Sushi lunch date in Gwanghwamun, sea bream & flounder: Elephant Sushi

Sushi lunch in Gwanghwamun after Kyobo Book Centre: Elephant Sushi

My husband and I finally had our days off line up, so we went on a Gwanghwamun date. Whenever we come to Gwanghwamun there's one place we always stop at: Kyobo Book Centre. We each pick out a book we want to read, then have a nice lunch. That routine has become our own little bit of healing.

This time we went to Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun (코끼리초밥 광화문점), where we've often had lunch before. I had a good opportunity to visit and had a really satisfying date, so I'm sharing it with photos of dishes I've eaten before, mixing in meals I paid for myself. Gwanghwamun is a favorite of our family and we come all the time, so I know the restaurants here pretty well. Lately Elephant Sushi has gotten more popular by word of mouth. If you're looking for sushi for lunch in Gwanghwamun, I think you'll be happy here, so I'd like to recommend it.

Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun location and hours

Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun is at B109-5, B1, KT Gwanghwamun Building WEST, 178 Sejong-daero, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It's open daily 11:00–21:00 (break time 15:00–17:00). It connects to Gwanghwamun Station Exit 2, so it's easy to get to on rainy days or hot summer days. There's also a kids' menu, so it's a good sushi place to come with children.

Why I recommend Elephant Sushi for a Gwanghwamun sushi lunch

Elephant Sushi is in the basement of the KT building, directly connected to Gwanghwamun Station, so it's easy to reach, and the food quality is satisfying, which is why we visit often. Gwanghwamun is full of office workers, so at lunchtime lots of people are hunting for a good place to eat.

It's easy to find and the interior is clean, so it suits a date as well as a regular lunch. Best of all, there are plenty of cafés nearby for right after the meal! If you have kids, there's a children's menu too, so it works well for families.

What the two of us ordered

Here's what we ordered at Elephant Sushi this time. We also got a potato croquette through the Naver review event!

• Elephant Sushi B set for 2
• Sea bream sushi (à la carte)
• Flounder sushi (à la carte)
• Potato croquette (Naver review event)

Maybe because it's summer, the set came with soba noodles and broth instead of udon, and the cold soba really got my appetite going.

What's in the Elephant Sushi B set?

The biggest plus of the B set is that its 12 pieces let you taste a good variety of fish. There's white fish, salmon, tuna, amberjack, sweet shrimp, small squid, monkfish liver, inari (tofu pouch) sushi and egg sushi, so eating them one by one is fun.

You also get one piece of quality futomaki (thick sushi roll), which makes it feel even more generous! At our late lunch the futomaki was sold out, so I couldn't order it à la carte, though I often do. I used to love the futomaki from a place called Daemagi in Apgujeong,, and for a single piece in a set, this one is pretty big.

Before the sushi arrives, a cabbage salad and broth come out first, a light way to whet your appetite. Above all, the shari (sushi rice) isn't too big, so you can really taste the fish itself, and the fish was fresh. I was happy with every single piece.

The summer B set's soba

The soba that came with the B set for the summer season had a cool, clean broth that went really well with the sushi. I thought it was the perfect lunch combination, easy to enjoy without feeling heavy.

Definitely add the sea bream and flounder

We both love white fish, so we added sea bream and flounder à la carte. The sea bream impressed us with its chewy texture and clean, savory flavor, and the flounder was cut thick, so the nutty taste came out the more you chewed.

The B set alone is plenty, but adding a few more pieces of the fish we like made it much more satisfying. We'll definitely order these two again next time.

Don't miss the Elephant Sushi Naver review event

At Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun, if you write a Naver review you can get either a potato croquette or a beer. If you visit, I recommend the review event too.

We chose the potato croquette. It was crispy outside and soft inside, nice to eat between pieces of sushi. It's a small perk, but it made the meal feel even fuller. The quality is good, and the plating is pretty too.

Is Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun OK with kids?

Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun has a kids' menu too. This time it was just my husband and me on a date, but without our child I found myself thinking of them.

I decided that on a weekend we should come with our child: look at books at Kyobo, then sushi for lunch in Gwanghwamun. It's connected to the station, so getting around is easy, and the menu is varied, so it's a great pick for a family meal.

If you're craving sushi in Gwanghwamun

If you're craving sushi in Gwanghwamun, I'd recommend Elephant Sushi. Easy access, fresh sushi, a variety of sets and cool soba on top made for a satisfying meal. I think it suits office workers looking for a Gwanghwamun sushi lunch and anyone planning a date.

Having a Kyobo Book Centre date with my husband after so long, and finishing with tasty sushi, made it an even happier day. If you're looking for a filling, satisfying lunch in Gwanghwamun, I recommend giving it a try.