuna, eat fast and leave. But at Nagoya Tuna, this Bucheon tuna favorite, the tuna itself is excellent,, the seuki are all really good, and with friendly staff and a comfy atmosphere, I think we sat there quite a long time over drinks.