Jonggak Station sashimi restaurant with a sushi rice add-on: Suksseong

🦐 Seasonal seafood with deep umami after Tsumoto-style low-temperature aging, a private atmosphere and a varied menu. A visit review and menu recommendations for Suksseong Susan Jongno Main Branch, a Jonggak Station sashimi restaurant and drinking spot.

Why I took my Jinhae-born girlfriend to a Jonggak Station sashimi restaurant

My girlfriend comes from the seaside. Maybe that's why she knows a lot about seasonal seafood, but she also whines if she doesn't get her seasonal seafood fix. She's from Jinhae in South Gyeongsang, and her bar for seafood is so high that I figured an average place would never satisfy her.

So I searched around and found Suksseong Susan (숙썽수산), a sashimi spot near Jonggak Station! It's known for aging its fish deliciously with professional Tsumoto-style trimming. If you're curious whether it won over my girlfriend's picky palate, read to the end.

It's a Jonggak sashimi restaurant that stands out for fresh, tasty seafood and private room-like spaces.

Suksseong Susan Jongno Main Branch: location and parking

Suksseong Susan is a 4-minute (300 m) walk from Exit 4 of Jonggak Station on Line 1, so it's easy to reach by public transport.

Parking is tricky in Jonggak's Youth Street area. Most shops are in small buildings, and many have no parking at all. I'd recommend the nearby Gwancheol-dong public street parking lot or the Miryeo Building private lot.

Follow the map pin and you'll arrive in front of the Eunjeong Building. Suksseong Susan is on the 4th floor, and the cute little bear on the sign is memorable.

Climb the stairs to the 4th floor and you've arrived at Suksseong Susan, an aged sashimi specialist! The clean wooden interior and the aging fridge you can see inside had my mouth watering before we even went in. Even before entering, I kept thinking this place had real skill. My girlfriend works at a company near Jonggak Station, and after seeing the tasty lunch options here she said she'd wanted to give it a try.

At a sashimi place where freshness is everything, the fish tank matters most! As we walked in, it looked clean and well kept, and the water was clear. The fish inside were lively and flapping around, so I felt I could trust what I was about to eat.

Naver reservation and noren private seating

I booked an evening table through Naver (Korea's main search and booking platform), so we were shown straight to our seat without any wait, nice and comfortable. Every seat has a noren (Japanese-style curtain divider), so you can eat as privately as in a room-style bar.

You order with the kiosk set up at the table.

We came because the restaurant uses a range of premium fish species that are hard to find in Seoul. Also, with its own aging method and Tsumoto-style trimming, it was a place my picky "sea girl" had wanted to visit for a while.

What we ordered: small aged sashimi, seasonal raw shrimp, draft beer

If you write a receipt review, they give you an extra side dish. We chose the whelk sukhoe (lightly blanched whelk)!

Suksseong Susan serves seasonal seafood and a variety of cooked dishes. We ordered two things, the aged sashimi (small) and the seasonal raw shrimp sashimi, plus draft beer to go with a drink after work.

Silken tofu loaded with sesame sauce and green peas come out by default as soon as you sit down.

The peas have a fresh feel that's nice for whetting your appetite before the main dishes arrive. The sesame tofu could have been bland with just tofu, but the nutty flavor made it rich and soft, and it was excellent.

Early-August aged sashimi lineup and 36-hour low-temperature aging

Here are the aged sashimi and raw shrimp sashimi as the main event. A whole spread of assorted seasonal fish! The plating was so pretty that I was excited before the first bite.

Suksseong Susan serves different seasonal fish by type depending on the season. When I visited in early August, we got olive flounder, red sea bream, salmon, bluefin tuna, rosy seabass and more! And ankimo (monkfish liver) to eat with the fish!

The sashimi, aged at low temperature for 36 hours, was really fresh! It was thick-cut yet chewed soft, and the texture was a work of art. Maybe because the slices are cut thick, we felt full even though it was for two people.

Extra sushi rice to eat it like sushi

There were so many fish you rarely get to try that I wanted to eat them as sushi too, so I ordered extra shari (sushi rice), and the portion was huge! It came out nice and hearty.

Seasonal raw shrimp for the July–August high-water-temperature season

In the July–August shrimp season, I can't give up raw shrimp! It's hard to find a place in Seoul that does raw shrimp sashimi well, and I finally found one! My girlfriend marveled while eating it too. Even she, who always shows off her southern-coast pride, took one bite and said "okay, this one I accept," and her chopsticks didn't stop moving.

The butter-fried shrimp was crispy and nutty too, the kind of flavor that makes the drinks go down on their own.

Whelk sukhoe from the receipt review

Whelk sukhoe isn't a seafood I usually eat much, but the sesame oil dipping sauce here was such a kick that I kept reaching for more. Well aged, it was chewy and springy, and with the nutty sesame oil flavor, I was sad to watch the whelks disappear piece by piece, they were that good.

Who I'd recommend it to

• Anyone looking for a great seasonal raw shrimp sashimi spot in Seoul!
• Anyone after a Jonggak drinking spot with atmosphere and good food, one piece of sashimi, one sip of a drink
• Anyone looking for a place serving aged sashimi of many fish species!
• Anyone who wants a clean atmosphere and private space!

Final verdict

A seasonal sashimi spread in a league of its own. It's hard to find fish like this in Seoul 😚

Restaurant info

• 📍 Address: 16 Samil-daero 19-gil, 3rd floor, Jongno-gu, Seoul
• ⏰ Hours: Mon–Fri 11:00–24:00 / Fri 11:00–01:00, Sat 15:00–01:00