Gyukatsu lunch at Mapo Station: gyumabushi wins for ochazuke, Gyudo

I'd been going back and forth about whether to eat Korean, Chinese or Japanese near Mapo Station lately, and Gyudo is the place I landed on. Tonkatsu is good too, but this place is known for proper Japanese gyukatsu and striploin yakiniku, so I was looking forward to some tasty beef.

Where is Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok Main Branch, and what are the hours?

Gyudo is open daily from 11:00 to 21:00, with a break from 15:00 to 17:00. Last order is at 14:20 / 20:00.

It sits right where the underground passage from Mapo Station Exit 2 leads, and you can also walk from Gongdeok Station.

Interior and seating

The wood-toned interior reminds me of a local restaurant in Kyoto, Japan, with wide spacing between tables and bar seats too. The wood tones caught my eye the moment I walked in, and since the space is large, the tables are far apart, and the bar seats look great for eating alone. The clean yet upscale mood left an impression.

Unlike ordinary gyukatsu places, how to eat and the broths are explained in detail, so even first-timers can enjoy it without trouble. Utensils and tableware are neatly kept in a personal drawer, and there's a coat storage area too, which felt thoughtful.

Gyudo menu: gyukatsu, yakiniku and gyumabushi

True to its name, Gyudo centers on beef: gyukatsu, yakiniku sets and gyumabushi sets. The gyukatsu comes as sirloin or fillet, and the fillet is limited in quantity, so keep that in mind!

For water, there was chilled lemon water and warm solomon's seal tea.

How does the sirloin gyukatsu set come out, and how do you eat it?

This day I ordered the sirloin gyukatsu set and the gyumabushi set! The sets come with gyukatsu, cauldron rice, side dishes, sauces and broth, and there's a 2-person set that adds seaweed pollock roe and drinks, so big carb lovers might want to order that combination.

It arrives set up with pot rice, miso soup, a rice bowl and the gyukatsu,

The gyukatsu is fried on the outside and served rare inside so you can cook it yourself.

The rice is Shindongjin rice, sticky and delicious, and it beats most pot rice.

It also comes with seasoned radish strips to cut the richness, and an onsen egg (soft-cooked hot spring egg) to mix into the rice.

The plain rice portion was quite generous too.

You lay about two pieces of gyukatsu on the grill first and cook them slowly. I liked being able to grill it to the doneness I wanted.

Gyukatsu after so long! It was so good. You can dip it in katsu sauce or in wasabi and salt and enjoy different flavors.

How is the gyumabushi set different from gyukatsu?

The gyumabushi at Gyudo comes as a pot rice topped generously with well-smoked, grilled striploin.

The gyumabushi is seasoned with a sweet soy sauce.

Personally, the gyumabushi was more my taste than the gyukatsu I had: the meat was more tender, salty and sweet.

Gyumabushi also comes with seaweed so you can wrap it up. Mom enjoyed it so much.

You eat gyumabushi with the onsen egg too. It's seasoned salty and has sauce, so it went well with the egg.

Which broth suits Gyudo's ochazuke best?

At Gyudo, after eating some of your rice, you can pour broth from the self-serve corner over the rest and enjoy it as ochazuke.

The self-serve corner had three broths.

• A light, clean solomon's seal tea broth
• A savory bonito broth, which went best with ochazuke
• A tonkotsu broth that reminded me of pork soup with rice (dwaeji gukbap)

If you run out of rice, there's cauldron rice you can take for a refill, which was a nice touch.

Finally, I poured in the broth I wanted and topped it with gyukatsu, and it reminded me of the ochazuke I had on a trip to Japan.

One-line summary: gyumabushi for ochazuke

The biggest strength of Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok Main Branch is the range of flavors: smoky gyukatsu and gyumabushi, cauldron rice, various broths, and proper Japanese food in ochazuke style.

If you're eating ochazuke style, I recommend gyumabushi. The katsu itself was delicious, but gyukatsu was a bit of an awkward fit for ochazuke.