Conveyor sushi in Nowon after a Buramsan forest walk: Sushi Ianen

My younger sister loves walking trails and wanted to try something new, so we walked the forest path inside Bulamsan Healing Town, the only one I know. It's getting hot, so we moved early in the morning, and we were so hungry by the end. T_T

There are lots of good restaurants near Nowon Station, but Sushi Ianen Nowon Station gives a free bowl of udon or cold soba if you come between 11:30 and 12:00 or 17:00 and 17:30 and pay for 10+ plates per table, so how could we not do an opening run? There was such a variety of conveyor sushi that my sister and I got decision paralysis. Here's my visit to Sushi Ianen, a lunch that delighted both eyes and mouth.

Getting to Sushi Ianen Nowon Station

Sushi Ianen Nowon Station is on Nowon Culture Street. Take Exit 2 of Nowon Station (Line 4) and turn left toward Daiso. Walk straight about 30 m and you'll see "Sushi Ianen" on a purple sign on the 3rd floor. It jumped right out at me!!! We found it right away.

It's on the 3rd floor, and a sign at the foot of the stairs says every plate is a flat ₩1,990, so I got greedy about eating a ton of budget conveyor sushi. Haha.

It's open daily 11:30–22:00 with a break from 15:00 to 17:00, but a notice says there's no break on weekends and public holidays.

Lunch opening run: waiting and seating at Sushi Ianen Nowon Station

As soon as you walk in there's a Catch Table (reservation and waiting app) kiosk, but since we came right at opening, we were seated immediately. My sister and I were so absorbed by the quality of the sushi circling on the rail that we forgot to photograph the interior, T_T

I took photos on the way out, and within an hour every seat was full. Seeing everyone enjoying their meal, I felt oddly proud, as someone who ate first, of having found a great conveyor sushi spot in Nowon.

There are counter seats, but also several tables where a family of four can eat together.

It's a good place to eat alone too.

The waiting area is a long window bench, and so many customers were sitting there that only the spots for hanging bags and coats were empty. Lunch is really crowded, so my sister and I coming for the opening run was a stroke of genius.

Conveyor sushi at Sushi Ianen Nowon Station, shall we dig in? Haha

Sushi Ianen menu and prices

At Sushi Ianen Nowon Station, 70+ kinds of conveyor sushi are a flat ₩1,990 per plate. The country-of-origin notice is placed right where you can see it, so you can eat with peace of mind. Flounder, salmon, tuna, yukhoe (Korean beef tartare), shrimp, sea urchin, shrimp tempura and more: looking at the menu, picking is half the fun.

Write a Naver receipt review and you get a free soft drink or one plate of sushi, so be sure to join in.

When we sat down, a staff member brought us a clear broth, asked if we'd been before, and when we said it was our first time, kindly explained how it works.

It's been ages since I saw this many kinds of conveyor sushi, so our eyes were glued to the rail, and with decision paralysis my sister and I just kept staring at the plates going around. Haha

The sushi we ate at Sushi Ianen

Beef steak sushi

The first pick was the beef steak. Lightly cooked beef topped with onion and sauce pairs really well, and the beef was tender and rich in umami.

Raw shrimp garlic steak and cheese egg

The raw shrimp garlic steak and cheese egg look great, but the soft texture was the real draw, and my sister and I kept saying "mm, so good."

Grilled shrimp, bacon shrimp and egg shrimp

Heart-shaped grilled shrimp and bacon shrimp. Looking at them again, how do they even come out looking like this?

The egg shrimp has a fluffy, seasoned egg sheet on thin rice, topped with raw shrimp and a sweet sauce. My sister and I ate 3 plates together; it suited my taste best. My sister said she'd never seen shrimp sushi made so many ways, and it was nice watching her enjoy it.

Freshness of the squid and salmon sushi

The sushi at Sushi Ianen is really tasty and looks great too, and apparently that's because it's made by chefs who came from hotels.

It's made with domestic live fish sourced the same day and Norwegian salmon, so with that firmness and freshness it has to taste good. The squid and salmon were so fresh, and the chew was amazing.

Opening run with 10+ plates: how was the free cold soba?

We visited at 11:30, and once we'd eaten 10+ plates, cold soba came out as a freebie. It was hot out, and the icy cold broth and springy soba were so good I couldn't stop slurping.

With my mouth refreshed by the cold soba, my eyes naturally went to the freshly fried shrimp tempura that had just been set out. The crispy shrimp tempura and scallop were fantastic too.

Torched yukhoe that won over someone who doesn't eat yukhoe

Sushi Ianen's torched yukhoe (yukhoe tataki) is yukhoe briefly seared once with a torch and topped with sauce. My sister, who said she doesn't like yukhoe, exclaimed, "Oh my, this is soft and delicious!" I don't love yukhoe much myself, but even if you can't eat yukhoe sushi, I think you'll find the torched version soft and luxuriously rich in beefy flavor, with a light torched smokiness.

Finishing with flying fish roe gunkan and swordfish with aged kimchi

The flying fish roe gunkan (seaweed-wrapped sushi) has fun popping roe, and the swordfish with aged kimchi seems to wipe your mouth clean just when you might be getting a bit tired of raw fish sushi, so I'd recommend it as a finisher.

When we were too full to fit anything more, we remembered there's a separate stomach for dessert, so we finished the meal with 3 kinds of dessert.

Two women, 20 plates plus cold soba: how could we not be full? Being full made me feel like I had the whole world and was rich and happy. That's Sushi Ianen, my sushi spot near Nowon Station.

Sushi Ianen Nowon Station: time limit and parking info

For the sake of waiting customers, we ask for your understanding that the dining time is limited to 60 minutes.

Dining time at Sushi Ianen Nowon Station is limited to 60 minutes, so please follow the dining rules as the notice says.

• Address: 12-4 Nohae-ro 81-gil, Nowon-gu, Seoul, 3rd floor, Unit 1
• Hours: daily 11:30–22:00, break 15:00–17:00 (no break on weekends and public holidays)
• Parking: paid, Hwarang parking lot next to Daiso on Nowon Culture Street
• 30-minute parking ticket included, 1 hour with ₩50,000+ spent
• Extra ₩700 per 10 minutes, credit card only

Sushi Ianen Nowon Station in one line

My sister and I had a perfect lunch at Sushi Ianen Nowon Station, which nails both taste and value. At a friendly ₩1,990 a plate, we got to try 70+ kinds of hotel-quality sushi, and it was a happy time for eyes and mouth alike. The cold soba from the opening-run perk and my favorites, egg shrimp and torched yukhoe, are flavors I still keep thinking about. If you're looking for a filling, special conveyor sushi spot near Nowon Station, why not try an opening run?