Seolleung Station weekday office lunch upstairs: gyukatsu at Gyuen

Working near Seolleung means picking a lunch spot is a daily chore. You want to avoid whatever you ate yesterday, but sticking to the same old places gets a little dull too. This time I wanted something different from my usual lunch rotation, so I went to Gyuen Dang Seolleung Branch (규엔당 선릉점).

Where is Gyuen Dang Seolleung Branch, and is it an easy lunch stop from Seolleung Station?

Gyuen Dang Seolleung Branch sits close to Seolleung Station, so it's an easy stop for lunchtime. The restaurant is on the second floor, so if it's your first visit, look for the sign before heading up. When you search for a Seolleung Station lunch spot, location is usually the first thing you check, and this place turned out to be convenient for meeting someone near the station too.

After getting a table, I looked over the menu. Gyukatsu is the dish that comes to mind first when you think of Gyuen Dang, so my eyes naturally went there. Usually for lunch I pick something I can eat quickly and get back to work, but that day I wanted a meal I could take my time with for once. Even while deciding, I was already curious what combination I'd end up eating it in.

Gyukatsu at Gyuen Dang Seolleung Branch: grilled piece by piece at your table

When the food came out, I first snapped a photo of the whole spread. The gyukatsu came in bite-sized pieces that were easy to pick up one at a time, and being able to grill it yourself at the table was especially nice. Instead of grilling everything at once, putting on just what you're about to eat meant the food stayed warm the entire meal.

At first I just tasted the meat on its own, then I started switching up the side pairings little by little. Even with the same gyukatsu, the feel changed depending on how done it was and what I ate it with, so I never got tired of it by the end. You can keep the outside warm and crisp while adjusting the inside to your taste, and there was something quietly fun about taking my time grilling one piece at a time without rushing. Even though it was just a lunch, I left feeling like I'd actually enjoyed the meal rather than just eaten through it.

What I liked most was being able to set my own pace. On busy weekdays I usually eat fast and get straight up from the table, but that day, chatting with the person I went with while eating warm pieces one by one turned a quick lunch break into a nice mood reset. If you like gyukatsu, you can enjoy the grilling process itself too, and it's a good option to keep in mind whenever you want a change from your usual lunch.

Why gyukatsu over the usual office lunch near Seolleung Station

Working around Seolleung Station, I care about taste, of course, but also location and how satisfying a meal feels when picking a lunch spot. Gyuen Dang Seolleung Branch was a place I wanted to remember for days when I felt like eating something other than my usual lunch. If you're looking for a Seolleung Station lunch spot, grilling gyukatsu one piece at a time and taking a proper break sounds like a good option too.

Even when you want something delicious for lunch, time is always on your mind. So usually I pick something familiar and quick, but that day, grilling gyukatsu piece by piece let me actually focus on the meal for once. Putting meat on the brazier and chatting while it cooked completely changed the mood from the busy morning. It felt like a little mood reset squeezed into lunch hour.

How long to grill the gyukatsu for the best doneness

At first I wasn't sure how to grill it, but I found that putting on just a little at a time, rather than several pieces at once, suited me better. There was fun in eating a freshly grilled piece, then cooking the next one a bit longer to find the doneness I liked. Usually with a lunch dish you just start eating as soon as it arrives, but with gyukatsu I felt like I was actively part of the eating process, which made it more memorable.

When taking photos, the food looked different right when it arrived versus once the meat was on the brazier, so I ended up with several shots. A photo of the whole spread shows what kind of lunch dish it is, while a close-up captures the cross-section of the gyukatsu and the grilling process well. Since I usually eat a similar lunch around Seolleung, picking something a little different that day means looking back at these photos will probably bring that lunch hour to mind again.

Is Gyuen Dang Seolleung Branch a good lunch spot with a coworker?

Even near the same Seolleung Station, which restaurant you pick changes depending on who you're eating with, and Gyuen Dang Seolleung Branch is one I'll likely think of again when deciding on lunch with a coworker. Grilling and eating one piece at a time while chatting made the meal feel much more relaxed. If you're looking for a Seolleung Station lunch spot and craving something different from your usual meal, spending your lunch hour on gyukatsu sounds like a good idea.