Wasabi over sauce at a Cheonan Sinbu-dong gyukatsu spot: Izawa

I had some errands in Cheonan recently, and my husband and I ended up on a rare date in Sinbu-dong. There are a bunch of good restaurants in Sinbu-dong, but I'd been craving gyukatsu (Japanese beef cutlet) for a while, so I looked up where to get it around here and found this place.

Where Izawa Cheonan Sinbu-dong is and how to find it

Izawa Cheonan Sinbu-dong Branch sits in the food alley across from the Sinsegae Department Store in Sinbu-dong. It's on the 2nd floor, so you go inside the building and head upstairs.

Impossible to miss — the Izawa sign, in Japanese lettering, jumps right out at you!

Even with a Japanese-language sign, gyukatsu references are posted all over the place so you know instantly what kind of restaurant this is!

There's a menu board out front before you even go in, so you can decide what to order ahead of time.

Since Izawa is on the 2nd floor, just walk into the building and head upstairs.

How long is the wait at Izawa at 1:30 PM on a weekend?

Right next to the entrance there's a waiting area with room for about 2 groups (roughly 4-5 people), assuming two per group. We visited around 1:30 PM on a weekend and were second in line! That's how popular this place is. I wanted to take a photo of the waiting area, but there were people lined up both when we went in and when we left, so I never got the shot...

Just a heads-up — the restroom isn't inside the restaurant, it's on the 2.5th floor!

Inside Izawa: tables and a counter for solo diners

Inside, it's mostly tables for two or four. There are plenty of seats, and orders come out fast, so turnover is quick! There's also a counter seat facing the wall in the back, which looked great for solo dining.

Izawa's menu and what comes with Set Menu B

Here's the Izawa menu! They used to serve tonkatsu (pork cutlet) too, but apparently not anymore — gyukatsu is the main event now.

Rice and salad get refilled on request! We were full with just the first serving, so we skipped the refill.

Each table already has a mini brazier set up on it in advance.

We ordered Set Menu B — two gyukatsu set meals plus one drink!

Is 180g of gyukatsu enough for one person?

Here's what the basic gyukatsu set looks like! It comes with 180g of gyukatsu, rice, soup, sauce, and kkakdugi (radish kimchi).

Doesn't it look amazing?? At first I thought the portion seemed small, but as I ate I got full. Guys might feel like it's on the smaller side, so I'd recommend adding extra meat or ordering the double portion from the start!

The basic set comes with two sauces perfect for dipping the gyukatsu, plus kkakdugi to cut the richness. The soup was refreshing and delicious too!

I wanted to get a shot with the mini brazier in frame, but the angle just wouldn't work out...

How to grill the gyukatsu on the mini brazier

The mini brazier has strong heat, so it cooks quickly! The best part about gyukatsu is that you can adjust the doneness exactly to your taste!

Just keep checking on it and flip it front and back every so often.

I ate mine as soon as there wasn't any raw pink left, haha. Personally, I find slightly medium-rare more tender and tastier than fully cooked.

Wasabi instead of sauce: the best combination

The sauce is good too, but I found it tastiest just topped with wasabi alone! It let the meat's natural flavor come through, and it was tender and delicious. Eating it together with rice and salad — so good! This is Japan right here!! I get why this place is always packed.

Lunch service runs until 2:40 PM, and they may close early if ingredients run out! Especially on weekends, I'd definitely recommend booking ahead through Naver Reservations!!