Yeongdeungpo sushi omakase lunch with mom: grilled mackerel at Sushi

Not sure where to take your mom on a date, right? Haha. It's surprisingly hard to find a place that's both good value and picky-mom-approved! So I was thrilled to discover this gem in Yeongdeungpo — Sushi Hibi's lunch, an entry-level sushi omakase with serious bang for your buck.

Sushi Hibi location, hours, parking and corkage

Sushi Hibi is located at 14-1 Dangsan-ro 32-gil, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, and takes reservations through Catch Table. There's no parking on site, so nearby public lots or the Yeongdeungpo Art Hall parking lot are recommended.

• Weekday hours — Lunch seating 1 12:00-13:00 / seating 2 13:20-14:20, Dinner seating 1 18:00-19:45 / seating 2 20:00-21:45
• Weekend hours — Lunch seating 1 11:30-12:30 / seating 2 13:00-14:00, Dinner seating 1 17:30-19:15 / seating 2 19:30-21:15
• Corkage — one bottle per party only, sake ₩15,000 / whisky ₩20,000

The exterior has a really clean, polished look.

How much food do you get in the ₩50,000 lunch?

Sushi Hibi's prices are ₩50,000 for lunch and ₩100,000 for dinner. Sometimes places advertised as budget-friendly omakase turn out skimpy, and you leave the table still going 'huh?' — but here, the chef kept sending out course after course, to the point where my mom said she thought she'd burst!

Tsumami: egg-tofu chawanmushi to grilled mackerel

The starter came out shaped like tofu — egg made to look like tofu! I didn't know chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) could come like this, haha.

Octopus with vinegar jelly. At this price point, octopus often doesn't show up at all, or it's a letdown — but this was great right from the start, and I thought, wait, what is this place?

Two generous slices of flounder sashimi came next. A great way to start.

Grilled mackerel bursting with seasonal feel! It felt like autumn on a plate, visually a real treat. The grated radish on the side was a lovely touch too.

A warm soup arrived, signaling it was time for the next step!

Watching the chef shape the sushi with such careful hands was genuinely fun to see up close, haha.

Nigiri at Sushi Hibi: sesame-topped squid to conger eel

Tsumami done, on to the sushi! First up was squid — rich yet with a rising sweetness the more you chewed, really appealing! What was unusual was the ground sesame tucked between the sashimi and the rice. I'd never had it done this way before, but it worked.

Red seabream. One of my favorite fish, haha. Savory with an explosion of umami. As the weather cools, the fish seem to get fattier and tastier too.

Another favorite of mine — horse mackerel! Just the right amount of oiliness, melting smoothly in the mouth. The minced scallion on top wasn't overpowering and tied everything together nicely.

The monkfish liver came wrapped in seaweed for you to eat like this — I love monkfish liver so much I sometimes buy the ingredients and make monkfish liver maki at home, haha, so this piece really satisfied me. A clean, light finish.

Amberjack. Getting a taste of the season through this summer-caught amberjack before full autumn sets in. On top wasn't wasabi but yuzu and chili sauce — Sushi Hibi has these unique little touches sometimes, and they stick in your memory.

What's next?

Akami tuna. A piece tailor-made for my love of tuna. Genuinely impressive quality for tuna at this price point.

Mackerel sushi came next too — I was a little worried it might taste fishy, but it finished rich with no fishiness at all.

This one's another favorite of mine—

Conger eel (anago). Getting anago this thick and tender at this price point for lunch alone feels pretty impressive.

Futomaki, Goto udon, pudding-style tamago and strawberry sorbet

Around this point came the closing futomaki (thick sushi roll). The photo didn't quite capture it, but it was genuinely huge. I watched the chef roll it and he packed in so much sashimi — and then piled even more sashimi on top of the roll... I guess I looked like I could eat, since he handed me the end piece too, haha. Thank you so much!

So big—

For the noodle course, udon was served, made with Goto udon noodles, apparently one of Japan's three great udon noodle styles. The noodles had a unique texture I'd never had before, so that one stuck with me too.

Tamago! A pudding-style tamago that I absolutely love. Apparently this style takes more effort than the castella-style version — am I really allowed to enjoy tamago like this for ₩50,000?!

Dessert was strawberry sorbet. Bright and refreshing as a finish — the dessert alone was so on point that I found myself wondering if it was really okay to enjoy this much indulgence for ₩50,000.

Is Sushi Hibi a good omakase to bring parents to?

Having actually taken my mom there for a meal, I completely understood, 100 percent, why everyone raves about the Sushi Hibi lunch omakase in Yeongdeungpo! Honestly, hearing the lunch price, I expected the spread to be modest — but from tsumami through each piece of sushi, the portions and the whole lineup were so substantial that I was completely full, haha.

They were especially attentive about checking in on the rice portion and wasabi amount for each sushi piece, which let my mom enjoy the meal comfortably too! If you're looking to get into omakase for the first time, or want to bring your parents somewhere for great-value, delicious Japanese food, you absolutely have to check this place out, haha.

Sushi Hibi drink menu and prices