Nowon sushi buffet weekday lunch with larger fish toppings: Kuu Kuu

Maybe it is the fall weather, but as the mornings and evenings started to get properly chilly, I found myself craving sushi. So I headed back to Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch (쿠우쿠우 노원점), a great spot for family gatherings in Nowon, for weekday lunch for the first time in a while.

Kuu Kuu is such a familiar sushi buffet in Nowon that I went in without huge expectations, but compared with my visit a few months ago, there were several new dishes and the sushi quality had improved. It was better than I expected.

Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch location and weekday lunch

It is on the sixth floor of the Seoul Oncheon Building in Hagye-dong. The address is 6F, 247 Nowon-ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul. Hours are 11:00 AM–9:30 PM on weekdays and 11:00 AM–10:00 PM on weekends. Last order is at 8:30 PM, so keep that in mind if you are planning a late dinner.

If you have a reservation, skip the waiting-list registration and go straight to the counter. Walk-ins can register for the waitlist and check the KakaoTalk notification. There was not enough of a wait on my weekday visit to make it feel crowded, which was so nice. Weekday lunch at Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch is ₩27,900 per adult. See the photo below for dinner, weekend, and holiday prices.

September additions and upgraded sushi

As a sushi buffet in Nowon, Kuu Kuu's main attraction is, of course, the sushi.

The flounder and fresh salmon sushi stood out because the neta—the fish topping—was cut much bigger than before. Kuu Kuu had always leaned more heavily on neta than shari, or sushi rice, but the flounder and salmon pieces had been upgraded even further. At a sushi buffet in Nowon, you want the raw fish to be bigger than the rice for that satisfying bite, right?

The shrimp sushi now uses botan shrimp, which was a truly welcome change for someone like me who usually enjoys shrimp sushi. I loved the shrimp's natural sweetness and savory depth, so I went back for it several times.

There are so many choices at Kuu Kuu that I usually sample a little of everything, but this time it was fun picking out the sushi with noticeably larger slices of fish.

Next to the raw-fish station was cockle bibimbap (mixed rice). It is a longtime staple, and perhaps because I arrived right at opening, but I could see that plenty of people still enjoy it during the lunch rush. You can have cockle bibimbap at Kuu Kuu in Nowon without going all the way to Gangneung.

There was mulhoe (chilled raw-fish soup), soy-marinated crab, soy-marinated shrimp, red sea bream, and salmon sashimi.

September new dishes that caught my eye

The new items I spotted were Uljin red snow crab pasta, Uljin red snow crab soup with baguette, dogani seolleongtang (ox-knee soup), gamjatang fried rice, stir-fried seafood sausage, and dongpa pork trotter. With more than 100 dishes, I could not check every single one, but those were the ones that stood out.

Here are the Uljin red snow crab pasta and stir-fried seafood sausage.

There was also dim sum I had not seen before, so I tried one shrimp dumpling. Even the soup had a new addition: Uljin red snow crab soup.

For a new dish that suits fall, shiitake samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) has to be the one. It had plenty of meat, too. The broth itself was rich and deeply flavorful.

This is the Chinese-food station, and there is such a variety that you could feel stuffed after tasting just one of each.

The BBQ station for lamb chops and oysters

This is the BBQ station for hot food. Lamb chops are available all day, regardless of the time slot, and since I love lamb, I ate plenty again this time. They are proper bone-in lamb chops, already sprinkled with cumin, and the seasoning is just right.

Lamb can be divisive because of its distinctive aroma, but the Kuu Kuu lamb chops I tried were tender with no gamey smell, so beginners can eat them without worry. I wondered whether I would need gloves to pull them apart, but the meat was tender enough to eat with chopsticks alone.

There were plenty of hot dishes, including oysters, steamed shrimp, grilled matsutake mushrooms, buffalo sticks, and butter cheese corn, making it easy to balance out the sushi. Of these, I recommend the oysters. Grilled oysters are a fall treat, after all. They come with sauce and are cooked just right, so all you have to do is bring them to your table and eat.

Smoked duck is served at dinner and on weekends and holidays, so it was not available at this weekday lunch, but it looked worth checking out on a visit at another time. I liked that weekday lunch was not just sushi: there were also well-stocked higher-cost ingredients such as lamb, oysters, shrimp, and smoked pork belly. If you value getting your money's worth like I do, I do not think you will regret Kuu Kuu's weekday lunch.

Dippin' Dots now served at weekday lunch

There was another welcome change for anyone visiting with children. Dippin' Dots, which used to be served only at weekday dinner or on weekends, is now available at weekday lunch too. It is a collaboration ice cream in four flavors: milk chocolate, banana split, strawberry sherbet, and rainbow.

For adults, sushi and sashimi may matter more, but for children, one dessert like this can make a huge difference to how satisfied they are with the meal. These little details matter more than you would think when choosing somewhere for a family meal. Personally, though, I prefer the regular ice cream over by Kuwoong's Igloo to Dippin' Dots. Haha.

Maybe more new items were added here too, because the ice cream flavors had changed a little from before? I tried a new walnut-flavored ice cream this time, and it was so good that I went back for it three times.

Being able to finish everything from sushi to dessert in one place definitely broadens the options for families with children. Other desserts included fruit, rice cakes, bread, crêpe cake, and jelly. You know how people say women have a separate dessert stomach? Seeing all the neatly prepared desserts, I thought there was no need to hunt around for a dessert buffet in Nowon—Kuu Kuu could take care of it all in one go. Cream puffs and apple pie had been added too.

Items added at dinner and on weekends

A special item served at weekday dinner and on weekends and holidays is Norwegian fresh salmon sashimi. According to the notice, it is a premium item not even available at Kuu Kuu Gold locations, so salmon lovers may want to take note. Personally, rather than hunting only for expensive items whenever I go to Kuu Kuu, I choose what I like from whatever is being served that day. I think having different menus by time slot is part of the fun of visiting more than once.

Unlimited draft beer to note for a dinner visit

Another thing that caught my eye was the unlimited Terra and Kelly draft beer event. Rather than the canned beer or happoshu often seen at buffets, they serve draft beer, and unlimited draft beer normally worth ₩5,900 was free when you joined the review event.

If people who enjoy drinking are planning to visit for a family gathering, dinner, or a Nowon work dinner, it seems like a great way to enjoy beer affordably.

A spacious setting and group tables for family gatherings

Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch itself is quite large. With seating across more than 300 pyeong, it feels far more relaxed than a typical buffet where tables are packed tightly together. It is easy to move back and forth for food during a family meal, and there is no spatial pressure when several people want to sit together.

There are group tables and separate private rooms. Spaces are available from a minimum of 14 people up to larger group seating, so it would work well not only for family gatherings but also work dinners and all kinds of group meals.

When there are a lot of people, being able to sit everyone together, having parking, and accommodating different food preferences can matter even more than the taste. As a buffet in Nowon, it is convenient for covering all of those conditions at once.

A visit with more fun choices than a few months ago

The biggest change I felt on this September weekday lunch visit to Kuu Kuu was not simply that there were more dishes. The sushi quality had improved, and the restaurant overall felt cleaner. It had already been hard to fault on cleanliness, but this time the staff cleared finished plates very quickly and the food displays were neatly arranged.

During busy peak hours, someone can spill something and things can get a little messy, but I did not see any of that disorder at all, which honestly surprised me a little.

Adding new dishes had also widened the choice from sushi to meat and desserts. The toppings on popular basics like flounder and salmon sushi are bigger, botan shrimp sushi has arrived, and if you time your visit right, you can also enjoy fresh salmon sashimi or smoked duck.

Someone like me who comes craving sushi can focus on sushi, while family members who do not care much for raw fish or sushi can choose meat, fried food, hot dishes, desserts, and whatever else they want. That is the most convenient thing about a buffet. If you are looking in Nowon for a family gathering place where everyone has different tastes, I highly recommend Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch: the spacious setting lets you take care of sushi, varied dishes, and desserts all at once!