Yeouido Japanese restaurant for solo lunch with Asahi draft: Ilpum

It had been a while since I went out to Yeouido, so while planning my route I decided: eat near National Assembly Station, then swing by Yeouido Park, then head into Yeouido proper! The whole trip was actually for the TFT pop-up... I was going for the Yasuo card, haha, I did all the missions right but... still didn't get it.

Ugh... at least I got to eat a delicious kaisendon (seafood rice bowl) at Ilpum Yeouido Branch, a sushi restaurant near National Assembly Station, so that was some comfort. I love seafood in general and have always had a bit of a romantic obsession with kaisendon, so I went to check it out. I'd read reviews saying that ordering the kaisendon comes with udon and dessert too, such a solid set, so I went for lunch.

Where is Ilpum Yeouido Branch, and what are the hours?

Ilpum Yeouido Branch, a sushi restaurant near National Assembly Station, is super close to Exit 3 of the station. It sits on the basement floor of Anwon Building at 25 Eunhaeng-ro, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. It's open daily from 11am to 9:30pm, with a break time from 3pm to 5:30pm, just so you know.

Last order for lunch is 2pm and for dinner is 8pm, worth noting. It's closed on Sundays too, keep that in mind. Inside, the high ceilings and clean interior give it a comfortable feel. It has an open kitchen so you can watch the cooking, which makes you trust it even more. It's popular enough that there can be a wait during lunch peak hours, so I'd recommend booking through Naver Reservation.

Following the map, I got to Ilpum Yeouido Branch near National Assembly Station easily. Once you're in the building, you just head down to the basement, easy to find. Looked like a lot of office workers eating there.

As a Yeouido kaisendon go-to spot, apparently it ranked #1 in nationwide restaurant search views. And apparently the celebrity Lee Young-ja ate here too, which makes me trust it even more.

What's on the menu at Ilpum Yeouido Branch

The menu at Ilpum Yeouido Branch, a sushi restaurant near National Assembly Station, includes kaisendon, premium kaisendon, unagidon (eel rice bowl), and a variety of sushi. There are kaisendon bowls topped with various sashimi as well as fried dishes, so check it all out.

I ordered the premium kaisendon at Ilpum Yeouido Branch, a sushi restaurant near National Assembly Station. It's a kaisendon made with kelp-aged sashimi and a variety of premium seafood.

Bar-style dachi seats: is Ilpum comfortable for solo diners?

Ilpum Yeouido Branch has well-partitioned sofa seating, great for coming with friends, partners, or coworkers. I sat at the dachi table, which works great for eating alone, or for two people sitting side by side.

I ordered the premium kaisendon along with the Hokkaido scallop cream croquette, and an Asahi draft beer too.

First out came the chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) and doenjang soup. The chawanmushi was all pudding-soft with shrimp tucked inside, absolutely delicious. While I was still sipping my beer, the kaisendon arrived.

How to eat the premium kaisendon at Ilpum

Wow, so generous and the quality was insane. So many varieties, and it's arranged so beautifully. You wrap each bite in gim-tae (dried seaweed) or gim (nori) — every piece was so carefully prepared, so delicious.

There's such a variety of sashimi on the kaisendon — salmon, uni (sea urchin), tuna, shrimp, scallop, and more sashimi I couldn't even identify, but it was great being able to try so many kinds in one bowl. You wrap the gim-tae around the rice, top it with sashimi, add a little wasabi, dip it in soy sauce, and it's absolutely magical...

Hokkaido scallop cream croquette, udon and mango dessert

And the croquette came out freshly fried, so it was absolutely delicious, ㅠㅠ. The creamy scallop inside was so good too.

And the udon that comes with it is also so, so good, ㅠㅠ.

And then the mango dessert came out, and that was delicious too, ㅠㅠ. So kaisendon plus udon plus dessert — I had such a perfectly delicious meal. This was my kaisendon experience at Ilpum Yeouido Branch, a sushi restaurant near National Assembly Station!