Seoul Station shabu-shabu restaurant for group dining: Yunseul

While looking for somewhere to eat near Seoul Station, I visited Yunseul (윤슬) this time. It is inside the Grand Central building, so it is easy to reach from Seoul Station, and the neat interior made it a nice place for a meal appointment or date. In particular, the menu lets you enjoy not only shabu-shabu but also jeon (Korean savory pancake), fried rice, and porridge together, so it looked great for a group meal too.

Where Yunseul is inside Grand Central near Seoul Station

It is on the first floor of Grand Central, 14 Sejong-daero, Jung-gu, Seoul. It is 167 m from Seoul Station Exit 4, inside the Grand Central building. You will find it by the windows if you come up one floor from the lobby level or enter through the rear entrance on the first floor.

This is the exterior of the Grand Central building where Yunseul is located. The large “GRAND CENTRAL” lettering at the entrance made the building easy to find even on a first visit. It was also easy enough to locate for an appointment near Seoul Station. The area around Seoul Station can be busy and crowded, but having the restaurant inside the building was a plus because it is less affected by the weather.

This is the way into Grand Central to find Yunseul. With its high ceiling and full-height glass windows, the whole space feels airy and open~

The area around the entrance is neatly arranged, and there is a signboard so you can check the menu before heading in.

Here is a closer look at Yunseul’s entrance. The dark-colored walls and soft lighting gave the entrance an overall calm feel.

Rather than the bright, casual atmosphere of a typical shabu-shabu place, it felt more refined, so it would be a nice Seoul Station date spot too. The clean atmosphere gave a good first impression even before the meal.

I wanted to sit by the window, but they were all reserved—such a shame ㅠ.ㅠ

Seating with full-height windows and warm lighting

Once inside, the first things that caught my eye were the huge full-height windows and the orange-toned lighting. There is a long stretch of seating along the windows, with round pendant lights spaced evenly overhead, and it was sooo pretty.

The spacing between tables did not feel cramped, so it was laid out comfortably for chatting over a meal with several people. The window seats let you eat while looking outside, so they would suit a date or a quiet meal appointment. There were options ranging from tables for two to seats for larger groups, and the brown and ivory seating worked well with the space.

If you prefer a tidy atmosphere over somewhere overly loud when looking for a Seoul Station date spot, this could be a good choice.

Inner seating area

Further inside, you can see this long run of seating too.

The tables and chairs were neatly arranged, and I loved the natural light coming through the large windows along with the warm lighting~ haha

I could see that high chairs were available, so it looked suitable for family visits too. There were also seats for larger groups, making the layout a good fit for a Seoul Station shabu-shabu gathering.

From prime chuck roll to porridge and fried rice

For the two-person set, we ordered prime chuck roll, minari gon-i jeon, and porridge, then added one gondre juk and bulgogi kimchi fried rice. The total was ₩59,000.

As the dishes arrived one by one, the spread turned out to be more generous than I expected.

Along with shabu-shabu meat and vegetables, we could have jeon, porridge, and fried rice too, so it offered a wider range of flavors than eating just one dish.

Thinly sliced prime chuck roll

We started with the prime chuck roll, the main event of the shabu-shabu. Because the chuck roll was thinly sliced, it cooked quickly in the broth and was easy to eat. Cooking it only lightly rather than too long made the meat go down tenderly. Paired with the vegetables, the texture was much more varied than eating the meat alone. Crisp vegetables and tender meat came together with the clean flavor of warm broth, making it an easygoing style of meal.

Jeon with minari, shrimp, and roe

Personally, the minari gon-i jeon was what first caught my eye visually. The large pancake was generously filled with minari (water dropwort), with shrimp and gon-i, or fish milt, dotted throughout, so it felt a little different from an ordinary jeon.

The outside was browned and crisp, while the inside was moist and tender with minari and the other ingredients. The distinctive fragrant aroma of minari helped cut through some of the richness of the oily pancake, and the parts with shrimp also had a subtle seafood flavor.

A light dip in soy sauce added a salty note, making it nice to eat between bites of shabu-shabu.

The gondre juk and bulgogi kimchi fried rice are here.

The gondre juk (Korean thistle porridge) was nutty and mild. It was not strongly seasoned and had a gentle aroma, so it was easy to eat as a finish to the meal, while its soft texture also felt easy on the stomach.

In contrast, the bulgogi kimchi fried rice combined kimchi’s tangy, salty flavor with bulgogi’s sweet-savory richness. And it was made with barley rice, not regular rice!

It had the characteristic savory depth of kimchi fried rice, making it a different kind of pleasure alongside the mild shabu-shabu.

When you want to share several dishes near Seoul Station

What I liked about Yunseul was that it is more than a place for shabu-shabu alone: you can enjoy shabu-shabu, jeon, porridge, and fried rice all in one meal. Above all, I liked that the restaurant itself was clean and that the lighting and seating had a calm feel. It would be good for a meal with friends, as well as a Seoul Station date with your partner.

With seating for several people and a varied selection of food, I would also recommend it to anyone looking for a Seoul Station shabu-shabu gathering spot. If easy access from Seoul Station and a neat atmosphere both matter to you, it seems worth a visit. It is a good match when you want jeon with your shabu-shabu, or for a group that would rather share several dishes than eat just one!

Yunseul hours

• Daily 11:00–21:00
• Break time 15:00–17:00
• Last order 13:45, 19:45