Stroller-friendly sushi restaurant in Songdo at 11am opening: Sushi

Lately, when I'm looking for places to eat out with a baby, taste matters, of course, but I also naturally end up checking things like whether it's easy to bring a stroller in, whether the restaurant has enough space, and whether parking is convenient. This time my husband, our baby and I visited Sushi Doku The Songdo in Songdo, Incheon.

My husband and I both love sushi, and before the baby was born we used to enjoy hunting down good sushi spots. But since the baby arrived, eating out itself has become a bit more of a careful decision. Sushi Doku The Songdo looked like it would work well even with a baby along, so this time we went a little early, timing it for the 11am opening.

Location and hours at Sushi Doku The Songdo

Sushi Doku The Songdo is located on the 2nd floor of Onesta Mall, 157 Songdo-guk jedaero, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. It's fairly close to Technopark Station, and being inside Onesta Mall made it easy to find.

More than anything, when you're moving around with a baby, a restaurant inside a building is convenient in a lot of ways. Since you're moving with a stroller, it matters whether you can take an elevator instead of stairs, and whether you can actually bring the stroller into the restaurant itself. We visited that day with our baby and stroller together, and it was great that we could bring the stroller inside. Eating out with a baby, you're always a little worried the stroller might get in other tables' way, but this time we could eat pretty comfortably.

Sushi Doku The Songdo is currently listed as open from 11am to 9pm, with a break time from 2:30pm to 5pm. Kids' chairs, parking and a waiting area are also noted as available.

A clean, good-atmosphere sushi restaurant in Songdo

Walking in, the place had an overall clean, comfortable atmosphere for a meal. Unlike the old days when my husband and I would come here for a sushi date just the two of us, now we come in with a baby stroller in tow too — it gave the visit a slightly special feeling. Still, good food in front of you is always a happy thing, haha.

Sushi is a dish where the ingredients really matter, so whenever I visit a sushi restaurant I first check how the rice and fish work together. This time the menu composition looked great, so we ordered the premium sushi set 10pc.

What's in the premium sushi set 10pc

What we ordered was the premium sushi set 10pc, currently priced at ₩25,900. Since there were two of us, we ordered two of the premium sushi set 10pc. And the composition of this set was really something I liked.

• Flounder
• Red seabream
• Salmon
• Squid
• Sweet shrimp
• Akami tuna
• Red shrimp
• Snow crab meat
• Eel
• Monkfish liver (ankimo)

That's ten different kinds in one set. With one plate offering so many types of sushi, there was fun in deciding what to eat first. Some people just pick the familiar ones, like salmon or flounder, but I personally like when a variety of types come out at once. Each fish has a different texture and flavor, so there's enjoyment in trying them one by one.

Tasting the premium sushi piece by piece

The first thing that caught my eye was, of course, the flounder. It has that clean, light flounder flavor, so it was a comfortable first bite. The chewy texture was still there, which made it a great way to feel the basic taste of sushi.

Next was the red seabream. It had a slightly firmer texture than the flounder, and the light, clean fish flavor was easy to enjoy. When a sushi set has too many similar-tasting fish, it can feel a bit monotonous, but with this much variety, the experience changed depending on the order I ate things in.

Soft, savory salmon

My favorite, salmon, couldn't be missing either. Salmon's distinctively soft, savory flavor is something I always look for at a sushi restaurant. It melts smoothly in your mouth, so after the flounder and red seabream, the salmon brought a completely different kind of charm.

My husband likes salmon too, so we chatted back and forth about which piece was the tastiest. It might sound like nothing, but a couple sitting together over a meal saying "this one's good" or "I like this one better" — these relaxed meal times have become really precious these days.

Squid and sweet shrimp

Next up was the squid. Squid sushi has that distinct chewy texture, so eating it among the softer fish pieces made the texture difference really stand out.

And then the sweet shrimp I was looking forward to. I love the sweet, soft flavor that's unique to shrimp, so sweet shrimp sushi is a personal favorite, and this time was no exception. The shrimp meat was soft with a subtle sweetness that worked really well as sushi.

From akami to red shrimp and snow crab meat

Akami is the red meat portion of tuna, offering a light but distinctly tuna flavor. It felt different from a rich, fatty fish like salmon, so eating it in between gave a nice reset for the palate.

Then there was red shrimp — a welcome sight for someone like me who loves shrimp sushi. With snow crab meat also included, one plate let me enjoy a whole range of seafood flavors. Ten pieces of sushi might sound like a small portion, but with this much variety, eating through them slowly one by one turned out to be more satisfying than I expected.

Eel and monkfish liver to finish

Toward the end were the eel and the ankimo (monkfish liver). The eel paired its sweet-savory sauce nicely with a soft texture, making it a great way to wind down the set.

And the ankimo felt like a bit of a special touch. Ankimo is monkfish liver, something you don't often come across at a typical sushi restaurant, so having it included in the set was a nice surprise. With flounder, red seabream, salmon, shrimp, tuna, snow crab meat and eel all on one plate, it really was a set that let you enjoy a wide range of flavors at once. It seemed like a great option for a date meal, a couple's outing, a family meal, or just a day when you want a proper sushi experience.

The menu lineup at Sushi Doku The Songdo

Besides sushi, Sushi Doku The Songdo also has full set meals and a range of side dishes. Looking at the current menu, options include the regular sushi set 10pc, the premium sushi set 10pc, the deluxe sushi complete set 13pc, a kids' set, a salmon sushi set, a flounder sushi set, and more.

So it seemed like a good place for everyone in a group to pick their own preferred menu. Since there's even a kids' set, it seemed like a solid option for families visiting with children too. Our baby is still too little, so this time we only ordered the premium sushi set for the two of us, but once our baby is a bit bigger, I'd like to try the kids' set too.

Bringing a baby and stroller: how it actually went

These days, this is the part I pay the most attention to. When visiting a restaurant with a baby, the food matters, but I also find myself first checking whether a stroller can fit in and whether there are baby chairs or other family-friendly facilities.

Sushi Doku The Songdo is listed as having kids' chairs, and we actually visited with our baby and stroller that day — it was convenient being able to bring the stroller inside. Our baby is still young, so there are times we need to eat while she's asleep in the stroller, and if we had to leave the stroller outside or hold her the whole time, the meal itself would be tough. So being able to bring the stroller in with us felt like a real advantage for us. If you're a parent looking for a place to eat out with a baby, this is worth keeping in mind.

A sushi outing with my husband, after a while

Since having a baby, going out to eat with just my husband hasn't been easy, but eating out together with the baby has been getting a little more familiar bit by bit. Still, we can't just walk into any restaurant like before — we look for places we can bring the baby to. This time, we had a good lunchtime eating delicious sushi with my husband at Sushi Doku The Songdo.

It was a small pleasure to chat over the food, saying things like "let's try other menu items next time." And personally, I really liked that the premium sushi set had this much variety — flounder, red seabream, salmon, squid, sweet shrimp, akami tuna, red shrimp, snow crab meat, eel, ankimo — rather than a lot of just one type of fish.

The mini udon that came with it

Mini udon

Midway through sushi, you sometimes start craving something warm and brothy, and the mini udon that came with our set hit the spot exactly. The warm, clean broth felt like it reset your palate, and it had a savory, subtly salty flavor that was easy to enjoy without feeling heavy.

The noodles kept their chewy texture without going soft, which made slurping them up fun. A bite of sushi followed by a sip of the udon broth worked really well, the cold fish and warm broth complementing each other. The portion was also just right as a side to go with sushi.

When you're craving proper sushi in Songdo

Overall, this meal was satisfying. A few things in particular stood out to me:

• Located inside Onesta Mall
• Open for meals from 11am
• A varied lineup of sushi set meals
• Great variety in the premium sushi set 10pc
• Kids' chairs available
• Baby and stroller entry allowed
• Parking available

Sushi Doku The Songdo's premium sushi set 10pc, at ₩25,900, lets you taste flounder, red seabream, salmon, squid, sweet shrimp, akami tuna, red shrimp, snow crab meat, eel, and ankimo all in one go — a great match for someone like me who enjoys a little bit of many kinds of sushi.

More than anything, eating out with a baby takes more thought than you'd expect, so being able to bring the stroller in comfortably was, from a mom's perspective, genuinely great. Delicious sushi with my husband, a relaxed lunch with our baby — it had been a while since I'd properly enjoyed a sushi outing like this, which made it taste even better.

If you're looking for a good sushi restaurant in Songdo, Incheon, or a Songdo spot you can visit with a baby, Sushi Doku The Songdo is worth saving for your next outing. 🍣 Next time, I'd like to try one of the other sushi set menus instead of the premium sushi set. 😊