Nowon sushi buffet weekday lunch: mustard-leaf kimchi roll at Kuu Kuu

What is Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch like?

Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch (쿠우쿠우 노원점) is a sushi buffet known in Nowon as a place to eat your fill. There are lots of dishes and plenty of variety, so you never get bored and every plate feels like a treat. I'd recommend it for a family gathering or a group dinner in Nowon.

The restaurant is over 300 pyeong, so lots of people choose it as a group dinner spot in Nowon.

Even among sushi buffets in Nowon, there is really a lot to eat. And everything on display looks great. There's shrimp pizza, dongpayuk (braised pork belly) with bok choy, and stir-fried peppers with flower buns, which look delicious too. The aged kimchi oyster mushroom dakbokkeumtang (spicy braised chicken) goes with rice cakes. For the mala shrimp, head to the spot with the spoons and forks, where there are also plastic gloves, so you can dig in with your hands.

If you go to Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch for a sushi buffet in Nowon, everybody leaves satisfied.

What are the hours and prices at Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch?

Adult prices at Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch are ₩27,900 for weekday lunch, ₩31,900 for weekday dinner and ₩35,900 on weekends and holidays. On weekends and holidays it's open from 11:00 to 22:00; buffet food ends at 21:00 and last order is at 20:30.

• Location: Hagye-dong, Nowon-gu, Seoul (247 Nowon-ro, 6th floor)
• Mon–Fri: listed in the original as 1:00–21:30
• Sat, Sun and holidays: 11:00–22:00
• Buffet food ends at 21:00, last order 20:30
• Parking available, group seating, baby high chairs and playroom available
• Adults: weekday lunch ₩27,900 / weekday dinner ₩31,900 / weekends and holidays ₩35,900
• Elementary school children: weekday lunch ₩16,900 / weekday dinner ₩17,900 / weekends and holidays ₩18,900
• Preschool children: ₩9,900

I ordered the weekday lunch for two.

How about parking, time limits and reservations at Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch?

Parking at Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch is in the Seoul Oncheon building, free for up to 2 hours. The parking entrance is at the back of the building.

The space is huge. The tables, seats and even the kitchen are all kept clean, and it's great for a big group to pile in and eat together.

The standard seating time is 2 hours, and when lots of guests are waiting, it's 1 hour 30 minutes.

There are baby high chairs and the place is big, so you can book ahead for a family meal or a group dinner. Companies use it for team dinners too. It's good value, and it's full of tasty treats. You can make sure to get dessert as well. You can reserve through Catch Table, and Naver Reservation works too.

What hot dishes does Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch have?

Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch has lots of hot Chinese, Korean and Western dishes. There's palbochae (seafood and vegetable stir-fry) and clams steamed in liquor, plus stir-fried peppers with flower buns, mala shrimp, kkanpung chili shrimp, kkwabaro-u (Chinese-style sweet and sour pork) and lemon cream shrimp.

There are also royal-style mushroom tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patties), aged kimchi oyster mushroom dakbokkeumtang, gamjatang (pork bone stew) fried rice, and tteokbokki with sundae (blood sausage). Mala tang and shiitake samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) are there too. I also spotted Uljin red snow crab soup and garlic baguette bread.

Shrimp dim sum is steaming hot, and dumplings sit right next to it.

Jajang (black bean noodles), jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup), udon, miso soup and naengmomil (cold soba) are made to order when you ask. I ordered the jjamppong.

There are lots of kinds of fried food too, like sweet potato, gimmari (seaweed-wrapped glass noodle rolls) and vegetable fritters.

I also saw hot dogs and fried shrimp, which are kid favorites.

There are three pizzas: pepperoni, shrimp and gorgonzola. When dishes run out, they get refilled quickly.

En croûte soup, pasta and meat dishes

The en croûte soup (앙쿠르트 스프) at Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch is soup served with a puff pastry top that you eat together. It's hot, so you use tongs to pick up the bowl and move it. It's warm, and the pie part is layered and crispy.

There's oil vongole pasta and Uljin red snow crab pasta too, so I put some on my plate. The smoked sausage is stir-fried with mushrooms. Western, Chinese, Japanese and Korean dishes are all neatly laid out.

There's Puringkle chicken (cheese-seasoned fried chicken), buffalo sticks and lamb chops. The variety of food is huge.

There's Puringkle chicken and the French fries kids love. The smoked pork shoulder and smoked pork belly come with sauce, so I had just one piece of each. The whole salmon steak is tender. I cut it into nice pieces and put it on my plate.

What are the salad bar and draft beer like at Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch?

The salad bar at Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch has a huge variety, so you just add a bit of everything to your plate with the dressings. It's packed with fresh ingredients.

There's spicy, chewy jjolmyeon (chewy wheat noodles), and cherry tomato caprese, which is so good, right? Tartar chicken salad and more make for a really colorful spread.

There's sweet pumpkin salad, and draft beer is unlimited. It's included in the per-person price, so it's great value.

There's mulhoe (cold raw fish soup), soy-marinated crab, tuna sashimi and salmon sashimi. The mulhoe didn't fit on my plate, so I planned to bring it later, but I was full and skipped it. Looking at the photo, I'm a little sad I didn't eat it.

How varied are the sushi, rolls and gunkan at Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch?

Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch has far more kinds of sushi, gunkan (seaweed-wrapped sushi boats) and rolls than other buffets. So I had to think a bit about what to eat and what to put on my plate.

The beef roll looks delicious. There's a cheese shrimp roll too, and avocado salmon gunkan.

There's also flying fish roe maki wrapped in seaweed, standing upright. I meant to eat it, but I was so full that it'll have to wait until next time.

The cockle bibimbap is generous, with seaweed flakes and sesame sprinkled on top. You scoop it with a rice paddle and take it to your seat. The yukhoe (seasoned raw beef) gunkan is topped with yukhoe, green onion and sesame.

The beef belly and pork belly gunkan looks delicious too. There was an eel roll, so I picked that.

There was also mustard kimchi salmon futomaki (thick roll), so I tried one. White sauce is drizzled over it.

The spicy beef belly fire-grilled roll looked kind of spicy and like a treat, so I tried it. The aged kimchi yukhoe roll seemed to be popular. Sesame seeds are sprinkled in the middle.

There are also plenty of toppings to eat with raw fish. There's so much sushi that I couldn't eat it all. I just went for whatever I felt like. I didn't eat the scallop sushi, but looking at the photo, my mouth waters.

Food keeps getting refilled, and I saw people carrying off lots of sushi.

There's tteokgalbi sushi and bacon sushi. There's smoked salmon sushi topped with onion. I could see radish sprouts too. There's jellyfish cold salad and fresh napa cabbage kimchi (geotjeori) as well. The salmon salad looked neat and tidy too.

What are the desserts and drinks at Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch?

Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch has a chocolate fondue that keeps flowing like a fountain.

You use wooden skewers to make it and have it as dessert. The bean coffee machine makes cappuccino and café latte. There are about 4 kinds of soda.

You can make sikhye (sweet rice drink) and patbingsu (shaved ice with red beans), and the slushies come in lots of flavors. Papaya, hallabong (Korean citrus) slush…

One whole line is packed with drinks. The slushies include gold kiwi and raspberry flavors, and there's ube latte too. Boiled tapioca pearls are ready to add, and there's a huge variety of tea in triangle tea bags.

You can bake waffles and eat them with cream or apple jam.

What was the weekday lunch at Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch actually like?

The best things at the weekday lunch at Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch were the rolls, sushi and gunkan. They kept making them. I brought plates back and ate until I was full.

The flounder sushi and salmon sushi were even better. I ate them with a little wasabi on soy sauce. I had sashimi too, salmon and tuna. There were so, so many kinds of food that I couldn't eat everything.

Once I'd eaten a good variety and was somewhat full, I moved on to dessert. In between, sipping cola or cider helps press your stomach down so more food fits.

There are 8 kinds of ice cream. I took a little of each. There are also 4 kinds of bead ice cream. I liked those better.

There are tarts, pies, doughnuts, baby choux, small chapssal (glutinous rice) dumpling balls and mini cake slices. I also saw pudding jelly and a generous variety of fruit.

The ingredients at Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch are fresh, so the flavors are clean. The rolls come in many kinds, so I just picked a few. The eel sushi is sweet and salty. There was jjamppong too, so I ate it down to the broth. Partway through I wanted fresh napa cabbage kimchi again, so I went back for more. Even at the very end, the amount of food is staggering.

I also brought a bowl of bead ice cream in 4 flavors. It's so, so cold and the little beads are delicious.

Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch has a variety of teas and a rich dessert selection, so save some room for dessert while you eat. Eat your fill of dessert too. I tried a little of every kind of ice cream, and the sweetness lifts your mood, and I finished happily with desserts and fruit.

For drinks, I tried coffee, slushies, ube latte and more. One shot of espresso poured over ice cream becomes an affogato. I had patbingsu too. I finished with tea, made as strawberry tea, rose Earl Grey and chamomile, a refreshing close to a hearty meal.

Is Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch good for Nowon family gatherings and group dinners?

Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch is a go-to restaurant for family gatherings and group dinners in Nowon. You can go with coworkers from the office, and when you can't decide where to eat in Nowon for a get-together, this place with parking is the best.

The food quality has gotten better, and the sushi is especially good. The salad bar is very varied, so it's a good-value buffet where everyone eats well and leaves with no complaints.