Guwol-dong raw shrimp sashimi on a packed Saturday night: Veteran

Shrimp are in season these days, right? Craving fresh raw shrimp, I went with a friend to Veteran General Fish Market! This is the place I always come back to in Guwol-dong when I want sashimi — great value and the quality holds up, so it's a Guwol-dong restaurant I trust.

Where Veteran General Fish Market Incheon Guwol Branch is, and its hours

• 22 Inha-ro 507beon-gil, Namdong-gu, Incheon, South Korea
• Daily 11:00 – 3:00 (last order 1:00)
• Takeout, delivery, group seating, reservations, wifi, separate restrooms, parking

It's a 5-minute walk from Incheon Terminal Station, and if you drive, you can use the building's basement parking or a nearby public lot!

The building and entrance

Definitely felt shrimp-season energy from the entrance onward — the tank out front was packed with seasonal shrimp and fresh live squid.

Saturday at 8:30pm: the big hall was full

We showed up around 8:30pm on Saturday. Even though the hall is huge, it was completely full. We got lucky — one seat was left, so we sat down without waiting at all. Right after we sat, the waitlist kept growing. If you're going on a weekend evening, plan for a bit of a wait.

What's on the menu at Veteran General Fish Market

The menu at this Guwol-dong restaurant ranges from seasonal raw shrimp sashimi to gizzard shad sashimi, all kinds of live fish sashimi, and mul-hoe (cold raw fish soup). But we had one goal that day... seasonal raw shrimp!! No hesitation — we ordered raw shrimp sashimi and salt-grilled shrimp right away.

Table setting and the self-service side bar

It was so busy that day the food took a while to come out. We had a drink first with the side salad and seaweed soup that arrived. Any extra side dishes you need come from the self-bar, where you can also fry your own kimchi pancake. (I should have fried mine right then...)

Raw shrimp sashimi (small), 37,000 won

The raw shrimp sashimi came out first! Being right in shrimp season, the condition was excellent.

Once in your mouth, the chewy, springy texture carries through, with a subtle sweetness lingering at the end — that's the charm only fresh raw shrimp has.

You can dip it lightly in the buldak mayo sauce served alongside, or top the shrimp with pollock roe for an extra salty savoriness — both made it even better.

The grilled shrimp heads that come with the raw shrimp sashimi were also perfect as a drinking snack for later!

Salt-grilled shrimp (small), 30,000 won

The salt-grilled shrimp came out next, and it's the kind of dish where staff plate it and you grill it yourself. They grilled it over about 10 minutes, adjusting the heat, and it turned out just right.

My friend found her true calling here — basically a master shrimp-peeler.

My friend kept chanting for shrimp that day, so we ordered small portions of both the sashimi and the salt-grilled shrimp to eat generously. I thought it might be too much, but it turned out to be just the right amount for two.

The night the kimchi pancake sold out

Partway through, I remembered the kimchi pancake and went to get some — only to find an unprecedented sold-out situation. We ended up splitting one with another customer who was also looking for kimchi pancake. (Meanwhile, that customer asked us to shape it into a heart.)

In the middle of it we goofed around a bit... and shared it happily and peacefully, haha.

Is Veteran General Fish Market worth it?

When I want good sashimi at a good price in Guwol-dong, this is the first place I think of. And right now, with shrimp in season, it's the best time to taste fresh raw shrimp. If you're curious about chewy, sweet Incheon raw shrimp, definitely stop by Veteran General Fish Market Incheon Guwol Branch this season!