Salmon sushi set lunch at Ilpum, a Yeouido Japanese restaurant

When you're hunting for a good spot in Seoyeouido, some days you just want a proper lunch, you know? Ilpum Yeouido Branch is a place where I could really enjoy seafood, centered on kaisendon (seafood rice bowl) and sushi. I ordered the basic kaisendon for ₩26,000 and the salmon sushi set for ₩28,000. Before eating, the menu lineup caught my eye first, but once I actually started eating, it was the freshness that stuck with me much more.

What Ilpum Yeouido Branch looks like inside, and the seating

Ilpum Yeouido Branch is on B1 of the Anwon Building. The exterior wasn't flashy — clean and simple, with the name Ilpum standing out clearly. Inside, the layout let you see the cooking happening right in front of you.

There's a menu board out front too, so you get a sense of what kind of food they serve before even walking in. Once inside, the atmosphere felt pretty well put together.

The space I saw had both booth tables and bar seats. My first impression was that it's a comfortable place for Yeouido office workers to grab a proper meal.

What stood out most to me was how naturally open the central cooking area was.

Watching the staff prep seafood and put dishes together right there actually built trust for me. For menus like sushi or kaisendon where ingredient condition matters so much, seeing that in real time felt like a bigger deal than I expected.

How the meal starts: the appetiser at Ilpum Yeouido Branch

The flow was good even before the main dishes arrived. First came a small appetizer.

It was light and easy overall, so waiting for the seafood dishes to come didn't feel like a chore at all. And right after, the table atmosphere changed completely with the salmon sushi set.

Salmon sushi set, 28,000 won: raw salmon and seared aburi together

The salmon sushi set at Ilpum Yeouido Branch is ₩28,000. It came with both regular salmon sushi and salmon aburi (lightly seared), which I liked — not just one style of salmon over and over.

The salmon looked thick, and eating it, freshness was what hit me hardest. Not to exaggerate too much, but the condition was impressive enough that it felt almost like it had just been caught.

It wasn't just raw salmon — the aburi, with its surface lightly torched, was mixed in too, so even eating the same fish, the sensation kept shifting.

The rich, fatty texture of the salmon combined with that seared edge kept pulling my chopsticks back to the aburi pieces.

If you like salmon, I think going salmon-focused like this instead of juggling a bunch of different sushi types is a solid choice.

Basic kaisendon, 26,000 won: the most memorable dish of the day

For me, the real main of the day was the basic kaisendon at ₩26,000. At Ilpum Yeouido Branch, the basic kaisendon isn't piled with seafood on just one side of the bowl — it's packed densely with all kinds of ingredients, which is a treat for the eyes right away.

Salmon, red-fleshed fish, white-fleshed fish, shrimp, something that looked like scallop, fish roe, seaweed, egg — a wide variety all in one bowl.

It wasn't a bowl piled high with just one or two types of sashimi — it had the fun of picking through different bites. That's exactly why you'd order kaisendon here.

And here too, freshness was ultimately what stuck with me most. Every ingredient in the kaisendon had a different shape and texture, but even with so much seafood packed in, nothing felt like it broke the flow — I enjoyed the whole bowl. Given how much was in it, ₩26,000 felt relatively easy on the wallet compared to other kaisendon I've had.

Having seaweed served alongside was a nice touch too.

Wrapping a little sashimi and rice in the seaweed let me enjoy the kaisendon in a completely different way than just spooning it up straight. In front of the kaisendon, my chopsticks moved before any menu description did.

Cold udon with warm fried chicken inside — the surprise of the lunch

Midway through the meal, a service cold udon came out.

At first I thought it was just a cold noodle dish, but there was warm chicken karaage inside. The temperature contrast between the cold broth and the warm fried chicken was more fun than I expected, and it did a great job switching up the mood in the middle of a seafood-heavy meal.

Back to the kaisendon, I also tried wrapping the red-fleshed fish in seaweed.

Being able to adjust by adding more rice or seaweed instead of just eating the sashimi plain meant the way of eating stayed varied even within a single bowl.

Citrus milk pudding to finish the meal

After finishing the mains, a small dessert came out.

It was a milk pudding with a citrus fruit flavor, and it was really smooth. After all that seafood and udon, I wanted a light finish, and this did exactly that.

Basic kaisendon or salmon sushi set: which should you order at Ilpum?

Going in, I just expected a solid spot in Seoyeouido for kaisendon or sushi. Eating it, what stuck with me was the chance to enjoy a variety of seafood in one sitting, plus the freshness of the ingredients.

• Basic kaisendon ₩26,000 — for anyone who wants to enjoy a variety of seafood in one bowl
• Salmon sushi set ₩28,000 — for anyone who wants to focus on raw salmon and aburi

On top of that, the open cooking area, the mid-meal cold udon, and the closing pudding all made the meal flow feel natural. If you're looking for a proper seafood meal in Seoyeouido, or searching for kaisendon in Yeouido, this is worth adding to your list.

Apparently a number of well-known celebrities have visited, and it's said to be a spot recommended by Lee Young-ja specifically — I think that says it all!