Jongno sushi restaurant with non-alcoholic yuzu: Choe Uyeong Sushiya

A new sushi restaurant between Jonggak Station and Gwanghwamun

A new sushi spot in Jongno! I heard there’s a branch in Yeouido too, but since a new one had opened in Jongno, I went right away.

It’s right there when you enter the TOWER8 building and head down to the basement! It sits exactly between Jonggak Station and Gwanghwamun, so it’s super easy to get to haha. I especially think lots of office workers will come by at lunchtime!

As befits a newly opened sushi restaurant, there were congratulatory flower wreaths too haha.

Since it hasn’t been open long, the exterior was nice and clean haha. The photos outside look so delicious, right? I was especially surprised that, for sushi and considering prices these days, the price range wasn’t bad at all!

A menu from sushi to kaisendon

The menu has lots of options, from sushi to kaisendon (seafood rice bowl) and sashimi haha. In particular, build-your-own sushi starts at ₩1,000 per piece and goes up to ₩3,000, so you can enjoy exactly the sushi you want at a reasonable price!

From solo seats to separated tables for gatherings

Because it’s near Jongno and Jonggak, there are more than 10 solo counter seats for office workers, so it seemed great for eating or drinking alone haha. There were also long tables for group meetups or company dinners, plus partitioned spots where three or four people can eat more privately! Personally, I find separated seating like this much more comfortable for conversation than tables packed too closely together haha.

You can order from your seat, but there’s also a kiosk at the entrance where you can order haha.

House-made soy sauce and a 17-piece premium sushi set

Each table has water, pickled ginger, and gari, and what I found especially interesting was that Choe Uyeong Sushiya uses house-made soy sauce! The house-made soy sauce was seriously delicious~

I ordered the 17-piece premium sushi set (₩33,000) and non-alcoholic yuzu (₩4,000). When you order, they bring miso soup and wasabi too!

The non-alcoholic yuzu came in a Stella beer glass! It made my mouth feel so fresh, with a charm quite different from soda or beer haha. Even if I come back next time, I think I’ll definitely order this again.. (It was so good I took a photo of the product name..)

And before long, the sushi I ordered arrived haha. With 17 pieces, it looks like plenty, right? Since it’s the premium sushi set, it felt like a collection of sushi that would cost more than ₩3,000 each à la carte!

The premium sushi set included fatty fin, sea urchin roe, eel, yukhoe (Korean-style seasoned raw beef), abalone, and even sea cucumber innards, so it really lived up to its name haha! I especially liked the crab sushi haha. It felt like something I hadn’t had at other sushi restaurants, and you could really taste the crab. If you try the set and find something you love enough to have again, you can order it as à la carte sushi too. (The sushi in the set is also on the à la carte menu~)

Sushi alone or a drink after work near Jonggak Station

They say the sushi is made every day with fresh ingredients, and I think the prices are very reasonable haha. You can enjoy sushi, kaisendon, and even seasonal menu items without feeling burdened by the cost, and there are plenty of seats for dining alone, so it seems like a nice place to visit when you want sushi by yourself for lunch or dinner. Especially for office workers near Jonggak Station, it seems like you could enjoy a drink after work at a reasonable price too ♡