Gwanak udon restaurant: ebi tempura udon and kelp broth at Kosi

Went with my boyfriend to the area near Seoul National University Entrance and stopped by Kosi Seoul National University Entrance Branch for udon and tonkatsu haha. We both love Japanese food and tend to hunt down good udon or tonkatsu spots, and this place had us saying "this is actually really good..." the whole meal lol.

Where Kosi Seoul National University Entrance Branch is, and how long the wait runs

Arrived at Kosi Seoul National University Entrance Branch! It's at 466 Bongcheon-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, close enough to the station that it was easy to find. The exterior is clean and gives off a serious "this place does Japanese food well" vibe—it looks exactly like a proper udon and tonkatsu specialist.

When we arrived there was actually a separate waitlist! Since it's close to the station too, it seemed like a good spot to keep in mind for lunch near Seoul National University Entrance or whenever you're looking for something to eat nearby ✨!!

Three dishes ordered for two at Kosi

Here's the menu. What we ordered was

• Tori tempura bukkake udon set
• Half-and-half katsu
• Hot ebi tempura udon

Those three!! Yes, we really ordered three dishes for two people...🐷 lol. But I wanted udon and couldn't give up tonkatsu either, so we ended up ordering everything haha.

Tori tempura bukkake udon set: how Kosi's tsuyu tastes different

Tori tempura bukkake udon set. Honestly the thing that surprised me most at Kosi was the bukkake udon!! With bukkake udon, it's pretty common for the noodles to be great but the tsuyu to be just okay — here, the tsuyu itself was on a different level...

The umami was seriously excellent and the way the tsuyu blended with the noodles was so good ㅠㅠ💕 They said the noodles are hand-kneaded, and one bite in, I got exactly why they bother making them from scratch lol.

The noodles were seriously springy ✨ Not just "chewy" in the usual sense — more like a firm kind of chewiness?? But not tough or hard at all, either — you get a real burst of elasticity when you bite in, satisfyingly chewy!!

And the tori tempura on top was also really good 🍗 The chicken karaage was seasoned really well all the way through, and eating it together with the udon made for a great combo haha.

Half-and-half katsu: pork tonkatsu and cheese katsu on one plate

Half-and-half katsu 🧀 And this one looked amazing before we even took a bite!! Kosi's half-and-half katsu comes as regular tonkatsu and cheese katsu split on one plate so you can try both, and the breading was seriously crispy ✨ The crunch when you bit in was so satisfying haha.

And the cheese katsu — honestly, the moment I tasted the cheese I could tell they're using good stuff. It wasn't a greasy, heavy cheese flavor at all, but nutty, soft, and stretchy, which made it really good paired with the tonkatsu 🧀💕 If you love cheese katsu you'll be obsessed!! Taking turns between the two actually meant we didn't get sick of either by the end haha.

Hot ebi tempura udon: South Sea kelp broth and shrimp tempura

Hot ebi tempura udon 🍤 If the bukkake surprised me with its noodle texture, the ebi tempura udon really won on broth!! They said they use South Sea kelp, and the moment I tasted the broth the umami hit hard. They also add finely cut kelp on top, which had a nice texture and worked really well with the udon!

And check out the shrimp tempura lol 🍤 The shrimp was genuinely substantial — not one of those tempuras that's all batter and no shrimp, you actually feel real shrimp meat in every bite!! Delicious dipped lightly in the broth, and just as good eaten crispy right away haha.

What we talked about over the udon at Kosi

We kept saying it was delicious throughout the meal, and then my boyfriend suddenly said

It'd be great if any random Japanese restaurant in Korea served food at this level of quality.

And honestly, I totally agreed 🤣 Sometimes you go to an udon specialist and only the udon is good, or a tonkatsu place and only the tonkatsu is decent, but Kosi felt like it was good at everything all around — the udon noodles, the tsuyu, the broth, the tempura, and the tonkatsu.

Especially the texture of the hand-kneaded udon noodles and the umami of that bukkake tsuyu — I still remember them ...💕 If you're looking for lunch near Seoul National University Entrance Station, or a day when you want to properly eat both udon and tonkatsu, this place is worth a visit haha.

Is Kosi Seoul National University Entrance Branch worth a visit?

• The hand-kneaded udon noodles are insanely chewy
• The bukkake tsuyu umami was really excellent
• The hot udon broth is clean yet deep ✨
• The cheese katsu is great starting from the cheese itself, and the tonkatsu meat is good too
• The tempura overall — tori tempura, shrimp tempura — was solid across the board
• Not just one strong dish — the whole menu was consistently high quality!!

Next time I go, I'm definitely ordering the bukkake udon again lol. I really want to eat that noodle texture one more time...🤍