Gwanghwamun weekend sushi lunch, cold soba and tamago: Elephant Sushi

Sushi is honestly my favorite food overall. Even when I have no idea what to eat, if I spot a sushi place I get weirdly happy, and if I have to pick one thing out of a bunch of options, sushi is almost always my top choice haha. That's just how I am.

I had plans to visit Gwanghwamun and was looking up what to eat for lunch, so I searched for famous Gwanghwamun sushi restaurants. That's how I found Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun (코끼리초밥 광화문점). Apparently it's known as one of Seoul's three great sushi spots.

As someone who loves sushi, hearing that made me curious enough to just go check it out. It's also super close to Gwanghwamun Station, so I visited in person on a weekend.

Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun · B1, B109-5, KT Building, 178 Sejong-daero, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea · 12m from Gwanghwamun Station Exit 2 · Daily 11:00–21:00 · Naver Reservation available / delivery available

Where is Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun, and how close is Gwanghwamun Station?

Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun is located in the basement of the KT Building. It's listed as just 12m from Exit 2 of Gwanghwamun Station, so it was easy to find.

I was worried I might get a little lost since it was my first visit, but once I walked into the KT Building and went down to the basement level, it wasn't hard to find at all. If you have plans near Gwanghwamun Station or are looking for a sushi lunch spot as an office worker, the accessibility is pretty great!

I visited on a weekend morning and there were more people than I expected. The hours are 11am to 9pm daily, so it also looks like a solid option for weekend lunch or dinner.

An open-plan dining room that works for solo diners and groups

Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun has an overall open-plan layout. There were more seats than I expected, ranging from single seats to tables for larger groups. So it seemed fine whether you're grabbing a quick solo sushi meal or dining with several people.

Given the Gwanghwamun location, it seems like the kind of place that gets busy with nearby office workers on weekday lunches and after-work evenings. Since it was already fairly busy on a weekend morning when I visited, I imagine weekdays could be even more crowded.

Elephant Sushi's menu and ordering the B-set

The menu was more varied than I expected. There are sushi sets, à la carte sushi where you can pick what you want, and even some izakaya-style dishes good for a light drink alongside sushi.

For someone like me who takes forever to decide on a menu, a set is the easiest option, and I noticed the B-set was marked BEST on the menu board. So I went with the B-set without a second thought!

What I ordered was the Elephant B-set — 12 pieces of sushi plus cold soba. And since I always want to try tamago (Japanese-style sweet egg omelet) at a sushi place, I added that too. I planned to eat the tamago like a dessert at the end haha.

Starting light with the side dishes

After ordering, the basic banchan (side dishes) came out — cabbage salad and a light broth soup. The cabbage salad wasn't heavy on sauce; instead, the natural sweetness of the cabbage itself came through nicely, which I liked.

After a bit of salad and a sip of the broth before the sushi, I was fully ready. Now for the most important part — the sushi arrived.

What comes in the Elephant B-set's 12 pieces of sushi

Once the sushi arrived, I could see it had a really diverse lineup, which was great.

It included whitefish, salmon, tuna belly, squid, monkfish liver, soy-marinated shrimp, grilled fish, and more, finishing with futomaki (thick seaweed roll) — a plate that let me taste a wide range of flavors in one sitting.

Even from the photos, you can see how packed with variety the sushi was. I usually start with whitefish sushi, so that's what I tried first this time too.

The texture of the fish was nice and chewy, so it was tasty from the very first bite. I also pay attention to how well the rice holds together in sushi, and here the rice wasn't falling apart but was held together just the right amount. The rice and fish never felt separate — they worked well eaten together.

Why the squid sushi was the surprise of the set

Honestly, squid isn't usually my favorite type of sushi. So when I saw squid sushi on the plate, I didn't expect much, but I ended up really enjoying it here.

The sauce on top was the key — the squid and sauce came together in my mouth in a way that was surprisingly delicious. It was one of those 'huh, squid sushi is actually good?' moments haha. I guess with sushi, even the same ingredient can feel completely different depending on how it's prepared.

The monkfish liver was also really tasty. It has that distinctive soft texture that paired well with the rice, and while eating several pieces of sushi you sometimes get some that are just okay and some that stand out — but that day, everything was consistently good with no weak pieces. Each bite tasted different, which made eating it more fun.

The pieces I enjoyed most were the ones toward the bottom of the plate with a standout sauce on top — the sauces really made the flavor feel richer. The grilled fish (likely swordfish) looked like it had been torched with sauce on top, and the subtle smoky note gave it a different feel from a plain fish sushi! Eating sushi like this just makes you weirdly happy. I think this is exactly the kind of moment sushi lovers eat assorted platters for.

Ending the sushi with futomaki (thick sushi roll)

And the last thing I ate was the futomaki! Honestly I wasn't expecting much from it, but after trying it my mind changed. It was good enough that I genuinely wanted to order another whole roll.

With several ingredients packed in together, each bite had a variety of textures, and it worked really well as the final piece of the meal. If you're planning to have sushi for lunch in Gwanghwamun, I'd recommend this set.

The cold soba served with the B-set

The B-set also came with cold soba. Taking a bite of soba between pieces of sushi felt like the cold broth reset my palate each time.

After several pieces of sushi, your mouth accumulates a mix of flavors, and a bite of cold soba brings it back to clean and fresh! So sushi paired with cold soba turned out to be a pretty great combo. Having soba alongside the 12 pieces also made the meal feel more filling than sushi alone.

Finishing sweet with a tamago add-on

Finally, I tried the tamago I'd ordered separately. It was fluffier than the typical rolled egg I imagined, with a texture closer to castella cake.

It had that soft, distinctive egg flavor with a subtle sweetness, making it the perfect palate cleanser at the end of the meal. Being cold and fluffy, it worked nicely as a dessert-like finish after all the sushi.

I have a soft spot for this kind of sweet, castella-like tamago, so I enjoyed it happily right to the last bite.

Worth it for a sushi lunch in Gwanghwamun?

Since I already love sushi so much, when I was deciding what to eat in Gwanghwamun this time, sushi was the natural choice. Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun is close to Gwanghwamun Station and has everything from solo seats to group tables, so it seemed like a good fit whether you're eating alone or grabbing lunch as office workers.

Toss Pay and Seoul Pay are both accepted!

Above all, the B-set I tried came with 12 pieces plus cold soba, which felt like a great fit for anyone who wants to try a wide variety of sushi in one go. If you're looking for lunch options in Gwanghwamun, especially if you're craving Gwanghwamun sushi, this place is worth considering. If you're like me and sushi is almost always your top menu choice, I think you'll be pretty happy here haha.

Naver Reservation is available before your visit, which is worth knowing, and delivery is also an option, so it looks handy for whenever you're craving sushi nearby!