Songdo Western-style cutlet house, ₩14,000 Ogong Set: Ogong Donkatsu

Ogong Donkatsu at Songdo Smart Square is a Western-style cutlet restaurant with a bar table, so it's easy to go to alone for lunch. I tried the Ogong Donkatsu (₩12,000) topped with their roux-free signature sauce, and the Ogong Set (₩14,000).

You know the style you crave when you want a proper Western-style cutlet, right? Crispy breading, a hearty sauce, a bowl of rice. This is my review of a solo lunch in Songdo at Ogong Donkatsu, a Western-style cutlet specialist.

Ogong Donkatsu location, parking and opening hours

Ogong Donkatsu is at 27 Songdomirae-ro 11beon-gil, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, on the first floor of Building B at Songdo Smart Square. It's open Monday to Saturday, 11:00–21:00, and closed on Sundays. It's a 14-minute walk from Jisikjeongbodanji Station, and you can use the Songdo Smart Square car park.

• Location: 27 Songdomirae-ro 11beon-gil, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, Songdo Smart Square Building B, 1st floor
• Subway: 14-minute walk from Jisikjeongbodanji Station
• Parking: available (Songdo Smart Square)
• Hours: Monday–Saturday 11:00–21:00, closed Sundays

Inside Ogong Donkatsu Songdo: good for solo diners and kids?

Besides regular tables, there's a separate bar table, so dropping in alone for a Songdo lunch feels completely comfortable. White tables with wooden chairs keep the place neat and tidy, and there are baby chairs too, so you can bring a little one.

Ogong Donkatsu menu and prices

The menu has no sides, just cutlets. The Ogong Donkatsu is ₩12,000, and the Ogong Set, which comes with a pork cutlet, fish cutlet and hamburg steak, is ₩14,000. It felt like a proper cutlet place, focused on one thing.

I ordered the basic cutlet and the set this day, but there are variations too, like cheese cutlet, sweet pumpkin cutlet and sweet potato cutlet, so I'll probably try them one by one next time. There was also an option to add a soda, and a Naver receipt review event was running.

• Ogong Donkatsu ₩12,000
• Ogong Set (pork cutlet + fish cutlet + hamburg) ₩14,000

What makes the Ogong Donkatsu sauce different?

Ogong Donkatsu skips the roux (flour and butter) that usual Western-style sauces use, and apparently makes its own signature sauce by simmering vegetables and fruit for a long time. A sign in the restaurant reads "We'll cook as if our own family were eating it," and I could feel that care in the food.

Ogong Donkatsu (₩12,000): taste and portion size

I ordered the basic Ogong Donkatsu. The meat is fairly thick and the breading is nicely crisp. The sauce especially stood out: the fruit flavor comes through, yet it doesn't get boring. Since it's simmered from vegetables and fruit, the sweetness isn't overdone and it stayed clean all the way through. Maybe because there's no roux, the aftertaste is clean too. If you've found Western-style cutlet sauce too sweet, this one is probably for you.

The side dishes are cabbage salad, macaroni salad, cucumber pickles, kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi) and jangguk (clear soup). Rice and soup refills are free, so no worries about going hungry. I considered the large portion (₩14,000), but the regular size filled me up. Then again, I think I'd have finished the large too.

What comes in the Ogong Set (₩14,000)?

The Ogong Set is ₩14,000 and puts a pork cutlet, fish cutlet and hamburg steak on one plate. The single Ogong Donkatsu is ₩12,000, so it's only ₩2,000 more. If it's your first visit and you can't decide, I'd start with the set.

Hamburg steak

The hamburg steak in the set comes with a slice of cheddar cheese on top, and the inside is densely packed with ground meat.

Pork cutlet

The pork cutlet in the set gets the same signature sauce on top.

Fish cutlet

The fish cutlet in the set comes with a sweet-and-sour special tartar sauce. It wasn't greasy, so it was easy to eat, and the fish was cooked springy and firm. Honestly, I didn't expect much from the fish cutlet, but it was good enough that I'd come back just for the à la carte version (₩11,000).

Good to know before visiting Ogong Donkatsu

For parking, use the Songdo Smart Square underground car park; register your parking at the restaurant for 2 hours free. It's a 14-minute walk from Jisikjeongbodanji Station, so keep that in mind if you're coming on foot. The bar table makes solo dining easy, and rice and soup refills are free. It's closed on Sundays.

Is Ogong Donkatsu worth it for Western-style cutlets in Songdo?

If you like Western-style cutlet, Ogong Donkatsu is well worth a visit in Songdo. The roux-free vegetable-and-fruit signature sauce sets it apart from other places, and with thick meat and free rice and soup refills for ₩12,000, it's good value for lunch too. The bar table makes it an easy solo lunch spot, and the ₩14,000 Ogong Set lets you taste a pork cutlet, fish cutlet and hamburg steak at once, so I recommend it for first-timers.

Personally, the fish cutlet was better than I expected, so next time I'll probably come back for the fish cutlet on its own (₩11,000). For those of you who like Western-style cutlet, which would you order?

Park in the Songdo Smart Square underground car park, then register your parking at the Ogong Donkatsu restaurant to get 2 hours covered.