Jongno sushi restaurant with 3,000-won single pieces: Choe Uyeong

I feel like I've been coming to Jongno pretty often lately haha. My friend happens to work near here, and since I get off work earlier, I decided to head all the way to Jongno.

By the way, it made me miss the days I used to work around Jongno... Cheonggyecheon stream right out front, so many good restaurants, cafés, bars. Anyway, thanks to my friend I got to see Cheonggyecheon again and had a proper little Seoul outing lol.

Anyway, we met at Jongak and suddenly I was craving sushi...? We said let's eat sushi for once, so we went to a Jongak Station sushi restaurant called Choe Uyeong Sushiya :) It's near office buildings and right by the station, so with so much foot traffic, it was pretty crowded!

Where is Choe Uyeong Sushiya Jongno Branch, and what are the hours?

Choe Uyeong Sushiya Jongno Branch is at 서울 종로구 종로5길 7 지하1층 104호, 235m from Jongak Station Exit 1. It's open daily 11:00–21:30, with break time from 15:00–17:00 and last order at 21:00.

• Address: 서울 종로구 종로5길 7 지하1층 104호
• 235m from Jongak Station Exit 1
• Daily 11:00–21:30
• Break time 15:00–17:00 / Last order 21:00
• Free parking for 2 hours

This Jongak Station sushi restaurant, Choe Uyeong Sushiya, was in the basement of the Power8 building.

Down to the basement we go... There are seriously so many restaurants down there?

Why the solo counter at Choe Uyeong Sushiya fills up with Jongak office workers

Inside Choe Uyeong Sushiya Jongno Branch there are separate solo dining seats and really big, spacious table seats too. But since there are so many office workers nearby, the solo dining seats were completely full lol. The table seats were actually empty while the solo seats were packed lol — clearly, being in an office district, solo seating is that popular here. You could totally come here to eat alone without feeling awkward!

There was also a dedicated kiosk for takeout customers like this. Being an office area, I guess a lot of people come just to grab food to go?

Choe Uyeong Sushiya menu and what two friends ordered

Choe Uyeong Sushiya menu board

Here's the menu board for this Jongak Station sushi restaurant, Choe Uyeong Sushiya. There's a wide range of sashimi, sushi, and various side dishes, so you can pick and choose :) Here's what we ordered:

• Special sushi (15pc) ₩19,000
• Top sushi (16pc) ₩25,000
• Uni sushi / Eel sushi / Sea bream sushi / Tuna sushi (₩3,000 each)
• Zero-sugar cola ₩2,000
• Red shrimp sashimi ₩11,000

The miso soup they gave us as a default side! The miso soup at sushi places is always weirdly delicious for some reason...

They said they make their soy sauce in-house too? And the zero-sugar cola came in a big plastic bottle, which was a definite pass mark...

It basically became a sushi party lol. Just the two of us ordered all this and it really was a food-torture level of eating... I should've ordered a bit less. If two women come together, you might just want one sushi set each.

Adding four 3,000-won single sushi pieces: uni, eel, sea bream, tuna

I added uni, eel, sea bream, and tuna sushi separately at 3,000 won each, and since these are pricier cuts, they were so delicious! Honestly, ordering a set here is great, but ordering several à la carte pieces is also a good move :)

Special sushi: 15 pieces for 19,000 won

The special sushi was made up of 15 pieces and the composition was really good. Honestly, we also ordered the top sushi, but even the special sushi came with plenty of good cuts!!

True to being a good Jongak Station sushi restaurant, every single piece felt alive... Totally fresh, no fishy smell, delicious. The egg sushi was surprisingly good? And the white fish had no fishy smell either, it was amazing...

Top sushi: 16 pieces for 25,000 won

And then the top sushi!! 16 pieces total, and honestly one plate per person is already filling... The portions are generous, the sashimi is sliced thick, and even the rice was delicious?

Salmon, eel, white fish, shrimp, tuna and more — the fun of picking through different cuts ~ Compared to the special sushi, this had more pricier cuts, and every single piece of seafood had no fishy smell and was delicious. Honestly, with the heat lately some sushi places smell fishy and feel a bit off, but the sushi quality here was seriously great.

Sea bream, white fish, uni, salmon and more — every single piece was delicious, but my personal favorite was definitely the white fish pieces!! haha (I'm a white fish maniac...)

Red shrimp sashimi for 11,000 won as a side

We ordered shrimp sashimi because we still wanted more! It comes with 6 shrimp, and every single one was fresh. Dipped in vinegar-chili sauce, it disappeared in no time... It shone bright... then vanished.

If you're still hungry after the sushi, I recommend the red shrimp sashimi as a side!

Verdict: is Choe Uyeong Sushiya worth it when you crave sushi in Jongno?

Choe Uyeong Sushiya, a Jongak Station sushi restaurant in the basement of the Tower8 building right by Jongak Station. The solo dining seats are really spacious too, so you can eat comfortably alone without feeling self-conscious.

And every single piece of sushi was fresh and genuinely delicious... If you're craving sushi around Jongak, this is a Jongak Station sushi restaurant I'd recommend :) Also great for a company lunch!!