Rainy-day gyukatsu near Mapo Station, subway-connected: Gyudo

I wanted to go on a date with my boyfriend over the weekend, but it was raining and I really didn't feel like walking around outside. So I looked for a place connected to the subway so we wouldn't get wet, and ended up at "Premium Gyukatsu Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok Main Branch," a place connected right to the basement of Mapo Station!

The vibe was great and the meat quality was great too, so I think it'd work well as a date spot, but also for eating solo or for a family gathering — sharing it here as a Mapo Station restaurant recommendation!

Premium Gyukatsu Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok Main Branch

This place is right in the basement arcade of the Hanwha Obelisk apartment complex, right in front of Mapo Station! If you're driving, the building offers parking support too, so it's perfect for a family meal.

How to get there without getting wet from Mapo Station

The best part about this place is that you can get there straight through the basement without ever going outside! Between exits 1 and 2 of Mapo Station, there's an entrance leading down into the Hanwha Obelisk basement, and the very first thing you see once you go in is Premium Gyukatsu Gyudo! You can wait via the Catch Table app, reserve through Naver Reservation, or register for the waitlist in person.

Interior atmosphere and seating

Since it's in an office-heavy business district, I thought there wouldn't be a wait on the weekend, but when we arrived the place was packed with families eating together and couples on dates! The interior felt like a traditional Japanese night market, with wood tones and soft lighting that looked really pretty. The atmosphere was nice enough that it'd work as a blind date spot too haha. There were plenty of table seats as well as counter seats, so it didn't feel awkward at all to eat solo here!

The restroom is outside the restaurant — you use the one in the basement dining arcade! Just pass the flower shop on the left from the central lobby, and the door code is posted there too.

And since this place bills itself as a premium restaurant, there was a coat storage area on one side, plus individual drawers at every seat and even a really fancy cutlery pouch!

Menu and prices

You check the menu through the QR code at each table, and the unique thing about this place is that everything is smoked! The smoked gyukatsu set, smoked yakiniku set, and smoked nikumabushi set are each ₩22,000, with a double size at ₩35,000 and extra meat for ₩16,000. There's also the Gyudo sizzling steak set, which reminded me of Akebono Akira's steak, at ₩18,000. All the meat is sirloin, but there's also a ₩26,000 tenderloin menu! And if you leave a receipt review, you can get kataifi-wrapped fried shrimp or butter.

Smoked gyukatsu set

Smoked gyukatsu grilled on a personal brass brazier

You grill the gyukatsu yourself on a personal brazier, and this isn't like the braziers you see at other gyukatsu places — apparently it's custom-made brass ware ordered specifically for this restaurant! Maybe that's why the heat conduction was so good and it looked so high-end.

I usually like my beef medium-rare, but oddly enough, even grilled to well-done here, the gyukatsu wasn't tough at all and was still full of juice! It was really tender to chew, and since it's smoked, there was this subtle smoky aroma that I loved. They gave us what I'm guessing was Maldon salt, a sweet-and-spicy sauce, and myeong-i wasabi (wild garlic wasabi), so it was fun dipping the meat in different things. Apparently all the sauces are made in-house too!

Sindongjin rice pot rice & onsen tamago (soft-boiled egg in soy sauce)

Another thing that set this place apart from other gyukatsu restaurants was that they give you pot rice! My boyfriend and I really love pot rice, and maybe because it's made with Sindongjin rice, the texture and stickiness of the rice were just art. There was a piece of sweet pumpkin on top too, which was nice, and breaking the onsen tamago over it to eat with the gyukatsu made it moist and delicious!

Ochazuke made with broth from the self-serve bar

There's a self-serve bar right in the middle of the restaurant, and when I checked, there were three kinds of broth prepared. I've seen tea water set up before, but this was my first time seeing bonito broth and pork bone broth! And you could also get rice refills if you needed more.

I picked the pork bone broth since I'd never had it before, and the rich flavor really won me over. My boyfriend picked the solomon's seal tea, and he loved the nutty, roasted taste of it!

At first I ate it topped with the house-made radish salad, and then I added the flake topping from my personal drawer, and the salty seaweed with the crunchy flakes was delicious. It tasted a bit like sungnyung (scorched rice tea) and a bit like ochazuke at the same time, and I finally understood why this place calls itself premium.

Wrapping up

On a rainy day, from crispy, tender gyukatsu to warm sungnyung-style ochazuke, my boyfriend and I had a really satisfying meal. Grilling smoked meat on a fancy brazier, plus the delicious sauces, side dishes, and pot rice — everything was satisfying at this Mapo Station restaurant. If you're looking for a filling, tasty lunch spot near Mapo Station or Gongdeok Station, or a gyukatsu restaurant with great atmosphere, I highly recommend Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok Main Branch.