Nowon weekend lunch 1:30pm booking, raw salmon and shrimp: Kuu Kuu

Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch, booked for weekend lunch at 1:30pm

There's really nowhere better for a family gathering in Nowon. Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch is one of the Kuu Kuu locations I've visited more than three times.

Prices are ₩27,900 for weekday lunch, ₩31,900 for weekday dinner, and ₩35,900 for weekends and holidays. I booked ahead for weekend lunch at 1:30pm. This branch is famous for being one of the tastier Kuu Kuu locations, so if you don't book in advance on weekends, you're looking at a huge wait. If you show up without a Naver Reservation, register for the waitlist the moment you arrive.

Hours are 11:00-21:30 on weekdays (last order 20:00) and 11:00-22:00 on weekends (last order 20:30). On weekdays, before 5pm counts as lunch and after 5pm as dinner.

For parking, the Seoul Oncheon building gives 2 hours free and Hagye Techno Town gives 4 hours, so make sure to validate your parking before you leave.

A 300-pyeong space — how are the family gathering seats?

The restaurant spans 300 pyeong with plenty of group seating and well-partitioned booths, making it a great space for family gatherings. There's also a private room that fits 40 people, which is why Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch is so good for group events.

Finally, unlimited raw salmon at Kuu Kuu!

One reason I came back to Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch this time is that raw salmon sashimi is now available unlimited. Weekday dinners and weekends now include raw salmon sashimi, and as a salmon addict, I couldn't stay away.

Roll, sushi, and sashimi corner

There are so many kinds of rolls and sushi at Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch that photographing them individually would make this post way too long, so I took a wide shot instead. Even at a glance, the rolls and gunkan alone look like about twice the selection of other places.

I heard the shrimp sushi got better now that they use botan shrimp, and maybe that's why the soy-marinated shrimp all tasted better too.

And then — raw salmon sashimi, ta-da. It's Norwegian raw salmon, thick-cut and looking fresh. It's not just tail-end pieces either — plenty of body and belly meat mixed in, so much so that this alone felt like it was worth the whole price. It looked absolutely delicious. For reference, raw salmon sashimi isn't even available at the Gold branch — this was my first time seeing it, at the Nowon branch.

There's also soy-marinated shrimp, marinated crab, mulhoe (cold raw fish soup), and tuna sashimi in a varied lineup — the soy-marinated shrimp is delicious, so make sure to grab some. I'll show you how I devoured it later.

There are so many types of sushi too, but personally I found the salmon, soy-marinated shrimp, tuna, and halibut especially good.

Desserts and drinks

On to desserts. There's a variety of fruit and baked goods — watermelon, apple, orange, Korean melon, grapefruit, melon, mango and more — I felt the fruit lineup had really improved.

The ice cream has a dense, rich texture — regular ice cream is nice, but

the marble ice cream is still the best. It used to be only for dinner and weekends, but now it's available for weekday lunch too. I recommend the rainbow and milk chocolate flavors.

There are also cookies and chocolate fondue, plus slushies and patbingsu (shaved ice) to cool off with. There are sodas, but also unusual drinks like lychee juice or ube latte worth noting.

And for ₩5,900 you can get unlimited draft beer — Kelly and Terra are both unlimited, and if you write a review, even that becomes free. Anyone who likes to drink should definitely take part.

And of course, when it comes to Kuu Kuu desserts, waffles are a must. Waffles wrap up the dessert round.

Hot dishes

From here on, it's the hot food. Steamed crab, steamed shrimp, grilled oysters.

There are pork ribs, lamb chops, and smoked pork belly — the lamb chops are quite delicious. The meat dishes overall felt noticeably improved.

The pasta and pizza are also above average, worth trying at least once.

The fried items include wingbong (chicken wings/drumettes), french fries, cheese sticks, fried shrimp, kimmari (seaweed noodle rolls), and corn dogs — great for putting together a snack-food combo with the tteokbokki and sundae behind them.

The made-to-order dishes include udon, jjajangmyeon, and jjambbong — just ask and they'll make it fresh.

The soup section is also varied, with mala tang, samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup), various soups, porridge, and clam soup.

With whole braised pork, palbochae (mixed seafood and vegetable stir-fry), smoked duck, deep-fried spicy shrimp, and gwabaro (crispy sweet-and-sour pork), the Chinese dishes at Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch are excellent too.

Personally, the LA galbi jjim (braised short ribs) and jjusam (grilled pork and squid) were delicious.

Cold dishes

The cold food section has salads, yukhoe, and banchan (side dishes) — the yukhoe is really, really good. Now let's actually look at the plates I brought back.

Kuu Kuu's best combinations

Here's the food I piled up haha.

You have to try the raw salmon, soy-marinated shrimp sushi, and salmon sushi — honestly, this is the whole reason I came to Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch. The raw salmon is soft, with zero fishy taste, clean and delicious.

The grilled oysters are good and all the fried items are good, so try one of each and pick your favorites. If you like shrimp, the steamed shrimp is a strong recommendation too.

The gunkan rolls also have a huge variety of toppings and generous portions, so whatever you pick is delicious. I'd recommend the taco and soy-marinated shrimp ones. And the yukhoe is nicely spicy and delicious — this place could pass for a yukhoe specialist, honestly.

If you love soy-marinated shrimp like me, pile them up and crack them open all at once to eat with rice and salmon — pure bliss. Looking at this again makes me want more.

If your timing's good, you can sweep up the halibut fin like I did. Looking at the size of the fin, they're clearly using large halibut — the fat content is insane.

For dessert I had watermelon, crepe cake, and cereal, all delicious, then finished off with ice cream and waffles... and that was finally it. This was Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch, a Nowon family-gathering favorite where I truly ate until I was stuffed, and enjoyed every bite!!