Gwangalli bar with steamed clams and salmon sashimi: Salmon Brothers

Today I'm reviewing my favorite salmon spot in Gwangalli — as a certified salmon lover, this one's close to my heart! It's known for salmon, but the pasta is honestly so good it doubles as a top pasta restaurant in Gwangalli too. Say hello to Salmon Brothers 😊

• 📍 Address: 49 Gwangan-ro, 2nd floor, Suyeong-gu, Busan
• ⏰️ Hours: Closed every Tuesday / 17:00 - 01:00 (last order 00:00)
• 🚗 Parking: Parking support available at Gwangan Signal Parking Tower, ₩1,000/hour discount (up to 3 hours)
• ⏱️ Reservations: Naver Reservation

Where Salmon Brothers is in Gwangalli, and what the storefront looks like

Salmon Brothers is on the 2nd floor of the building at 49 Gwangan-ro. My eyes were immediately drawn to the glossy photo of giant salmon sushi out front...!!

There's a yellow sign on the ground floor so it's easy to find :-) The entrance door is also plastered with delicious-looking food photos 💖

Climb this cozy, mood-filled staircase and you'll reach the cute little entrance !_!

Inside Salmon Brothers: is it good for a date or a first meeting?

Inside, orange tones mix with plants in a way that somehow evokes salmon itself 🍣

The lighting is slightly dim overall, which makes for a great atmosphere! There are plenty of tables, so it's good for a date or a group outing too :-)

There are cute little props scattered around too, so browsing the space is fun in itself haha

Even in front of the restroom, they'd set out a curling iron, hairspray, floss and more — you could really feel the owner's thoughtfulness. The restroom was clean too, with mouthwash available inside! Honestly a great spot for a blind date >.<

And while paying, I noticed they'd won an award in the restaurant category from the Korea Consumer Industry Evaluation for two years running haha. Freshness is everything with raw fish and beef tartare, so seeing that kind of recognition made me trust the place even more 😍

The Salmon Brothers menu

The Salmon Brothers menu really has a huge range of salmon dishes — giant salmon sushi, raw salmon tataki sushi, salmon cheese rolls, salmon steak, salmon sashimi, and more. And true to being a solid Gwangalli restaurant for Western-style food, there's also a variety of pasta, beef tartare, flounder, and other dishes 😋

What two people ordered at Salmon Brothers, and what it cost

We agonized over the menu for a while, and ended up ordering this >-<

• Salmon sashimi 300g (28.0)
• Clam wine broth (22.0)
• Added noodles (3.0)
• Sushi rice (2.0)
• Tonic water (2.0)
• Busan soju (5.0)

Since this was dinner as well as our first stop of the night, and we were starving, we ordered generously!

300g salmon sashimi with a side of sushi rice

The salmon sashimi looked gorgeous !!!!! Glossy, thick-cut salmon slices came out shining on the plate 🧡🧡

Just look at this glorious belly cut...... I love this fatty part more than anything, and they gave us a generous amount of belly meat 🤤 Plus it was sliced nice and thick, so you really get the texture in each bite!! It's a party in your mouth,,,, 🎉💖

I highly recommend ordering the sushi rice — because the salmon is so good on its own, it becomes twice as good with the rice ㅠ_ㅠ Actually maybe three times as good....?! Dip a bit of sharp wasabi in soy sauce, put it on the rice, and drape a salmon blanket over it, and it's pure bliss ❤

Tonic water and the bear-shaped ice cup

They asked whether we wanted the tonic water mixed with soju or served on its own, and since we said separate, they brought out this adorable bear-shaped ice cup !!!! Another nice touch of the owner's taste 🤩🤩

Soju-steamed clams: why the noodle add-on is a must

This is the clam wine broth I also had last time I visited with a close friend !!!!! 🍝 It exceeded expectations that day, so I considered trying a different pasta this time... but a known good thing is hard to resist 😅 so I ordered it again haha 😋 The clams were plump and generously packed in, with plenty of garlic, cherry tomatoes, and other extras — definitely worth the price !!!! The clean umami of the clams melts into the broth along with the spice of pepperoncino and cheongyang chili... 💛 It's addictive — cool, spicy, and tingly — I kept scooping it up 🥺🥺 (in the back of the photo you can see the Busan soju my husband ordered ㅋ_ㅋ)

Not adding noodles to this broth would be a crime. Even my friend who eats like a bird added noodles when we came together ㅋ_ㅋ And then finished every bit ~~ that's how good it is !!!!!! 🤤🤤🤤

The broth is already delicious enough to drink on its own, but the slightly thick pasta noodles soak it all up so well that adding noodles takes it to another level. Not adding them would be foolish (?) 😜 And starting with the broth as a drinking dish, then adding noodles later, feels like getting two dishes in one — total win-win ~~~~

Verdict: salmon and pasta in one Gwangalli dinner

Craving good salmon in Gwangalli? Craving good pasta in Gwangalli? Salmon Brothers is my top pick either way !! 😋 It has a bit of a bar feel, but the food menu is varied and delicious enough that you'd be satisfied even if you just went for a meal :-)

Gwangalli doesn't actually have that many great pasta spots, and Salmon Brothers stands out not just for salmon but for its range of pasta dishes too, so I'd recommend it as a go-to Western-style restaurant in Gwangalli 😘 My one gripe is that they only open in the evening ㅠㅠ what do I do when I want it for lunch......ㅎㅎㅎ but that's just how satisfying the food was overall 💗

If you're after good sushi and Western food with a great atmosphere, Salmon Brothers is my recommendation 😍😍 I'll definitely be back next time I'm in Gwangalli 💕

This review was written after receiving some support for the visit, but it's a completely honest account 😊