Gwanghwamun sushi, dessert tamago and black sugar ice cream: Elephant

Korean food has been so good lately that I got a craving for sushi again, so I went to Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun, said to be one of Seoul's top three sushi spots. Spoiler: it was so good, strongly recommend!!!

Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun: location, hours and parking

• Location: 178 Sejong-daero, B1 B109-5, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 11:00 - 21:00 (break time 15:00 - 17:00)
• Parking: Available (2 hours free, ₩3,000 per 70 minutes after, max ₩60,000)

How to walk there from Gwanghwamun Station Exit 2

Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun is located in the basement of the KT Tower connected to Gwanghwamun Station Exit 2, so it's super accessible. Just head into the food court on B1 of KT Gwanghwamun Building West and you'll find it easily.

I walked over while sightseeing around Gwanghwamun, went in through the 1st floor entrance, and headed down to B1 haha.

There's a nice little space on B1 that looked good for a quick rest! Arrived at Elephant Sushi ✨️

The first thing I noticed as soon as I got to the storefront was the wide-open layout! There's no door — it's open like a food court, so there's zero cramped feeling. It actually gave off an exotic vibe, like being in a sleek upscale restaurant floor in a Japanese department store basement haha. Being in a new building, it's super clean too! 👍

Inside Elephant Sushi: counter seats that work for solo diners

The left side of Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun has counter seats facing the open kitchen. You can watch the chefs make sushi in real time, and it's a great no-pressure spot for solo diners.

The right side has 2- and 4-person tables spaced comfortably apart, super pleasant.

Overall the interior has soft warm lighting and unified wood tones, so it was a comfortable place to eat.

What's on the menu and what we ordered

The menu was diverse — sushi sets, à la carte sushi, sashimi, ilpum dishes (grilled, fried, karaage, croquettes, etc.), desserts, and more. Everything looked delicious!! Ordering is done via tablet!

From the sushi sets, we ordered two Elephant Sushi B sets (12P + somyeon noodles), tamago-style dessert egg 4P, black sugar ice cream (1 serving), blueberry yogurt ice cream (1 serving), and a zero-sugar cola! I was curious about the tempura and karaage too, but weirdly I was really craving desserts, so we decided to try the sashimi and ilpum dishes next time!! 😆

The meal starts with salad and clear soup

First came black sesame dressing salad and warm soup. A sip of the soup followed by the salad was the perfect appetite starter.

Elephant Sushi B set: 12 pieces plus somyeon

The variety of sushi was huge, and just looking at it made it seem delicious, right? 🤤 Overall the fish slices were thick, so the chewy texture was really good.

The white fish varieties were savory the more you chewed, with impressive moisture and texture, while the tuna melted the moment it hit my mouth. The salmon, lightly torched on top, went great with the onion mayo salad topping. The abalone was super chewy, and the futomaki (thick rolled sushi) was so packed it was hard to fit in one bite! Though it does fit in one bite haha.

And my all-time favorite sushi, monkfish liver!! Piled generously on top, it wasn't fishy at all — creamy and richly savory, an absolute delicacy. Seriously sooo good!! Everything else was great too! 🍣

Somyeon noodles instead of udon

Usually Japanese restaurant sets come with udon, but here they uniquely serve somyeon (thin wheat noodles) instead. It comes in a hot broth, and the noodles were springy with the broth fully soaked in — delicious. There was also seaweed and minari (water dropwort) in the broth, which was a fun twist! 🍜

Gyoku 4 pieces: the sweet dessert egg

Visually it looked like fluffy castella cake. The moment it hit my mouth it melted away, filling my mouth with subtle sweetness and a nutty aroma — so, so good. Highly recommend!! 🥚 With 4 pieces, it's perfect for two people to split evenly haha.

Black sugar ice cream (1 serving)

Sweet black sugar syrup and roasted bean powder generously drizzled over soft ice cream — sweet and delicious. 🍨

Blueberry yogurt ice cream (1 serving)

Tangy-sweet yogurt-base ice cream mixed with blueberry jam. One bite finishes refreshing and clean, and honestly it paired even better than the black sugar ice cream. But since I love sweets so much, we shared the black sugar ice cream first and finished with the blueberry yogurt ice cream. 🍧

Is Elephant Sushi worth it for sushi in Gwanghwamun?

From the clean interior to the neatly composed food, Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun left me so satisfied that I wondered if there's another sushi place near Gwanghwamun with this kind of quality. It's great for a lunch break for office workers, and also a nice, easy vibe for dinner. Above all, the staff were kind, which made it even better. If you're looking for a sushi restaurant near Gwanghwamun, I strongly recommend it! 🙌

Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun is now my favorite sushi place 🩷 haha.