Fish katsu dinner after an Olympic Park walk in Seoul: Riae Premium

This is a story from near Olympic Park, where my husband and I stopped by for a casual walk on a weekend evening.

The weather had gotten pretty cool over the weekend, so my husband and I took a light walk around Olympic Park for the first time in a while. After walking for a long time we got hungry and started looking for a good place to eat nearby. I'd heard that locals say a Japanese katsu restaurant around here has great meat, so this time I went to Riae Premium Olympic Park Branch for dinner.

How to get to Riae Premium Olympic Park Branch, and parking

Riae Premium Olympic Park Branch is at 46 Seongnae-ro 18-gil, Gangdong-gu, Seoul, on the ground floor. Searching Seongnae-dong 469-4 in your navigation makes it much easier to find.

You can park in front of the restaurant, but spaces fill up fast at weekend peak time. If it's full, you can use the dedicated lot at the back door. If the parking is confusing or hard, call the restaurant ahead of time; the staff kindly guided us, which was handy.

By subway, it's about a 10-minute walk from Exit 3 of Olympic Park Station or Exit 3 of Dunchon-dong Station, so it's an easy spot to reach by public transport. It's right at the crosswalk by Olympic Park North Gate 2, and it's fairly close on foot to JYP Entertainment, Korea National Sport University and Gangdong-gu Office, so it's nice to stop by while looking around the area.

What are the atmosphere and seating like at Riae Premium?

When we arrived, the clean exterior and the neatly placed Catch Table device (a waitlist and reservation kiosk) made it clear this is a popular place. Inside, the calm, stylish wood-toned interior stood out, and the open kitchen lets you see all the cooking, which made me trust the place.

On one wall there's a large aging fridge where fresh meat is aged, which adds to the professional feel. There are bar seats that are comfortable for eating alone, plus tables for 2 and for 4, so it seemed fine for dates and also for a family meal out.

Riae Premium menu and what we ordered

Looking through the tablet menu at our seats, there were all kinds of Japanese katsu dishes made with carefully selected aged meat. There was a wide choice by cut, from the signature premium special loin katsu to the fine-grained, tender filet mignon tenderloin katsu and the classic Jirisan aged loin (ros) katsu.

This day we chose the fish katsu (₩25,000) with Tokyo Hitokuchi spice curry (₩5,500) added, plus the Jirisan aged loin cutlet (₩18,500), and decided to share. Besides single dishes, there were also half-and-half sets for trying several flavors at once and plenty of side dishes, so choosing was part of the fun.

• Fish katsu ₩25,000
• Tokyo Hitokuchi spice curry add-on ₩5,500
• Jirisan aged loin cutlet ₩18,500

How do Riae Premium's fish katsu and Jirisan aged loin cutlet taste?

The fish katsu and Jirisan aged loin cutlet came out on a neat tray, and from the first look the color of the breading was so clean and golden that my eyes were impressed first.

Matodai fish katsu

The fish katsu I tried at Riae Premium isn't ordinary frozen fish; it uses light, moist matodai (a type of John Dory) flesh, and the tenderness was completely different. It's crisp outside and melting-moist inside, a great choice for refreshing the palate between bites of heavier meat dishes.

Jirisan aged loin cutlet

The Jirisan aged loin cutlet my husband ordered is Korean pork that goes through a three-stage cross-aging, and maybe that's why it wasn't dry at all; the more you chew, the more savory juices burst out.

Especially with a little of the Maldon salt, wasabi, truffle oil or yuzu ponzu sauce set out on the table, the meat's natural flavor came alive even more, and I could finish every last piece without getting tired of it.

Tokyo Hitokuchi spice curry

The spice curry we added midway has a deep, rich savory spiciness, perfect for dipping the katsu or mixing into rice.

Is Riae Premium worth going back to?

The portions at Riae Premium were quite generous and you can feel the care of ingredients used without skimping, so it was a filling meal where the price didn't feel wasted at all. After eating, we walked the nearby Olympic Park trails to help digestion, which made a perfect weekend outing. Whenever I crave properly aged katsu near Olympic Park, I think I'll come back without hesitation.