Dongjak lunch spot with NFC ordering: gyukatsu set, Hurato Sikdang

I was looking for somewhere to eat lunch near Isu Station and ended up at Hurato Sikdang. My close friend takes Pilates classes about five minutes from here, so after her workout I wanted to treat her to something delicious to help her recover.

Where is Hurato Sikdang Isu Branch and how do you get there?

Hurato Sikdang Isu Branch (후라토식당 이수직영점) is located on the 2nd floor of 6 Sadang-ro 28-gil, Dongjak-gu, Seoul. Come out of Exit 9 of Isu Station (Chongshin University Entrance Station) and walk straight — you'll see a GS25 convenience store, and the restaurant is on the 2nd floor of that building.

There was a sign standee on the ground floor advertising a promotion — spend over ₩20,000 using Naver points or Naver Pay money and you get ₩5,000 in N Pay points credited instantly.

Up the stairs we go! Naver reservations are also available.

The interior was much roomier and more pleasant than I expected for an Isu lunch spot.

There was even a framed picture of Audrey Hepburn on the wall, which I loved.

Being an open 2nd floor with full-height windows, the space felt bright and airy.

What's on the menu at Hurato Sikdang Isu Branch?

Hurato Sikdang is a place near Isu Station where you can enjoy Japanese-style set meals as the main draw.

Looking at the menu, they had set meals, rice bowls, curry, udon, and Japanese-style omurice too.

There were also reasonably priced combo sets for anyone who wants to try a bit of everything.

The gyukatsu (fried beef cutlet) set and the steki (steak) set caught our eye, and since we wanted to try both, we each ordered one.

How NFC tap ordering works at the table

You order by tapping your phone on the pad on the table — simple NFC ordering.

Gyukatsu set and steki set: what comes with each

The gyukatsu set and the steki set were served at the same time. You know how it is when you're eating with friends — everyone likes to order something different and share so you get to taste a variety of dishes. These two are the signature menu items at this Isu lunch spot, and they made a great combination for two people to share.

First up, the gyukatsu set. Gyukatsu is beef fried crisp on the outside while staying tender inside.

Since these are set meals, both come with rice, cabbage salad, miso soup, three sauces, and seasoned danmuji (pickled radish).

This is the beef that came with the steki set — a completely different vibe from the gyukatsu, so I was glad we ordered both.

How to grill beef piece by piece on the mini brazier

The gyukatsu and steki at Hurato Sikdang come with a mini brazier at each table, so you grill and eat little by little.

They even had kindly written instructions for grilling it just right. Apparently the best way to eat gyukatsu is not to grill a big batch at once, but to grill only as much as you're about to eat, and eat it right away.

The gyukatsu and steki came pre-cut into bite-sized pieces, so we placed one or two pieces on the brazier at a time and adjusted the grilling to our taste.

I tried the very first piece with just a light dip in salt — wow, it melted in my mouth the second it went in. Melted, I tell you!

It wasn't served completely raw — it comes lightly seasoned already, so even placed straight on rice it tasted just right.

It was also really good with just a little wasabi on top.

For the gyukatsu, we alternated between two sauces — both the soy sauce and the chili sauce were appealing in their own way.

The one letdown: portion size

The meat was so much more delicious than I expected that I wanted more and more — the only letdown was that the portions were on the small side! We made up for it by pouring rice into the leftover miso soup.

Good for solo dining and drinks — next time with draft beer

This time we skipped alcohol since we planned to hike Umyeonsan Mountain after lunch, but they do have Suntory highball and Kirin draft beer on the drinks list, so next time I definitely want to pair a beer with the meat grilling over the brazier. For what it's worth, Hurato Sikdang also had a nice atmosphere for solo dining or solo drinking — and since both the gyukatsu and steki were so good, I found myself wishing they offered a half-and-half set so solo diners could try both. Please, could you make a half-and-half set with a draft beer? I'd go just for that.

After a satisfying meal at this Isu lunch spot, we walked from the restaurant past Sadang Station, along the Umyeonsan trail all the way up to Somangtap and back down — hitting 22,000 steps! A proud and rewarding day.