How to Find a Sashimi Restaurant from Jagalchi Station Exit 2, Tanks, Grill Displays and Signs

Come up out of Exit 2 of Jagalchi Station on Busan Metro Line 1 and you land right on a wide road. Get your direction right once here and everything after that is straight ahead. The reference point is the sea. The side where the buildings drop lower and the view opens up, the side where you can hear seagulls, is the direction of the water, and that is Jagalchi Haean-ro, the coastal road. Walk the other way, toward the side packed with shop signs and crowds, and you end up at BIFF Square and Gukje Market instead. Heading toward Jagalchi Haean-ro it is 220m, about 3 minutes at a normal pace. There is one stretch where you cross the road, and after that the sashimi restaurants run in a single line along the waterfront. The spot where first-time visitors go wrong is the first minute after leaving the exit. The market has several entrances, so if you turn into any alley you end up deep inside the market, and the inner part is the wholesale and retail stall area while the restaurants sit on the big road along the water. So do not turn into the alleys, just follow the big road with the sea in view all the way along. At night the lights of the fish tanks are visible from far off, which actually makes it easier to find than in daytime. If you get confused on the street, call +82-10-8998-4803.

Almost every sashimi restaurant on Jagalchi Haean-ro keeps fish tanks on the sidewalk, but where those tanks sit and how they are set up differs from shop to shop. Some places keep a single tank right beside the entrance, and others line up several compartments in a long row along the pavement. When there are several compartments, the species are split between them, flatfish in one, black rockfish in another, sea bream in a third, so you can read what kind of fish a shop has from a distance. As in the photo, whether the tank glass is clear and the water transparent enough to see the fish swimming sharply inside is another point of difference. A shop whose glass is clouded with algae or whose water looks murky is on a longer maintenance cycle, while a clear tank belongs to a shop that changes its water often. For a guest, this is less a way of finding a shop than a way of choosing one. Stand in front of the tank for just 2 or 3 seconds. If many compartments hold fish stuck to the bottom and barely moving, those fish have been in stock longer, and if you see fish circling steadily along the walls, they came in that day. Flatfish naturally lie on the bottom, so they are the exception, and the species to judge by swimming are black rockfish and sea bream. Look at the density in the tank too. Pack one compartment too tightly and the fish get stressed and the flesh turns soft.

When a sashimi restaurant has a display out front with grilled fish set out plate by plate, it means the place does more than raw fish. As in the photo, golden grilled fish sit in a row, and you can see the day of species with your own eyes as you walk past. If someone in your group does not eat raw fish, picking a shop with this display means everyone has something to eat. Shops with a single-person set meal on the menu, such as the grilled fish set meal at KRW 15,000 (about USD 11), usually keep this kind of display. The display is also a good landmark when you are looking for a shop from the street. Fish tanks are at almost every restaurant so they do not help you tell places apart, but grill displays split the street into shops that have one and shops that do not. Walk the coastal road and you notice tanks attached to nearly every door, while grill displays are far rarer, only a few in any one stretch. So if you look for the spot where several tank compartments and a grill display appear together, the range narrows quickly. A method many solo lunch guests use is to check the species at the display first and then walk in. Once the order comes in, the fish gets warmed and brought to the table, so within about 10 minutes of sitting down a full tray with rice and side dishes is laid out, and since there is none of the preparation time sashimi takes, it suits a day when time is tight.

The signs may look alike, but the information carried in the lettering differs from shop to shop. What to check is the wording beside the shop name. If a floor number is written there, the shop uses a second floor, and if there is a seat count or a note about groups, the shop takes groups. A phone number printed in large figures also means the place takes a lot of reservation calls. Look at the entrance as well. A narrow entrance with a single glass door means mostly small seating, while a wide entrance opening on two or more doors means a large hall inside. Sujeong Hoejib has its entrance right under the shop sign and runs 190 seats across the first and second floors combined. Seen from the street, the sign, the fish tanks, the grill display and the glass door all fit into one view, and that combination differs from the next shop along. The notices taped to the glass door are information too. Opening hours, days off, whether cards are accepted and whether there is a foreign-language menu get posted here. If it is your first visit, take 3 seconds in front of the door before going in and you will have fewer things to ask once inside. If you are still confused, call +82-10-8998-4803 and you will be guided in straight from the street.

Open the door and the first floor hall is right in front of you, with the stairs to the second floor off to one side. The two floors have different characters. The first floor is close to the street so getting in and out is quick, and the tables are spaced tightly, which suits one or two people eating briefly and heading off. It is also the easier floor when you have a stroller or a suitcase. The second floor means climbing stairs, but the space is open and there are seats by the window, which suits four or more people sitting a long while and talking. For family gatherings or company dinners, it is the second floor. The busy hours are weekday lunch from 11:30 to 13:00 and dinner from 18:00 to 19:30. Come alone at those times and you are likely to be seated on the first floor straight away, while four or more may need to wait until a second floor table opens. So groups of four or more can call +82-10-8998-4803 in advance and a table will be held. If older family members are with you, mention the first floor when you call. That way the stairs can be avoided. With 190 seats across the two floors, groups are welcome, but the number of large second floor tables is fixed, so for ten or more, calling as soon as you set the date is the surer move.

If you come by bus, routes 8, 30, 71, 113 and 1003 stop at the Jagalchi Market bus stop. Unlike the subway exit, when you step off at the stop you are already standing on the big road, so keep the sea on your left or right and walk along the coastal road and the fish tanks appear one after another. By taxi it is 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, and you can tell the driver Jagalchi Haean-ro or the front of Jagalchi Market. If you come by car, parking is the variable. Around the market you use a public parking lot or ask the restaurant and park nearby, but spaces fill fast on weekends and at weekday lunch, so the subway costs less time. It is three stops from Busan Station on Line 1, which makes it easy to fit in between KTX trains. If you are walking over, it is 5 minutes from BIFF Square, 8 minutes from Gukje Market and 12 minutes from Yongdusan Park. Coming from that direction you pass through the inner market, and once you come out between the stalls onto the big road with the sea in view, that row is the restaurant area. Yeongdo Bridge is a 7-minute walk and lifts every Saturday at 14:00, so timing an after-meal walk to it keeps the route neat.