Pork jowl donburi with gyukatsu set at Izawa, Samsan, Ulsan

Today I'm bringing you an honest and delicious review of Izawa Ulsan The Terrace Garden branch, a gyukatsu (breaded beef cutlet) restaurant located inside The Terrace Garden, one of the hottest spots in Samsan.

Parking at Izawa Ulsan The Terrace Garden branch: 2 hours 30 minutes free

Izawa Ulsan The Terrace Garden branch uses the building's basement parking lot, and if you mention it after your meal, they'll give you 2.5 hours of free parking. Parking is usually the first worry around Samsan, but the basement lot here is genuinely huge and well laid out, so even new drivers can park with ease.

When we mentioned it on our way out after eating, they generously loaded a whopping 2.5 hours of free parking onto our ticket. Thanks to that, it was the perfect course — eat a filling meal, then head out for a walk around Samsan.

Inside Izawa: the mini brazier on every table

The interior of Izawa Ulsan The Terrace Garden branch has a warm wood-toned design, tidy and clean in feel. Every table has an adorable personal mini brazier set up, and just looking at it put me in a good mood and made me want to start grilling right away!

The three dishes ordered at Izawa

That day we ordered one each of Izawa's three signature dishes and shared them. (Ordering is via QR code on the table.)

• Gyukatsu set
• Steak set (steki set)
• Donto-rodon

Steak set: juicy beef grilled to taste

The steak set has a different charm from the gyukatsu — it arrives lightly seared on the grill on the outside, full of clean, savory flavor. If gyukatsu's appeal is the nutty, crispy fried coating, the steak set lets you really taste the beef's own moist, tender texture.

This one you also grill lightly on both sides on the mini brazier, as much as you like. There's a fun anticipation watching it sizzle on the stone plate, and one bite tells you the meat isn't dry at all — it's really soft and tender. The more you chew, the more the clean, savory beef juice bursts through, so anyone who loves the pure taste of good beef will absolutely love this!

Gyukatsu set: crisp crust, tender centre

The gyukatsu set arrives as a neat single-person spread, and it's gorgeous just to look at. The outside is fried crisp in a thin, nutty breading, and the inside is beautifully sliced, medium-rare pink and full of juice.

The moment you place the gyukatsu on the heated mini stone plate, it lets out a sizzling sound and a nutty aroma rises up — there's real fun in grilling it to exactly the doneness you like. Taking a bite of a well-grilled piece, the outside is crispy while the inside is so tender it practically melts in your mouth!

Add a touch of sharp fresh wasabi and dip it in the special sauce, and there's no greasy feeling at all — you can enjoy it deliciously right down to the last piece.

Dontorodon: the sweet-savoury pork jowl rice bowl

The donto-rodon, a pork jowl donburi (rice bowl) we ordered to eat alongside the sets, was truly a special dish too. The mound of pork jowl has that signature chewy-crisp texture, and the combination with the crunchy topping and crisp scallion strips was really good.

The sweet, salty special sauce soaks nicely into the rice, so mixing it all up, taking a big spoonful with a piece of kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi) on top makes the savory flavor explode! Having it alongside the gyukatsu and steak set in between bites made the whole meal feel much richer.

Who should visit Izawa in Samsan, Ulsan?

Thanks to the spacious basement lot and generous parking time, everything from start to finish was so easy to enjoy. Between the fun of grilling on the mini brazier and the satisfyingly tender, melt-in-your-mouth meat, Izawa Ulsan The Terrace Garden branch delivered. If you're looking for a date spot in Samsan, Ulsan, or want a delicious Japanese meal with friends or family, definitely pay it a visit!