Jongno sushi restaurant with 15-piece sushi: Choe Uyeong Sushiya

I visited Choe Uyeong Sushiya Jongno Branch, which serves premium sushi and sashimi made carefully with fresh ingredients every day at reasonable prices. The premium sushi set has 15 pieces, with upscale, varied choices such as uni, tuna, and eel, so I wanted to introduce it as a nice spot for a solo meal for Gwanghwamun office workers or a Jongno date.

Choe Uyeong Sushiya Jongno Branch near Jonggak Station

Choe Uyeong Sushiya Jongno Branch is located on basement level 1.

There are at least six separated tables seating four, so it looked like a place where you could enjoy a Jonggak Station date or a family meal privately.

With 12 bar seats, it also looked great for a solo lunch at a Gwanghwamun lunch spot.

There are three tables for six, so it would also work well for Jongno office workers coming as a group for a dinner get-together.

Menu and what we ordered

• Assorted sashimi ₩40,000 / premium sashimi ₩70,000 / ankimo (monkfish liver) ₩6,000 / premium uni ₩19,000
• Assorted sushi (12 pieces) ₩13,000 / premium sushi (15 pieces) ₩19,000 / top sushi (16 pieces) ₩27,000 / premium ultimate sushi (17 pieces) ₩33,000
• Assorted kaisendon (seafood rice bowl) ₩14,000 / premium kaisendon ₩19,000 / top kaisendon ₩25,000
• Assorted tempura ₩13,000 / yubu udon (fried tofu udon) ₩5,000 / shrimp tempura udon ₩6,000
• Soju, beer, sake, and sour cocktails

We ordered two premium 15-piece sushi sets at ₩19,000 each, premium kaisendon at ₩19,000, and assorted tempura at ₩13,000.

Two premium 15-piece sushi sets, ₩19,000 each

For a 15-piece sushi set, it was great value and had such a varied selection.

The egg sushi was so soft it barely felt like ordinary egg sushi, with a slight smoky aroma.

The eel sushi was delicious with its sweet sauce brushed over it.

The scallop was so soft it seemed to melt as soon as it hit my mouth. The crab sushi was topped with picked crab meat, making it easy to eat neatly. The cuttlefish had a pleasantly chewy texture, too.

The red shrimp had a rich, deep flavor.

I especially liked that there were three kinds of gunkan sushi: tuna, uni, and monkfish liver, so you could enjoy different flavors.

It also came with several other varieties, including tuna, red sea bream, salmon and onion, and flounder, so it was fun choosing what to eat.

Premium kaisendon, ₩19,000

The kaisendon had a similar lineup to the sushi, topped with uni, crab meat, salmon, tuna, scallop, cuttlefish, red shrimp, and more. It included a variety of white fish and salmon. There were also red shrimp, cooked shrimp, and lightly seared raw shrimp! It was great being able to fully enjoy the shrimp's rich flavor.

Crab meat, cooked scallop, and cuttlefish.

With tuna as well, it was nice to enjoy so many kinds of seafood in one bowl, for a different experience from sushi.

Assorted tempura, ₩13,000

The assorted tempura included sweet potato tempura, kiri mochi tempura, six shrimp tempura pieces, and fish cake tempura.

The sweet potato tempura was huge, sweet, and delicious. The kiri mochi tempura was crisp outside and chewy like rice cake inside. The shrimp tempura had fairly thin batter, while the shrimp itself was plump, so its texture really came through.

At Choe Uyeong Sushiya, you can enjoy premium sushi in the ₩10,000 range, and the set has a full 15 pieces, letting you sample many kinds of sushi. The restaurant is fairly spacious and has separated table areas, making it good not only for office-worker lunches but also dates and group dinners, so I’d recommend it for sushi in Jongno!