Namdong Japanese restaurant weekday lunch specials: Hongdae Gureume

A wide range of Japanese dishes in Incheon Nonhyeon

Hongdae Gureume Incheon Nonhyeon Branch (홍대구루메 인천논현점), which I’d been curious about because it has such great reviews as a good restaurant in Incheon Nonhyeon, I finally went! It’s in Room 202 on the second floor of Iplex Building, very close to Nonhyeon Station, so it’s easy to get to. If you drive, you can park free for two hours.

Once inside, it was more spacious than I expected. There are regular tables as well as bar seats on the right, so it felt easy to come here for a solo meal, and it was busy even on a weekday afternoon. Honestly, I came expecting hardly anyone because it was a late weekday lunch, but I was surprised to see customers keep coming in—and plenty of solo diners too.

The menu and visit events

The menu is seriously extensive: ramen, kaisendon (seafood rice bowl), the mountain-sized series, scoopable sushi, regular sushi, pork cutlet set meals, rice bowl set meals, lunch specials, cold buckwheat noodles, and more. I normally love ramen, sushi, and pork cutlets, so being able to enjoy all of them here is the best 👍🏻👍🏻

They’re also running a Naver photo-review event. Write a receipt review and you can choose two pieces of salmon sushi, four Osaka-style takoyaki, or one drink as a freebie, so you’ve got to join, right?

Hongdae Gureume Incheon Nonhyeon Branch also brought us a little draw for a comforting or lucky message, so we picked one while waiting for the food—and I loved what mine said! It had a bit of a fortune-cookie feel, and it had been ages since I’d been to a place that brought out something like this, so it was fun.

What comes with the ₩9,900 weekday lunch special

They prepare the food as soon as you order, but it came out faster than I expected. I arrived seriously hungry, so the second I saw the spread, gulp... my mouth was watering 😋

From 11:30 to 13:30, Monday through Friday, they offer lunch specials for ₩9,900. My boyfriend ordered the Today’s Sushi + Juicy Menchi Katsu lunch special, and this whole set was ₩9,900!!

I ordered the other lunch special: one of three ramen choices plus a tuna-mayo onigiri (rice ball). There are so many ramen varieties here that you can pick one that suits your taste.

Crispy menchi katsu and seven pieces of sushi

Because I love pork cutlets, I tried the menchi katsu first. It came out freshly fried, with a crispy coating and a juicy filling—so delicious.

The Hongdae Gureume lunch special also comes with seven pieces of sushi, so it was fun trying the different kinds. The rice-to-fish ratio worked well, making each piece easy to eat in one bite, and the fish-topped presentation was so neat. Shrimp sushi is my favorite, so I ate all the shrimp ones myself, haha.

Ramen and tuna-mayo onigiri

After eating the sushi and menchi katsu, a sip of ramen broth felt like it reset my mouth with its warm, savory-salty flavor. This place is known for ramen too, and I totally get it.

The noodles were tasty too, and alternating bites with the kimchi and danmuji (pickled yellow radish) that came as side dishes was insanely good. I actually don’t usually like noodles, but I ordered it for my ramen-loving boyfriend, and we were both happy with it.

After trying the ramen, I went straight for the tuna-mayo onigiri too. Honestly, tuna mayo is a combo that can’t fail, right? It looked cute, and the nutty, savory-salty tuna mayo filling made it easy to eat without feeling heavy. It went well with both the sushi and ramen, and even on its own, the onigiri was nicely seasoned and delicious. Gone in no time.

Hot takoyaki and the lucky box event

We thought it would be nice to have one side dish too, so after some deliberation, we added takoyaki (octopus batter balls). It was made to order as well, so it arrived piping hot—and it had been a while since I’d had it. Insanely good.

With an order of ₩30,000 or more, you can also join the lucky box event. The prizes looked so worthwhile, so you can’t let an opportunity like this pass by~~ If you’re looking for a good place in Incheon Nonhyeon where you can enjoy sushi, ramen, pork cutlets, and more all in one go, I recommend Hongdae Gureume Incheon Nonhyeon Branch!