Solo dinner at a Seongsu gyukatsu restaurant, four sauces: Gyuen Dang

Gyuen Dang Seongsu Main Branch: gyukatsu you grill yourself on a tabletop brazier

Gyuen Dang Seongsu Main Branch is a gyukatsu specialty restaurant on the 2nd floor at 10 Yeonmujang 7ga-gil, near Seongsu Station. I was looking for dinner in Seongsu and ended up here — I actually like gyukatsu more than regular tonkatsu (pork cutlet), so I went in with high expectations.

I really love that you put it on the brazier and grill it exactly as much as you want — there's a fun little cooking element built into the dish, haha. That's why I ended up at Gyuen Dang Seongsu Main Branch.

Solo dinner at 5pm: Gyuen Dang has bar seats for one

Gyuen Dang Seongsu had plenty of tables and also a bar seat for solo diners, so no need to feel awkward eating alone. I showed up right at 5pm thinking it'd still be early enough to eat leisurely...

But after I walked in as the first customer, people just kept streaming in lol. All coming in from 5pm? This must actually be a real hit spot...

Gyukatsu, omurice or a rice bowl? Ordering the tenderloin gyukatsu

The menu at Gyuen Dang Seongsu Main Branch is basically three categories: gyukatsu, omurice, and rice bowls, and for the gyukatsu you can choose tenderloin or striploin. After some thought, I ordered the tenderloin gyukatsu!

Also, if you take part in their review event you get a cute mini okonomiyaki (savory pancake), so keep that in mind too.

While waiting for my order, being the food-obsessed person I am, I studied up on how to eat it properly ^^ Knowledge makes it taste better, doesn't it *^^* Knowledge is power haha.

Rice, soup and salad included, with a mentaiko-mayo-style salad dressing

While I was still studying, the gyukatsu came out pretty quickly! It comes with rice, soup, and salad, so it works fine as a full meal. And the salad here was seriously so good. The dressing has a bit of a mentaiko (spicy pollock roe) mayo vibe, and it was way better than expected — I finished the whole salad bowl before even touching the gyukatsu, haha.

Isn't the color gorgeous? This is my gyukatsu.

How long do you grill gyukatsu? 15–20 seconds on the brazier

Once the staff lights the brazier for you, you place each piece of gyukatsu on it and grill it to your own liking. That's the fun part of gyukatsu, right? They say around 15–20 seconds does it, but I like mine a bit more cooked, so I went for about 25 seconds.

Four ways to eat it: salt, wasabi, Isigny butter, ginger sauce

Tenderloin gyukatsu with salt

First I tried it dipped in salt, and it was so much more tender than I expected. If you want to taste more of the beef's own flavor in your gyukatsu, this clean, simple combo is a definite recommend!!

Tenderloin gyukatsu with wasabi

Next piece went with wasabi. Beef and wasabi — need I say more, it's a totally winning combo. The distinctive sharp kick of wasabi against the meat makes it taste noticeably different~~ Ladies who love wasabi, this is the way to eat it, highly recommend.

Tenderloin gyukatsu with Isigny butter

This time I put on some Isigny butter. Once the butter starts melting, you place the gyukatsu on top and grill it, and that's when the buttery aroma starts wafting up. The smell while it's grilling is seriously amazing. The butter scent hits hard and makes you want to eat it right away, lol.

Once it was fully cooked and I took a bite, the buttery richness really came through — a totally different flavor from just grilling it plain. It gave the gyukatsu more of a steak-like feel.

Tenderloin gyukatsu with ginger sauce

They also gave me a ginger sauce, and this paired really well too. As you keep eating gyukatsu, the meat and butter can start feeling a bit heavy, but dipping it in ginger sauce, the subtle ginger scent cuts right through that richness!! So it ended up tasting much cleaner than I expected.

Personally, the butter was truly beyond expectations! Honestly, frying the meat and then grilling it again in butter sounded like it might be too heavy, but... turns out there was a reason for it after all. With so many sauces and eating styles to mix and match, even though it was the same gyukatsu, the flavor kept changing, and I never got tired of it till the last bite!

Worth recommending as a Seongsu gyukatsu spot: omurice next time

Seongsu really has so many good restaurants that I'm always torn on what to eat, but eating gyukatsu at Gyuen Dang was fully satisfying. Craving meat but also Japanese food in Seongsu? Give this place a try. If you're looking for a Seongsu gyukatsu restaurant, I recommend Gyuen Dang Seongsu Main Branch! Dip it in salt, top it with wasabi, melt some butter over it, dip it in ginger sauce — it's a place where switching up the combinations is half the fun.

Oh, and looking at other tables, the omurice looked really good too. I came alone this time and only ordered one dish, but next time I want to bring my partner and share an omurice too. I came here looking for a Seongsu gyukatsu restaurant, but next time I'll be back for the omurice, haha. Good stuff~~~!