Hongdae sushi restaurant, kid-free date and ₩1,500 parking: Yu Iksang

Before my husband had to head to work!! We squeezed in a rare Hongdae date. With the kids away, I wanted to stuff myself with sushi, so we went to Yu Iksang Sushi (유익상스시), famous for its long-tail sushi. We got there around 1 p.m. on a weekday and walked right in with no wait. I'll cover the two-person set, the outside and inside of the restaurant, and my best tip: parking right in front for just over ₩1,000 ^,^

Yu Iksang Sushi location and opening hours

Yu Iksang Sushi is in Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul (18-7 Wausan-ro 23-gil, Unit 101). It's open 11:00–21:00 with last order at 20:00, and closed every Monday.

• Address: 342-16 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
• Hours: 11:00–21:00
• Last order: 20:00
• Closed: every Monday

Where to park for Yu Iksang Sushi in Hongdae

The restaurant has no parking lot of its own, but you can park at the Mapo Lifelong Learning Center (마포평생학습관) right in front!!!! It's cheap at ₩500 per 10 minutes, and on a weekday there was plenty of space, so no worries at all.

With a large-family discount, we took our time eating and still paid only about ₩1,500 for parking!! The restaurant is 335 m from Exit 9 of Hongik Univ. Station, so it's easy to wander around the neighborhood afterward, which makes it a good fit for a Hongdae date route.

A rainy weekday after lunch: inside Yu Iksang Sushi

We went in after 1 p.m. on a weekday and got seated right away with no wait. The rain kept pouring and stopping, and the lunch crowd had already left, so we walked straight in :))

Inside, it had a cute, cozy Japanese restaurant feel, and the owner greeted us so brightly and warmly. So kind '-'

Yu Iksang Sushi menu and what to order

The menu has sushi sets in many sizes, such as the couple sets, special sushi and VIP sushi, plus sashimi, gunkan (sushi "battleship" rolls), rolls, rice bowls and lunch menus. With so much variety, it works for a quick meal, a nice dinner, a date, a group gathering, or even a drink or two.

We ordered the Couple A Plus set. What I loved is that it's a mix of raw fish sushi and seared sushi, a whopping 26 pieces, at a reasonable price, so it works whether you love raw fish or not.

What comes with the Couple A Plus set?

The Couple A Plus came with a basic setup of salad, rakkyo (pickled scallions), ginger and soy sauce. The unusual part was the silicone brush!!! Since the place is famous for long-tail sushi, you brush soy sauce onto the fish instead of dipping the sushi. It felt so different and fun >.<

Besides the 26 pieces of sushi, the set also includes fried shrimp, soba and broth! The salty, crunchy fried shrimp was seriously excellent.

The 26 pieces of sushi in the Couple A Plus set

• Red drum (jeomseongeo) 4
• Salmon 2
• Tuna 4
• Seared roll 2
• Garlic mecha aburi (seared) 2
• Garlic shrimp aburi 4
• Egg (tamago) aburi 2
• Beef 2
• Webfoot octopus aburi 2
• Scallop aburi 2

The seared sushi was sprinkled generously with tempura crumbs, so the texture was a work of art. It's also a great lineup for people who can't eat raw fish, and for young kids!

How does Yu Iksang Sushi's long-tail sushi taste?

In the Couple A Plus, the salmon and red drum are the long-tail sushi!! The red drum comes topped with aged kimchi :)

Wow... you could tell at a glance that the fish was extra fresh, and it was a total appetite booster haha. I dipped it in the tiniest bit of soy sauce, added just wasabi, and it was so good, honestly T_T The freshness of the tuna was incredible!

Brush on the soy sauce, add wasabi to taste

At Yu Iksang Sushi, you swipe the soy sauce on with the special brush, then add wasabi to taste. Brushing on the soy sauce is weirdly fun haha. None of the sushi comes with wasabi already inside, so it's also nice that kids can eat it with you.

It looks so much like sashimi that I couldn't tell if I was eating sashimi or sushi..!! For the salmon, I brushed on just a little soy sauce too, then added the onion and sprouts that came with it, and the nutty salmon flavor filled my whole mouth. It felt like eating a mouthful of sashimi instead of sushi >.< Truly moving!!! Everything was good, but the long-tail sushi was way, way tastier than most famous sushi places!!

Seared sushi that won over my raw-fish-shy husband

My husband isn't a big raw fish fan, so he was really happy that the Couple A Plus has lots of seared sushi. With so many kinds and such a generous amount, it's a set that can fill up men too!!!

Every piece was so appealing that even trying one of each started to fill us up.

The owner's complimentary eggplant sushi

Partway through the meal, the owner brought us eggplant sushi on the house!!!! Wait, what is this!?!?!?!?

I don't really like eggplant, but this was sooo good haha. It's not the eggplant taste I know..!!!

Verdict: why Yu Iksang Sushi works for a Hongdae sushi date

With the Couple A Plus you get to try 10 kinds of sushi, and the mix of raw and seared pieces means even people who don't usually like sushi can enjoy it :))! The restaurant runs under the owner's own name, so my expectations were extra high, and the taste, atmosphere and kindness all beat them!!!!!! If you're looking for a good sushi restaurant or date spot in Hongdae, I recommend giving it a visit ^,^