Gwanghwamun kaisendon restaurant with cream croquettes: Ilpum

Do you all know kaisendon (seafood rice bowl)? It's a Japanese rice bowl that's basically sushi turned into a bowl dish, and I really love kaisendon, haha, tears of joy. But recently, near Gwanghwamun, I found a kaisendon spot with amazing value and a proper full spread!!

Ilpum Gwanghwamun hours and parking

Ilpum Gwanghwamun is open Mon–Sat 11:00–21:30. There's a break time from 15:00 to 17:00, and last order is at 20:00. Free parking for 2 hours is available.

How to find Ilpum Gwanghwamun in the underground arcade

Ilpum Gwanghwamun is on the basement 2nd floor of the building. If you take the escalator down, it's right in front of you, and if you take the elevator, turn left after getting off and Ilpum shows up right away.

Inside Ilpum Gwanghwamun: seating and do you need a reservation?

The interior was quite spacious and comfortable. They seat parties of 1–2 at the counter seats, and 3 or more at table seats. It seems most people come with a reservation, so if you want to eat without waiting, I'd recommend booking ahead! I also heard this place is famous as one of Lee Young-ja's favorite restaurants, and apparently a ton of other celebrities have already been here too!! Knowing they came all the way to this busy part of Gwanghwamun really made it hit home that this is a genuinely good restaurant.

On the table there was a menu, chopsticks, and even a water dispenser(?) right at the seat. Thanks to that you could keep pouring your own water right there, which honestly felt so cool, haha.

What we ordered: kaisendon and two cream croquettes

• Kaisendon
• Hokkaido scallop cream croquette
• Crab cream croquette

After ordering, they first brought out Japanese-style steamed egg chawanmushi, baek-kimchi (white kimchi), and a clear soup. I really love chawanmushi normally, so I dug in right away — the gamtae (dried laver) on top paired so well with it, slightly sweet yet smooth with an incredible savory depth, ugh, so good.

By the time I finished, there were even tiny sweet shrimp at the bottom, which was a really nice bonus to enjoy along with it.

Ilpum Gwanghwamun kaisendon: the rice made the difference

And then, the kaisendon I'd been waiting and waiting for finally arrived. Since it's an open kitchen, I actually got to watch them make it, and seeing them carefully stack up the rice piece by piece really built up my anticipation, haha.

So much seafood was piled on in so many varieties that you couldn't even see the rice underneath at all.

To make it easier to eat, I moved about half of the sashimi onto a side plate first and tried a bite of the rice alone. The color looked like it was packed with seasoning, which surprised me — since the rice actually plays a pretty important role in kaisendon, I tried it first, and it was more well-seasoned and delicious than I expected.

I put the sashimi back onto the rice in the order I wanted to eat them, added a bit of wasabi, and took a bite — it truly melted in my mouth, so good, ugh.

I especially remember loving the salmon since I'm a big salmon fan. The sweet shrimp also came whole, head and all, so if you're into that, you can really enjoy it fully — the texture was so chewy and springy, with an amazing sweet aroma.

Beyond the seafood you could see, there was also monkfish liver and crab meat, lightly dressed like a seasoned side dish, so I wrapped it in seaweed and made it into a maki-style bite. Tuna also goes well with seaweed, so I wrapped that too, and the seaweed's nutty flavor made everything even more flavorful.

And this thick, bread-like Japanese-style rolled omelet was slightly sweet and full of nutty flavor, so I really enjoyed it, haha.

Scallop and crab cream croquettes as sides

We also ordered croquettes as a side dish, and they came out on such a pretty plate along with mayonnaise sauce.

The fillings are different, but both are cream croquettes, so they're both packed full of cream inside — one bite and the cream comes pouring out, so you honestly have to eat these a bit carefully, ha.

If you love a good rich, nutty croquette, this is one you'll enjoy more than anyone else.

Panna cotta to finish the meal

As we were wrapping up the meal, they brought out a dessert called panna cotta. Think of it as a milk-flavored pudding with mango spread on top. I already love panna cotta, but the version here had an even richer milk flavor along with plenty of tangy mango, so you get sweetness and tanginess at the same time.

Thanks to that, it cleanly cut through any lingering fishy taste and let us end the meal on a really pleasant note.

Who will like Ilpum Gwanghwamun

• Anyone looking for a date-night restaurant in Gwanghwamun
• Anyone looking for a good kaisendon restaurant in Gwanghwamun
• Anyone curious about a good-value kaisendon spot in Jongno