Bucheon tuna restaurant date: soju and thin-cut belly at Nagoya Tuna

I'd been looking for a proper tuna restaurant in Bucheon to go to with my boyfriend, and we ended up at Nagoya Tuna in Sinjungdong! It's a place where you can enjoy top-grade Mediterranean bluefin tuna, 250–300 kg fish, as a course in a private, spacious room. From the tuna to the starters (sukidashi), the quality was high and we left totally satisfied,, even my boyfriend, who's picky about tuna, approved ^^ I was a little sad I hadn't come sooner, but at least I know now.. ⭐️

Nagoya Tuna location, hours and parking

Nagoya Tuna is at 35 Jungdong-ro 254beon-gil, 2F, Wonmi-gu, Bucheon. It's open 15:30–24:00 (last order 23:00) and closed every Sunday. There's no parking at the restaurant, but they cover 2 hours of parking at the Old Terminal Public Parking Lot.

To get there, walk about 8 minutes from Exit 3 of Sinjungdong Station straight toward the McDonald's side of the eatery alley!

Booking a private room at Nagoya Tuna: good for a date?

Nagoya Tuna has private rooms for 2 to 24 people, so even two of you can eat in private. Rooms can run out, so I recommend booking ahead!

We booked for 7 pm on a Monday. There was one party at the hall tables and the rooms were busy. There are also bar seats (dacchi), so for a date, or if you want to chat with the owner, you could sit there too, right? 🤍

Being able to eat privately in rooms for 2 to 24 people is a big plus too! A room really is the most comfortable for a cozy conversation 😖

There were only two of us, but they showed us to a 6-person room? 🥹 Good thing we booked, good job us!

The table was roomy and the room was big, so it felt airy, not stuffy at all. The interior is clean and classy too, so you feel properly looked after,,~~🩷

There are coat hangers on the wall, and I thought it would be a great spot for an important meeting, a company dinner or a get-together!

Nagoya Tuna course prices and what we ordered

Nagoya Tuna has five courses, from the Golden Special at ₩150,000 per person down to the Gold at ₩50,000. The two of us ordered the Royal course for 2 (₩65,000 per person) and 4 bottles of soju.

• Golden Special ₩150,000
• Special ₩100,000
• VIP ₩79,000
• Royal ₩65,000
• Gold ₩50,000

For the two of us: ✔️ Royal course for 2 (₩65,000 per person) ✔️ 4 bottles of soju, lol 🤍

The menu says they only select top-grade Mediterranean bluefin tuna of 250–300 kg! Up to 2 refills are included, but it's so generous that we only did 1 ,,^^ Most people will be fine with 2. Also, corkage is free from the VIP course, so if you're bringing nice booze, take note ☝️

Table setting and the first side dishes

Basic table setting

The basic table setting was already laid out: cucumber, carrot, garlic stems, ssamjang (dipping paste), rakkyo (pickled scallions), pickled radish, pickled ginger, pickled chili peppers and white kimchi. They're the supporters that keep you from getting tired of tuna! And they were piled on generously 🩷 You can tell how generous a place is right from the side dishes,,

There was also plenty of gim (dried seaweed) on one side of the table! A must-have when eating tuna~

Pumpkin porridge, miso soup and salad

Sweet pumpkin porridge and hot soup, ready to grease up an empty stomach..

The pumpkin porridge was especially smooth and so delicious! They also served the salad on a separate plate for each person, which was nice, such a thoughtful touch >< The sweet and sour dressing really got my appetite going as an appetizer!

Seasoned pufferfish skin

My first time trying pufferfish skin salad! It came tossed sweet and sour with minari (water dropwort) and onion, and the skin is so chewy and bouncy ㅜㅜ

Zero fishy taste and a burst of savory flavor, and I finished a whole bottle of soju with this alone ⭐️

Corn cheese

Sizzling corn cheese, a must at any raw fish place~ You have to scoop it up with a spoon, sauce and all 👍🏻 It's sweet and really good

Royal course first plate: which tuna cuts come out?

The first plate of the Royal course at Nagoya Tuna had lean red meat (akami), otoro and chutoro, cheek, belly (bellykkopsal, the navel cut) and bigeye tuna belly. It's 80% bluefin and 20% bigeye, packed with premium cuts.

And the star has arrived ⭐️ The moment we saw it, my boyfriend and I both said out loud, wow, look at that color.

It wasn't thawed too soft or icy at all, just perfectly moist, so we kept going wow,, and the plate was full of premium cuts! Let's go through them one piece at a time :)

Akami (lean red meat)

The golden rule is to start with the mild lean akami~ I just put a little wasabi on it, and it melts on the tip of your tongue... So rich and delicious!

Otoro and chutoro

Otoro & chutoro! The fatty and medium-fatty belly with gorgeous marbling,, they're so beautiful ㅜㅜ you're so pretty ⭐️ The oil just flows but it isn't greasy, and the flavor bursts in your mouth, so good.. The thawing was perfect, which made it even better! You can't wrap premium cuts like this in gim~ I just dipped them in wasabi and soy sauce and ate happily

Tuna cheek meat

Cheek meat! It looks like beef yuksashimi (raw beef) and tastes a bit like it too. Dipped in sesame oil sauce, it's chewy and sticky, so good. All the tuna was really rich and delicious. My boyfriend said it's different from other places and asked, is this aged? The base fish itself felt exceptionally good..

Thick-cut belly (baekkopsal)

My beloved belly.. 🩷 Look how thick and big they cut it! I'll eat you up the best way I can

Can you see the size, bigger than two spoons, and how thick it is? Need I say how it tasted? Fresh, perfectly thawed belly,, the crunchy chew meeting the savory lean meat was a texture jackpot 😭 By this point I felt the value was really great! It's 80% bluefin and 20% bigeye, and it really comes packed with premium cuts..

Bigeye tuna belly

Bigeye tuna belly! If you eat bluefin first, bigeye can feel less impressive, right? But why is even the bigeye delicious at Nagoya Tuna.. I was surprised that even this was so good

Shiitake wasabi with gim (seaweed)

The shiitake wasabi also comes in generous amounts, and it's salty, so it's heavenly on tuna too!

Gim + shiitake wasabi + fresh wasabi, wrapped together, just imagine how good that is!

Nagoya Tuna refill: is the second plate as big as the first?

The second plate, the Royal course refill at Nagoya Tuna, was just as generous as the first and the cut quality was the same. The first plate was plenty, but you can't skip the refill, right~?

Ta-da, the second plate ♥️ It was just as generous as the first and the cut quality was the same, so I was genuinely moved,,

Look at this.. Tuna connoisseurs know right away it's delicious, right? It melted in my mouth..!

Thin-sliced belly and a free kamadoro

The highlight of the second plate was the thinly cut belly! The first plate had thick, chewy whole-piece belly, but this time it was sliced thin, almost minced, and they gave us 4 pieces! Just changing the thickness makes the texture totally different! It's super soft yet still chewy, so good that I started thinking I want to eat it thin from now on 👍🏻

And the owner put one piece each of kamadoro (the collar belly), a premium cut normally served in the higher-tier courses, on our plate for us to try ㅜㅜ Such a surprise gift made my heart flutter.. 🩷 And it's not over yet! The squad of starters arrived with the second plate~

Side dishes served with the second plate

Tuna sushi

Two kinds of tuna sushi! The moment I saw the sushi I thought not a single starter here is a throwaway haha. The rice seasoning was just right and the tuna topping was thick and delicious!

Agujiri-tang (clear monkfish soup)

With the first spoonful of the monkfish soup (agujiri-tang), my boyfriend and I both went "ahh~~" at the same time lol Spicy, hot~ and refreshing! It wipes away the tuna's oiliness,, it soothed my stomach so much, perfect for the middle of the meal

Grilled tuna head

And a big, golden-grilled tuna head! The meat on it is plentiful.

Crispy outside, mild and savory inside, and we picked it clean. After eating cold tuna, warm food like this is so nice ^^

Boneless monkfish bulgogi

Boneless monkfish bulgogi stir-fried in a sweet and spicy sauce! It has only soft, boneless monkfish, so it's easy to eat and the sauce had real depth.

Fried shrimp

The freshly fried golden shrimp had a crackly batter and plump, juicy shrimp inside, so even though I was full I couldn't stop 🍤 Fried food is always the truth,,

Closing meal: maki or albap (fish roe rice)

For the closing meal of the Nagoya Tuna course you can choose maki or albap (fish roe rice)! We were about to burst, so we asked for just one maki. But when it came out I immediately beat the ground in regret ㅜㅜ It wasn't an ordinary flying fish roe maki, it had a thick, big piece of seared tuna (tataki) on top.. I was too full so only my boyfriend ate it... and he said it's super good ^^ So curious...

Why Nagoya Tuna is my top tuna restaurant in Sinjungdong

Nagoya Tuna is my clear number one among Sinjungdong tuna places 🤍 At other tuna restaurants, when the tuna is good the starters can be thin or the refill quality drops, but at Nagoya Tuna the bluefin itself is crazy good, and even the second refill came out as neat and generous as the first plate, which I loved! + You get 2 refills but it's so generous we could only do one!

If you want to try a proper bluefin tuna course, definitely run to Nagoya Tuna in Sinjungdong, highly recommended 🩷