Non-fishy sushi in Gwanghwamun, whole abalone B set: Elephant Sushi

Today I'm writing about Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun (코끼리초밥 광화문점), where I ate a whole range of sushi near Gwanghwamun Station!

Where is Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun?

Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun is at B109-5 on the first basement floor of the KT building (178 Sejong-daero, Jongno-gu, Seoul) that you see as soon as you come out of Gwanghwamun Station. It's open daily 11:00–21:00 with a break from 15:00 to 17:00, and you can park at the KT Gwanghwamun Building.

There are two electronic signboards on the outer wall of the big building, so looking for those makes it easy to find. Go inside and head down to the first basement floor. Elephant Sushi is also listed on the tenant directory, so it wasn't hard to find.

Inside, quite a few foreign visitors seemed to be dining. Lots of families were eating too, with kids and parents. After looking at the menu, I could kind of see why there were so many families, haha

What's on the menu at Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun?

The signature sushi sets are split into Elephant A, B and C sets, and you can also order the sushi you want à la carte.

Besides sushi, there are kaisendon (seafood rice bowl), hwoe-deopbap (raw fish rice bowl) and sashimi, so you can pick whatever suits your taste. There's also a separate kids' sushi menu, so it looks fine for eating out with children.

They also sell grilled egg and ice cream for dessert.

Table ordering, country-of-origin labels and the review event

Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun takes orders by table ordering, and the country of origin is shown for everything on the menu. I'm the type to check this kind of thing carefully, so it was a personal favorite part for me!

By the way, if you join the review event you can get a potato croquette or sake, so if you're visiting, check out the event too.

Elephant B set with 12 pieces: price and what's in it

That day I ordered the Elephant B set. It's ₩28,000 and comes with 12 pieces of sushi plus somen (thin wheat noodles).

After I ordered, they first brought clear broth and a cabbage salad, and then the sushi came out, and

wow, it looked so good, haha

The Elephant B set had a really wide variety: white fish, fatty tuna belly, horse mackerel, akami (lean tuna), amberjack, grilled salmon, soy-marinated shrimp, vinegared small squid, monkfish liver, swordfish, futomaki (thick sushi roll) and more. Instead of lots of pieces of just one kind, you get to taste many different fish in small amounts, which I liked.

Can you eat whole abalone sushi if you're sensitive to fishy tastes?

One of the sushi in the Elephant B set had a whole abalone on top. I honestly really can't handle that typical fishy sea smell of seafood (T_T)

So I was a bit worried about the abalone too, but when I ate it, there was no fishy sea taste at all! 🤤🤤🤤

The futomaki was so good too, and the grilled salmon and akami were delicious, so it was fun eating them one by one.

Each piece had a different fish, so I never got tired of it right to the end.

What does monkfish liver sushi taste like?

The sushi I remember most personally from this visit to Elephant Sushi is the monkfish liver. That day was my first time ever trying it.

I honestly had no idea what it would taste like, but once I tried it, it was really rich and creamy and delicious.

The somen noodles that come with the B set, and the portion

The somen that came with the Elephant B set was also perfect alongside the sushi. Sipping the warm somen broth between pieces of sushi made a really great combination.

At first I wondered about the portion with 12 pieces of sushi, but with the somen it filled me up more than I expected. I got to try lots of kinds of sushi, and even the monkfish liver and abalone I don't usually eat were tasty at Elephant Sushi in Gwanghwamun! If you're looking for a sushi place near Gwanghwamun Station, take a look at the B set too 😊