Gongdeok, Seoul Korean beef omakase for a sibling's birthday: Usu

Why I picked Usu in Gongdeok for a special day

Usu in Gongdeok is a Korean beef course restaurant where every seat is a private room, so it suits days when atmosphere matters: dinner with parents, a family meeting before a wedding (sangyeonrye), an anniversary, or meeting an important guest. You can't just go anywhere on a special day. The food matters, but the mood matters a ton too. My younger sibling's birthday is coming up, so I went to Usu to celebrate early.

Usu is also well known in Seoul as a venue for those family meetings, and I understood why right away. With every seat a private room, it was really quiet and private, and the staff explained every dish of the course. The service was so good that I felt properly treated like a guest. I'd recommend it for Gongdeok dates, meals with parents, Gongdeok company dinners, and anyone looking for Korean set-course dining or Korean beef omakase in Seoul.

Where is Usu in Gongdeok, and what about parking?

Usu is on the second basement floor of Lotte Castle President by Gongdeok Station, directly connected to Gongdeok Station Exit 2, so it's super easy to find. It's open 11:00–22:00 every day, and parking is free for 3 hours with no limit on the number of cars, so driving there felt stress-free.

Go down to the second basement floor and Usu is right there. Since it's connected to the subway station, I arrived nice and dry even though it was raining.

There's a menu board at the entrance, so you can check the course lineup before going in. There's a wide range of courses from lunch to dinner, so you can choose to fit your budget or the nature of the gathering.

What's the private-room interior like at Usu?

Every seat at Usu is a room, which makes it really nice for a quiet meal. The moment you open the door you feel the upscale atmosphere. Besides private rooms there are group rooms too, so it looks well suited to family meetings, family gatherings, important meetings or a Gongdeok company dinner.

The interior is very neat. It isn't flashy; the whole place feels calm and tidy, so you could stay a long time comfortably. Rooms line the hallway, and even though we came a bit early for dinner, quite a few parties were already eating. Famous Seoul Korean set-course restaurants really are different, I thought.

This was the room we were shown to. Maybe because we'd reserved, the menu and spoons were already neatly set. It's good for quiet conversation, so it looked fine as a Gongdeok date spot too. There were hangers as well, handy for coats and bags. You can tell they care about the small things.

Usu Dinner B price and course lineup

Courses are the main thing at Usu, and we ordered Dinner B (₩109,000 per person). Both lunch and dinner are offered, and with plenty of course options you have a good range to choose from.

• Ox-and-chicken porridge (jinjuk)
• Three bite-size dishes (bulgogi sandwich, sweet shrimp gimbugak (seaweed crisp), scallop and clam)
• Shiitake shrimp, zucchini
• Korean beef tartare with gamtae (seaweed)
• Jeju tilefish (okdom)
• 1++ Korean beef tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patty)
• Abalone five-color gardenia noodles
• Chef's-choice 1++ Korean beef on a personal brazier
• Bansang (set meal with rice, soup and side dishes)
• Dessert

It starts with an introduction of the ingredients

Dinner B at Usu begins with an introduction of the ingredients they'll use today. True to a Korean beef omakase, they show you the day's ingredients first and explain them, and details like this build trust. They bring them in an elegant box and explain one by one, and my anticipation shot up from the start. "Please take care of us again today."

The moment the box opens, smoke spreads out; the presentation is great and it looks great. They explain the fresh ingredients one by one in an easy-to-follow way, so listening was fun too. The service is so good that I started to see why it's famous as a venue for family meetings.

See the marbling? This is the 1++ Korean beef sirloin that will be today's main. The marbling is truly a work of art. Just looking at the meat, I could see why people searching for a good Gongdeok beef restaurant recommend Usu.

Tilefish, sweet shrimp, and even the Korean melon (chamoe) for dessert. Seeing the ingredients we'd eat beforehand made me even more excited. This is part of the fun of a course meal, I think.

Ox-and-chicken porridge

The first starter is the ox-and-chicken porridge, which a staff member pours at your table. Neatly presented, it isn't hot, so it's easy to eat lightly.

A rich nutty flavor comes up strong, with a faint shiitake aroma. It soothes the stomach and properly opens up your appetite.

Three bite-size dishes

The bite-size dishes come as three: a bulgogi sandwich, scallop and clam, and sweet shrimp gimbugak, and they look amazing. They're so prettily plated that you take photos before eating. I liked that they explained the order to eat them in and the ingredients one by one.

The bulgogi sandwich has Korean beef bulgogi and truffle cream cheese in brioche. It's soft with a rich flavor, and one bite is hugely satisfying.

Second is the scallop and clam. Crisp outside and moist inside, so the texture contrast is fun. The scallop was tender and the clam cream sauce went well with it.

Last is the sweet shrimp with gimbugak. The sweet shrimp is super plump and sweet. Eaten with the gamtae, a faint sea aroma comes up, and the combination was much better than I expected.

Shiitake shrimp and zucchini

The shiitake shrimp comes with grade-A shiitake and shrimp, plus peanut tofu sauce and chamnamul (pimpinella) oil. The sauce is very smooth, and the chamnamul oil aroma on top cleanly brings out the flavor of the ingredients.

Eating it together with the zucchini gave a really good balance. I felt bad wasting the sauce, so I wiped it all up.

Beef tartare with gamtae

The beef tartare with gamtae comes spread out, and you roll it up yourself, which is fun. The pairing of gamtae and beef tartare was really good.

It also comes with aioli sauce, fried scorched rice (nurungji), pickled Chinese artichoke, and a cured egg yolk. The texture kept changing with every bite, so I had fun all the way through.

Sea bream in Nulrung mushroom broth, my favorite of the day

For the Jeju tilefish, the staff pour Neungi mushroom broth over it at the basic setting, and chamnamul rice is laid under the fish. The tilefish is really tender, so soft that a spoon alone breaks it apart.

Personally, this was the most memorable dish of the course that day. The Neungi mushroom broth is truly deep. It's rich yet clean, with a little spicy kick, and went so well with the tilefish. If you're looking for a good Korean set-course restaurant in Seoul, this one dish alone would satisfy you.

1++ Korean beef tteokgalbi

The tteokgalbi comes out round and cute, and it looks pretty too. Pistachio, celeriac puree, white balsamic sauce, basil oil. The sauce lineup is complicated, yet it doesn't cover the flavor of the tteokgalbi and just lifts its richness. It's tender and juicy, and I finished it in no time.

Abalone five-color gardenia noodles, my sibling's favorite

The abalone five-color gardenia noodles have noodles under the abalone, with gamtae dressing, mustard-garlic sauce, bracken, shiitake, chamnamul salad and perilla leaf, so the ingredients are really varied. The abalone was big too, with a nice chew.

You just toss it lightly in the broth and eat. It's mild and clean rather than punchy, so it was just right for the middle of the course.

My sibling said this was the most memorable dish that day. With no heavy seasoning and the natural taste of the ingredients coming through, it's a flavor you keep thinking about. It would also work as a Gongdeok date course, a lineup to enjoy slowly while talking.

Main: personal-brazier 1++ Korean beef sirloin and bansang

The main of Usu's Dinner B is 1++ Korean beef you grill yourself on a personal brazier, plus the bansang. The main finally arrives. As expected, the highlight of a Korean beef omakase is the beef. The personal brazier means you can eat warm to the end, and it's clean, which I liked even more.

The rice, soup and side dishes served with it can be refilled too. Even though it's a course meal, I never felt short on food.

Today's main. 1++ grade sirloin. The marbling is crazy. There's a reason people call it a great Gongdeok beef restaurant.

You grill it one piece at a time on your personal brazier however you like. The rosy marbling is so pretty that even a sloppy shot comes out well. Great for Instagram.

One theory of mine: with good beef, overcooking is a loss. Cooking it just a little keeps the juices and tastes best. The brazier flame wasn't too strong either, so it was just right for grilling.

I ate the first piece with nothing on it. The beef's own aroma is really good. That it's plenty tasty even without sauce says a lot about the quality of the meat.

Just a dab of wasabi and you're done. The beef itself is so good that it needs no other seasoning. It was a course where you get a Korean set-course meal and properly enjoy Gongdeok beef too.

The seaweed soup is packed with beef. The broth is deeply flavorful. Even my sibling, who doesn't usually eat seaweed soup, emptied a whole bowl. The garnishes served alongside all went well with the beef. Eating them in between, you keep getting new flavors.

Side dishes can be refilled too. The salted seafood (jeotgal) in particular was really good, so my sibling went back for more twice. Putting rice into the seaweed soup left me nicely full. Even though it's the last meal of the course, the finish was very satisfying.

We grilled the sirloin slowly, one piece at a time. You don't have to rush, so it was nice to eat while talking. I guess that's why people come here so often for Gongdeok dates or meals with parents. After finishing the garnishes too, I was very full. The course is solid, and the ending was perfect.

Dessert: Korean melon sorbet and green tangerine juice

Dessert for Usu's Dinner B is Korean melon sorbet, green tangerine (cheonggyul) juice, melon cheese, coconut chips and dill. The plating is pretty to the very end. A staff member opens the lid in front of you, and that presentation is lovely too. You can feel how much care goes into every dish.

It's not a heavy, dense style but fresh and light. Just right as a palate cleanser. The melon sorbet is smooth, and eaten with the cheese and coconut chips the textures vary, which I liked. Personally the green tangerine juice was exactly my taste. It ends on a fresh note, so I was satisfied through to the end of the course.

Is Usu in Gongdeok good for an important meal?

If you're looking for an important meal spot in Gongdeok, Usu was a satisfying place. With every seat a private room it was nice for a quiet meal, and the staff kept paying attention to everything from food explanations to pacing, brazier care and room temperature, so I felt treated like a guest from start to finish.

It suits anyone looking for a good Gongdeok restaurant, as well as people planning a meal with parents, a family meeting, an anniversary, a Gongdeok date or a Gongdeok company dinner. The course is solid and the Korean beef quality was satisfying, so after going myself I immediately understood why it has a reputation as a Seoul Korean set-course restaurant and Korean beef omakase.