Jongno sushi restaurant with thick aged fish: Choe Uyeong Sushiya

A sushi restaurant between Jonggak Station and Gwanghwamun

I recently visited Choe Uyeong Sushiya Jongno Branch! It is close to Jonggak Station and Gwanghwamun, so it is in a great spot to stop by after being in the area. The dining room is spacious and there are lots of sushi options! There is also free parking for up to two hours, which makes it handy to visit by car around Gwanghwamun and Jonggak.

With a spacious dining room offering everything from solo seats to table seating, it is a comfortable place for anything from eating alone to a group meal! The sushi selection is varied and the price range is broad, so it is a nice pick when you want to choose different kinds of sushi to suit your taste!

It is at Unit 104, B1, 7 Jong-ro 5-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea (서울특별시 종로구 종로5길 7 지하1층 104호), about 235 m from Exit 1 of Jonggak Station—a roughly 3–5 minute walk. Hours are daily from 11:00 to 21:30, with a break from 15:00 to 17:00; last orders are at 21:00. Free parking is available for two hours.

A wide sushi menu, from sets to à la carte pieces

There are seriously so many kinds of sushi. Sets are great, and there is also à la carte sushi priced from ₩1,000 to ₩3,000 per piece depending on the item. There are meal and drinking-food options too, including sashimi, kaisendon (seafood rice bowl), fried dishes, and braised dishes, plus separate additions such as sea urchin roe and ankimo (monkfish liver) that go nicely with sashimi or sushi!

• Assorted sushi: 12 pieces, ₩13,000 / Special sushi: 15 pieces, ₩19,000
• Finest sushi: 16 pieces, ₩27,000 / Premium finest sushi: 17 pieces, ₩33,000
• Kaisendon: ₩14,000 / Special kaisendon: ₩19,000 / Finest kaisendon: ₩25,000
• Assorted sashimi: ₩40,000 / Special sashimi: ₩70,000

There is a kiosk at the entrance just for takeout orders. Located in central Jongno between Jonggak Station and Gwanghwamun, it is easy to get to and works well for lunch, dinner gatherings, solo meals, or takeout~

Solo seats and partitioned tables

There are solo seats that are great for eating alone, and the tables for four to six people have partitions at every seat, making this a good place to visit with a group too.

You order through the monitor on the table. At the seat, there was Choe Uyeong Seafood house-made soy sauce along with pickled ginger and gari (pickled ginger slices)!

Premium finest sushi and à la carte sushi

I ordered the Premium Finest Sushi set plus à la carte sea cucumber innards sushi (konowada), sea urchin roe sushi, steamed abalone sushi, crab sushi, and tuna belly sushi!

The fish was thick-cut overall, so every bite felt nice and full! Sea urchin roe and shrimp are always a winning combination...

The scallop sushi was good too—the thick scallop was lightly torched on top, and its soft texture really stood out.

The sea urchin roe gunkan sushi had such a lovely taste of the sea, too.

The spear squid and ankimo sushi had a generous topping of monkfish liver, which made it soft, rich, and nutty.

The steamed abalone sushi and egg sushi were seriously so thick and large that they nearly slipped apart instead of coming up with the rice!

The fish sushi had been aged quite a bit, giving it a soft texture.

The eel sushi, deliciously grilled with a salty, savory sauce, is best saved for the end—but still, eat it in whatever order you want!!!!

The Premium Finest Sushi set also included fatty flounder-fin engawa sushi.

The salmon sushi, topped with onion over a thick slice of salmon, was lovely for its soft yet crisp texture.

The crab sushi was moist and soft with lots of juiciness, too! I enjoyed it!

Choe Uyeong Sushiya Jongno Branch: final thoughts

Choe Uyeong Sushiya Jongno Branch had a wide variety of sushi overall, and the thick fish made even one piece feel pretty filling! I also loved the soft texture unique to aged fish, plus the many choices—such as sea urchin roe, ankimo, and engawa—to pick from according to your taste!