Jongno Japanese restaurant for raw shrimp sushi: Ilpum Gwanghwamun

Ilpum Gwanghwamun, close to Gwanghwamun Station

Ilpum is on B2 of Le Meilleur Jongno Town. It’s a three-minute walk from Exit 4 of Gwanghwamun Station, or five minutes from Exit 1 of Jonggak Station! Seeing the long row of waiting benches outside, I got the feeling lunch comes with a wait. I recommend reserving ahead like I did.

📍 Location: 223, B2, Le Meilleur Jongno Town, 19 Jong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea ⏰ Hours: Mon–Sat 11:00–21:30 (break time 15:00–17:30 / closed Sunday) 🅿️ Parking: Building parking available, with 2 hours of free parking support

Counter seats and plenty of table seating

I reserved and sat at the counter! The great thing about counter seating is getting to watch the food being prepared right in front of you, haha. It’s fun to watch, so it’s perfect for dining solo too. There were plenty of tables farther inside, so families or groups of friends can visit comfortably. It was also handy that you can order right away by QR code at every seat without having to call over staff.

The walls were packed with celebrity signatures, so this really seems like a legit local favorite... A small but thoughtful touch: each seat has a wooden hanger for your coat!

Kaisendon and today’s sushi prices

Here’s the menu! Kaisendon (seafood rice bowl) is ₩26,000 / premium kaisendon ₩37,000, while today’s sushi is ₩28,000 / whole unagi don (grilled eel rice bowl) ₩40,000. It’s not exactly cheap, but every main comes with chawanmushi (steamed egg custard), a noodle dish, and dessert, so it feels like a course meal. The three of us ordered two kaisendon and one sushi set!

Miso soup and fluffy steamed egg

First up, the side dishes were miso soup and steamed egg! The steamed egg was soft and fluffy like pudding, and a sip of the soup warmed me right up. It would be even better in winter, haha.

A sushi selection where the raw shrimp really shone

Here’s the sushi selection! The slices of sashimi were seriously huge... good things should be big... From flounder and shrimp to raw shrimp and tuna, the variety was so good. The raw shrimp was especially delicious that day: not fishy at all, so I polished it off in no time. I started with a light dip in soy sauce, then ended up eating it plain just to taste the fish itself.

The raw shrimp was even topped with caviar, which was a treat for both the eyes and the mouth, haha.

The complimentary futomaki (thick sushi roll) and the udon that came as dessert were insanely good too... Just look at that cross-section—so generously packed.

Thick-cut kaisendon wrapped in seaweed

And then, the long-awaited kaisendon! Thick-cut sashimi of different kinds was piled on so generously that you could barely see the rice. The squid sashimi had that wonderfully chewy texture. Being able to try salmon, tuna, flounder, and even scallop all in one bowl was the best.

The kaisendon also comes with seaweed, so wrapping it up like this is part of the fun, haha.

I wrapped salmon and rice in seaweed, then did the same with tuna, and it all disappeared in no time... The sashimi with just a little wasabi was truly exceptional. Is that why the restaurant is called Ilpum—“the best”? Haha!

Ilpum is a great Japanese restaurant in Gwanghwamun for family gatherings, dates, or office lunches and dinners. If only I had enough money to come every day, haha. I’ll probably be back the next time I’m craving kaisendon in Gwanghwamun!