Banwoldang tuna restaurant: akami, ulttae and parking at Jongno Darang

Jongno Darang in Daegu

Jongno Darang opening hours and location

• Hours: daily 15:00 to 01:00 the next day
• Last order: 00:00
• Address: 46-1 Jongno, Jung-gu, Daegu, South Korea

How to get to Jongno Darang and where to park

Jongno Darang is about 200m from Jungangno Station Exit 1, a 3-minute walk. It has no private parking lot, but parking at Jeongdeok parking lot, 2–3 minutes on foot, is easy. This Jongno seafood restaurant in Daegu specializes in fresh bluefin tuna and sits in the middle of Jongno, one of Daegu's hot spots.

Getting off at the bus stop across from Mangyeonggwan is also a 3-minute walk, so public transit works well too. There's no dedicated lot, but parking at Jeongdeok and walking over was convenient.

Inside Jongno Darang: atmosphere and seating

The inside has a clean open kitchen and modern decor, spread over two floors with group seating for 20+ and partitioned booths. It was a pleasant space with a trendy feel.

With tuna's fairly high prices, I assumed it was a menu for an older crowd, but there were plenty of customers in their 20s and 30s, which made me feel again how popular this place is.

With private partitioned booths too, it suits a get-together with friends, a family meal or a date, and lots of people were already having a good time from early on.

Jongno Darang menu: courses and single plates

The signature menus are the 10-stage bluefin course and the bluefin + greater amberjack course, and after 9pm you can also order bluefin and amberjack as single plates. They say they use only carefully selected top-grade bluefin.

It's a good-value course: reasonable price, solid lineup, a generous 10 stages. There are side dishes like yakisoba and futomaki (thick sushi rolls), so drinks flow naturally into a meal, and it was a satisfying visit.

A fruit salad and chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) come out to settle the stomach, and the neat table setting was nice. If you write a Naver receipt review, they also give you mochi tofu. It works as an appetizer before the meal or dessert after, and the service was kind and flawless.

Which cuts come on the 60,000 won small bluefin plate?

I ordered the small bluefin plate for ₩60,000.

The single bluefin plate is made of tuna only, with a variety of cuts filling one platter: akami (back meat), chutoro (medium belly), otoro (fatty belly), navel meat and ulttae (throat meat). Since they don't use cheap tuna and hand-pick only top-grade bluefin, there was no fishy taste at all and the deep flavor of tuna filled my mouth.

It also came with vinegared sushi rice to eat with the tuna and a rich broth that tasted somehow like it was made from tuna bones, which went perfectly with the fish.

How does the akami (back meat) taste?

The akami had a bright red color, a subtle tuna aroma and a moist, clinging texture. It was light yet soft, perfectly thawed, and still had a chewy bite.

How does the ulttae (throat meat) taste?

The ulttae had beef-like marbling, nutty with no off smell, and I loved how the full, varied taste of tuna itself filled my mouth.

Bluefin belly cuts and the best pairings

The belly had a natural savory depth and a gentle sweetness that went well with the vinegared sushi rice. With seaweed, wasabi, radish sprouts and alcohol it was a fantastic combination, flowing perfectly from snack to meal.

Honestly, this quality at this price, for real? The sticky yet rich texture was superb, and the aftertaste still seems to linger in my mouth.

Would I go back to Jongno Darang?

The single small bluefin plate at Jongno Darang was satisfying, and the course is reasonably priced too, so next time I'll return for the tuna course. I recommend Jongno Darang, a Jongno seafood restaurant in Daegu.