Yeonsu seafood restaurant with self-grill and dessert bar: Veteran

Today I found a hearty raw fish spot that anyone who loves sashimi should have on their radar! We went to Veteran General Fish Market Incheon Yeonsu Branch this time. You can enjoy everything from sashimi to a bunch of side dishes all at once, so we came back really, really full :)

3rd floor of Yeonsu Gwangjang Plaza, entrance and signage

This is the entrance to Veteran General Fish Market Incheon Yeonsu Branch. It already gave off strong sashimi-restaurant energy from the doorway!

Before heading in, I checked out the store info board. It said a veteran chef with 30 years of experience prepares the sashimi, using domestic live fish and seafood. It also noted that ingredients are used fresh daily.

Store size, seating and tablet ordering

Once inside, the place was much bigger than I expected! There were a lot of tables with generous spacing between them, so it looked great for a family meal or a visit with several people. Overall it felt clean and comfortable.

Each table had a tablet, and when I visited I could also see info for a receipt review event. It said you could choose between 2 dried persimmons, 2 abalone or 4 breaded fried shrimp, so keep that in mind.

Couple set for two, ₩58,000

What we ordered was the couple set for two! It's ₩58,000, but the spread is incredibly generous. Let me introduce the couple set we had.

What's at the self-bar?

On one side of the restaurant, cups, small plates and utensils were all neatly arranged. Everything you needed was well organized, so it looked easy to use.

And the self-bar was more solid than I expected! Lettuce and perilla leaves, garlic, chili, kimchi (fermented cabbage) and various sides that go well with sashimi were all set out, so you could take as much as you needed.

There was also a gas burner and a frying pan set up so you could grill your own side dish. Eating it hot and golden right off the pan was a nice treat too haha

After the meal, coffee was available and there was also ice cream ready. Being able to take care of everything from meal to dessert in one spot was a real plus ♡

Eating through the spread in order

Now it was time to really dig in! The table was set with sushi, salad, quail eggs, kimchi and lots of other food together. With the whole spread laid out from the start, it was a happy struggle deciding what to eat first.

We also had warm seaweed soup alongside everything. Taking a warm spoonful of broth between bites of sashimi went really well together.

We also ate the golden-grilled fish and picked up crispy fried pieces one by one. It wasn't just sashimi the whole time — having warm dishes in between made it fun to pick and choose what to eat next.

Thick-cut main sashimi and salmon sushi

And then the main sashimi we'd been waiting for arrived! A big plate lined with ice held various types of sashimi and salmon, beautifully arranged. It looked delicious just to look at ♡ The sashimi was cut thick, so each piece was satisfying to eat.

One bite of salmon sushi, too! You could feel that signature soft texture of salmon, and it was delicious.

Dipping it straight into sauce is great, but you can't skip putting sashimi on a perilla leaf with radish sprouts, chili and ssamjang (thick soybean-chili paste) and eating it all in one big bite haha

We wrapped it up neatly with other combinations too. Even the same sashimi feels different depending on what you add, so we never got tired of it and kept eating.

Looking at one piece of sashimi up close, the thick cut was even more obvious. It was delicious lightly dipped in vinegar-chili sauce, and it was nice being able to make different combinations to suit your taste.

Finishing spicy fish stew and flying fish roe rice

To finish, a spicy fish stew (maeuntang) showed up! It was piled generously with enoki mushrooms and crown daisy and other vegetables, and we simmered it bubbling hot. Ending things with warm, spicy broth after eating our fill of sashimi was just perfect.

Spicy fish stew really tastes best boiled hard like this until it's fully infused~~

On top of that, eating rice piled high with roasted seaweed flakes and flying fish roe was really satisfying and filling.

To sum up

Rather than ending with just sashimi, we got to enjoy everything from the self-bar to warm dishes, fried food, soup, rice and dessert — Veteran General Fish Market Incheon Yeonsu Branch, a seafood restaurant in Yeonsu-dong. It's a great place to visit for a family meal or on a day you want to eat sashimi with a group :)

• Address: 3rd floor, 202-1, 106 Beotkkotro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 11:00 - 23:00