Ground Floor or Second Floor at a Jagalchi Sashimi Restaurant, Where to Sit by Group Size

The biggest difference is how you get in and what kind of seat it is. The ground floor is a seat you walk straight into with no step at the entrance, so tables turn fast, and because the tank and the kitchen are close, the process of your sashimi being prepared is right in front of you. The second floor means climbing stairs, but it is a hall of long tables running in a row, good for a group sitting along one line, and quieter than the ground floor, which suits a seat you will occupy for a while. This restaurant on Jagalchi Haean-ro seats 190 across the two floors, so the use of each floor divides naturally. A guest coming alone or as a pair who will eat and leave within an hour belongs on the ground floor, while a seat for four or more staying over two hours defaults to the second. Eight out of ten guests do not pick a floor and simply sit where they are led, but stating your headcount and purpose in advance often changes the floor. The glass wall near the ground-floor entrance is covered with signed notes left by visitors, which gives you something to look at while waiting, and the second floor looks out on the street from the window side. A floor is ultimately chosen by the time and the headcount you will spend in that seat, and the right answer is not one floor but the character of today's visit. When the restaurant's Jagalchi veteran with over a decade on the job seats you, those are the two things she asks first: how many, and how long.

Because the second floor has long tables running in a single row, good for a group sitting face to face, and because it is separated from the coming and going of ground-floor guests, raising your voice carries no burden. As in the photo, wooden tables sit long with chairs lined down both sides, so around ten people fit at one table, and the gaps between tables make it easy to carry a glass and change seats. A company dinner is a seat where orders go out all at once and so needs a wide table, and a large assorted platter at KRW 100,000 (about USD 72) or an extra-large at KRW 120,000 (about USD 87) fits the structure of sitting at the center of a long table with both sides reaching in. Family gatherings get the second floor for the same reason. When three generations come together, the elders' spread and the children's spread separate, and a long table leaves room to set abalone porridge at KRW 20,000 (about USD 14) and a grilled fish set at KRW 15,000 (about USD 11) on one end with the assorted platter on the other. Weekend dinner at 7 PM is the busiest hour, and at that time reserved groups take up half the second floor. Since you have to climb stairs, switching to the ground floor is the better call if anyone has heavy bags or trouble walking, and otherwise groups default to the second floor. For eight or more, calling 30 minutes before arrival means the tables get joined together and set up in advance.

Because tables turn fast and there is no step, so it takes about a minute from walking in to sitting down. When a solo guest orders a sashimi set meal at KRW 20,000 (about USD 14) or a sashimi rice bowl at KRW 15,000 (about USD 11), the table is set within 15 minutes, and the ground floor being close to the kitchen means you feel that speed directly. Sitting alone on the second floor means using only one end of a long table, which feels awkward for you and blocks a group seat, so the staff seat parties of one or two on the ground floor. Being near the tank is another advantage. You can look at the day's live fish at the tank beside the entrance, walk in and order immediately, which also makes the ground floor the easier place to ask about species if it is your first time eating sashimi. The signed notes on the glass wall near the ground-floor entrance give you something to look at if a wait develops, and skipping the lunch peak from 11:30 AM to 1 PM means sitting down with no wait at all. Eight out of ten guests come alone or as a pair at lunch, and because they fill the ground floor and leave within 40 minutes, the turnover holds. If a pair plans to spend two hours over soju in the evening, just request a seat toward the back of the ground floor, and saying so when you book holds it. There is no need to feel self-conscious about being alone. The ground floor is exactly the seat meant for that guest.

Call +82-10-8998-4803 and state three things: headcount, time, and the floor you want. Requesting a floor carries no extra charge, and if you pick a floor that does not match your headcount, the staff will explain why and suggest the other one. For instance, if six people want the ground floor, they will tell you it may split across two tables, and if two people want the second floor, they will mention in advance that you will be sitting at one end of a long table. Arriving without a reservation means being seated on whichever floor is open at that hour, so if the floor matters, a phone call is what makes it certain. For a weekend evening, call 30 minutes before arrival, and for a group of eight or more, calling by the day before means the long tables on the second floor get joined and set up in advance. Mentioning the menu too makes it faster still. For a company dinner combination of a medium assorted platter at KRW 80,000 (about USD 58) plus a small charcoal-grilled hagfish at KRW 60,000 (about USD 43), the sashimi can be timed to come out as you arrive. The second-floor hall in the photo divides into window-side and interior seats, so if you want the window, request that as well. Around 7 PM on a weekend, reservation calls pile up and the line can be hard to reach, so calling between 3 and 5 PM connects faster. Changes go through the same number, and if your headcount drops or grows, the floor gets matched again.

The ground floor. Because you enter with no step at the doorway, a stroller rolls all the way to the table without being folded, and with no stairs to climb, an older guest with troublesome knees is comfortable too. The second floor requires climbing stairs, so a stroller has to be folded and carried, and anyone using a cane needs a hand going up and down. For that reason, parties with children and parties with older guests get offered the ground floor first even when the headcount is large, and if six or more makes the ground floor tight, they move to the second but take a seat beside the stairs to shorten the distance. The photo shows the restaurant front in the evening, where the hall continues directly past the tank and the display at the entrance, so you come in without the feeling of crossing a threshold. With a child, a seat along the inner wall of the ground floor is good. It sits away from the walkway so it does not overlap the serving path, and a stroller can be parked against the wall. For an older guest's place, start with dishes that are easy to chew, like abalone porridge at KRW 20,000 (about USD 14) and a grilled fish set at KRW 15,000 (about USD 11), and for a child, flaking grilled fish onto rice gets eaten well. Side dishes rotate daily based on what is fresh, so some days bring seasoned greens a child will eat. Saying it specifically when you book, like one stroller and two older guests, gets a seat held toward the back of the ground floor.

Waits happen at lunch from 11:30 AM to 1 PM and at dinner from 6:30 to 8 PM, and at any other hour you sit down immediately on either floor. At the lunch peak the ground floor fills first and the second often sits empty, so even a solo guest sometimes gets led upstairs, while at the dinner peak the reverse holds, second-floor groups fill first and you get led to the ground floor. Weekend dinner at 7 PM is the busiest hour of the week, and arriving then without a reservation as a party of six or more can mean waiting 20 to 30 minutes. Weekday afternoons from 2 to 5 PM leave both floors with room, so you can pick your floor. For directions, it is 220m from Jagalchi Station (Line 1) Exit 2 toward Jagalchi Haean-ro, about a 3-minute walk. It is two stops from Busan Station on Line 1, and a taxi runs about 10 minutes and KRW 6,000 to 8,000 (about USD 4 to 6) from Busan Station, or 20 minutes and KRW 12,000 to 15,000 (about USD 9 to 11) from Seomyeon. Bus routes 8, 30, 71, 113 and 1003 stop at the Jagalchi Market bus stop. For the walk after the meal, the Jagalchi main hall is 3 minutes, BIFF Square 5 minutes, Gukje Market 8 minutes and Yeongdo Bridge 7 minutes, so whichever floor you sat on, a short stroll follows easily. The last measure for choosing a floor is time. Come at the peak and you take whichever floor is open, avoid the peak and you pick the floor you want.