Daejeon lunch spot in Daeheung-dong for peanut chogye bibimmyeon: Usul

Hi, this is Jigu ♡ᵎᵎᵎ I visited Usul, a fusion Korean restaurant everyone raves about in Jung-gu, Daejeon! I was heading to Daejeon to buy bread at Sungsimdang and looked up good restaurants nearby — Usul looked delicious, so I picked it.

Where is Usul, and what are its hours and parking?

Usul is at 48 Jungang-ro138beon-gil, Jung-gu, Daejeon (lot number: Daeheung-dong 219-1), open Tue–Fri 11:00–21:00. There's underground parking in the building, free for 3 hours.

It's on the first floor of Jungangno Centum City, across from the lifelong learning center. It's about a 3-minute walk from Sungsimdang Cake Boutique and Mongsim — just cross the crosswalk in front of Sungsimdang and turn right at the intersection, and you'll find it easily. It's a 7-minute walk from Jungangno Station. It's also close to Daejeon Station, so I was so hungry I went straight there as soon as I got off the train! I went on a weekday for lunch and there was no wait.

Last order is 8pm and they're closed on Mondays! For the best taste and freshest ingredients, they only sell what they've prepared for the day. (I heard they post a notice on Naver when ingredients run out!)

What are the interior and seating like at Usul?

Usul's interior is a dark wood tone, so my eyes felt at ease the moment I opened the door. The space was clean and hygienic, and the smell of barley tea? corn tea? filled the air, which somehow put me in a good mood haha. It's clean enough that it'd be nice for a date too.

There's a variety of seating for solo diners, dates, and family meals, so you can visit comfortably.

The tables are spaced just right for chatting over a meal. If this were near my office I think I'd come often for lunch! The owner was really kind!

Usul's menu and the owner's recommendations

Everything on the menu looked delicious, so after much deliberation I got the gochujang yukhoe with yubu rolls and the peanut chogye bibimmyeon. I'm curious about the potato pancake and sujebi (hand-torn noodle soup) too. Overall the prices are reasonable, so I think even students or broke office workers (speaking from experience) could enjoy it.

The owner's recommended dishes are

• Gochujang yukhoe with yubu rolls — the signature dish, with aged kimchi and rolled egg wrapped inside sweet-and-tangy fried tofu skin, topped with gochujang yukhoe, for a mix of textures and flavors
• Chodang corn shrimp potato pancake — a crispy potato pancake topped with sweet chodang corn, savory ricotta cheese, and charcoal-grilled shrimp
• Basil doenjang cream sujebi — a signature dish where sujebi is simmered in a deep, mild broth of traditional doenjang (soybean paste) and milk, finished with basil pesto and house-made jambon for a unique flavor
• Chodang sundubu gomtang — soft tofu from Chodang-dong in Gangneung simmered in a spicy seasoning, topped neatly with bracken fern and boiled pork, a refined take on gomtang (bone broth soup)

The side dishes are garlic scapes and aged kimchi. The kimchi wasn't too strong and was really tasty!

Peanut chogye bibimmyeon, Usul's summer-only cold noodles

The peanut chogye bibimmyeon is a summer-only menu item at Usul, and it was still available so I got to try it! The onions cut through the richness of the peanut sauce really well. Like regular bibimmyeon, the peanut sauce starts off tangy but finishes with a nutty peanut flavor rising up — a taste I'd never had before. It was genuinely delicious and the portion was huge, so I ate until I was full!

Gochujang yukhoe with yubu rolls at Usul

If you like yukhoe, I'd recommend the gochujang yukhoe with yubu rolls! It's affordable too, and it was nice to enjoy yukhoe in a different way.

The gochujang yukhoe was fresh and paired well with the yubu rolls. The yubu rolls had perilla leaves, aged kimchi, and rolled egg inside — not too big, so they were easy to eat together with the yukhoe! Overall, I felt Usul is a great place to visit when you want to enjoy familiar Korean food in a slightly different way. Each dish was plated beautifully, so it was great for photos, and the flavors weren't just about looks — each dish's combination of ingredients worked well together.

The small touches that made lunch at Usul easy

There's a place to hang your outerwear, and tissues, fabric deodorizer, and mouthwash by the door — such a thoughtful touch! I recommend Usul, a clean and delicious fusion Korean restaurant in Jung-gu, Daejeon!