Family dinner with cheese katsu and curry katsu in Geomdan: HOKATSU

I went to HOKATSU, known for its aged tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet), for a family dinner in Geomdan. Hayoon, who loves cheese, picked the sungnorang cheese katsu, my husband got the curry tonkatsu, and I chose the tonkotsu ramen, so we tried all three menus together. The thick, tender aged tonkatsu really stuck with me — here's my review of HOKATSU, a restaurant worth knowing in Geomdan.

Location and dinnertime visit — was there a wait?

HOKATSU is in Danghadong, Geomdan, Incheon, on the first floor of the building with a Megabox, so it wasn't hard to find even on a first visit.

We went without a reservation, arriving as a family of three around 6:30pm, and two seats happened to be open so we got in without any wait. By the time we sat down, the place was already nearly full, so if you're planning a dinner visit to this Geomdan restaurant, it's worth keeping the time of day in mind — you might have to wait.

The atmosphere and self-serve side dishes

Extra side dishes were available to grab yourself at a self-serve bar. Pickled cucumbers and peppers, good pairings for tonkatsu, were laid out.

2026 Blue Ribbon and country-of-origin labels

Walking in, the 2026 Blue Ribbon caught my eye — this place has been selected for the Blue Ribbon Survey, a domestic restaurant guide.

Checking the origin labels, the pork used for the tonkatsu was domestic, and so was the rice and potatoes. The cheese was labeled as being from France and the US, which was useful to know before ordering the sungnorang cheese katsu.

HOKATSU's signature is aged tonkatsu made with domestic pork, so I was curious how the thickness and texture of the meat would actually turn out.

The menu ranges from plain tonkatsu to cheese katsu, curry tonkatsu, and tonkotsu ramen, so each of us could pick something we liked.

We ordered the sungnorang cheese katsu (₩15,000), curry tonkatsu (₩13,000), and tonkotsu ramen (₩11,900).

The total for the three dishes came to ₩39,900. We decided to pick two types of tonkatsu and one ramen and share small portions of each as a family.

Handmade yogurt served before the tonkatsu

After ordering, the handmade yogurt came out before the tonkatsu. It felt a bit unusual for a tonkatsu place to serve yogurt before the meal, so I tried it first. Hayoon seemed to love it too — she finished one, kept asking for more, and ended up eating three servings of the handmade yogurt that day.

HOKATSU is known for an aging method that uses handmade yogurt, so the pre-meal yogurt and the aged tonkatsu felt naturally connected. Knowing the pork was aged using domestic pork made me even more curious how tender the tonkatsu about to arrive would be.

Sungnorang cheese katsu, packed with cheese

The first thing that caught my eye was Hayoon's order, the sungnorang cheese katsu. It looked cheese-heavy even in photos, but seeing the actual cross-section, the yellow cheese filling the inside was unmistakable.

Lifting a piece, the cheese inside stretched long — there was plenty of it. But it wasn't a dish where only the cheese stood out; the meat was fairly thick too, so eating it in one bite, you got both the tonkatsu and the cheese.

Six-year-old Hayoon, who loves cheese, pulled the plate toward herself and dug in — she doesn't usually claim her food like that, but watching her keep going for the cheese katsu, it clearly suited her taste. That's where the texture of the aged tonkatsu I'd been curious about really came through, and it made sense why this place is known as a Blue Ribbon tonkatsu spot.

How were the curry tonkatsu and tonkotsu ramen?

Crispy tonkatsu wrapped in moist curry

Dipping it generously in the curry, the sauce soaked moist through the crispy breading and the curry flavor spread richer in the mouth. Rather than sitting on top of the cutlet, the curry hugged the thick, tender meat, so each bite brought both the curry and the meat together. Eating it plain and crispy at first, then dipping it deep in curry halfway through, made for a fun shift in mood even though it was the same cutlet.

Tonkotsu ramen with a rich, savory broth

What stuck with me most was the texture of the noodles. Picking them up with chopsticks, the noodles were springy but unraveled more softly than expected in the mouth. Not just chewy — there was a springy bite at first, then it melted away smoothly after, which kept me reaching for more.

Eating the noodles together with the broth added moisture, so they stayed soft all the way to the end without ever turning stiff. Having two kinds of tonkatsu plus a hot ramen meant we could bite into crispy cutlet and then sip broth in between, going back and forth between all three dishes.

Final thoughts on HOKATSU

HOKATSU stuck with me for tonkatsu that was as thick and tender as it was cheesy. Especially the sungnorang cheese katsu that Hayoon, who loves cheese, devoured, plus the pre-meal handmade yogurt — it made for a memorable family dinner.