Suwon Japanese restaurant for sizzling gyukatsu: Gyuen-dang

I visited Gyuen-dang (규엔당) at Avenue France Gwanggyo. Some of you may have found this place while searching for great gyukatsu near Ajou University, and it is close enough by car that it is absolutely worth the trip.

Their signature dishes are gyukatsu and omurice. Those were the two dishes displayed right out front. I was wondering what to have for lunch in Gwanggyo and suddenly really wanted gyukatsu, so I came here—and to give you the conclusion first, I chose well.

Gyuen-dang Gwanggyo hours and parking

Among Japanese restaurants near Gwanggyo Jungang Station, it is rare to find parking this convenient. The parking area is spacious, and they give you four hours when you register your parking. Four hours is enough time to eat, take a lap around Avenue France, and even go to a café afterward.

Also, there is no break time on weekends. You can come even at an in-between hour.

Clean, but the seats fill up fast

The restaurant is incredibly clean. We arrived early in the lunch rush, you know? So there were a few empty tables. But by the time I took photos and turned around, it was almost completely full ㅜ It must be one of the more popular Japanese restaurants near Gwanggyo Jungang Station.

I was also happy to see that the food was being prepared neatly. They work in an open space, and when you can see how organized it is, it somehow makes you trust the place even more.

Tenderloin gyukatsu and hamburger steak omurice

Here is the menu. We ordered the tenderloin gyukatsu (₩24,000) and hamburger steak omurice (₩17,000).

Hehe, before the food came out, they gave us instructions on how to eat the gyukatsu and omurice. Things like this are reassuring. Even first-timers will not be left wondering what to do.

A whole hamburger steak inside the omurice

First, my hamburger steak omurice.

Oh, the rice, hamburger steak, and omelet are stacked in layers. Building it up like this made it look even more delicious.

First, as instructed, cut through the middle and pour the sauce right over it.

Wow, doesn't that look good?

When you look inside, a thick hamburger steak and rice pop out like peekaboo. The hamburger steak is much thicker than I expected. It is not simply placed on top of the omurice—it is actually inside it—so every spoonful gets you egg, rice, and meat together.

You grill the gyukatsu yourself

And here is the tenderloin gyukatsu.

Maybe because it was tenderloin, but the meat looked like great quality. You can tell just from the color, right?

First, swipe some Isigny butter over the grill. Then place the good-quality meat right on it. The sizzling sound on the butter starts, and from that moment the smell is insane.

Just dip the grilled meat generously in the sauce and eat.

I added wasabi too and ate it in one bite. If you are looking for gyukatsu near Ajou University, you have to try this combination. The sauce is ridiculously good!!!! It is seriously delicious. The meat itself is great, but the sauce supports it so well that I just kept eating. The wasabi also cuts through the richness.

Haha, the funny thing was that the grill turned off right when we finished all the gyukatsu. I wondered what was going on. Had it somehow been calculated? Or was there a set time? Anyway, the timing was almost strangely perfect.

The portions are seriously big

And the omurice portion is seriously... big. It may be hard to get a sense of it from the photos, but it feels quite substantial in person. If you order it with the gyukatsu, even two people can eat until they are full. Tenderloin gyukatsu is ₩24,000 and the omurice is ₩17,000, so it comes to the ₩40,000 range for two; for this amount of food, that seems fair.

Oh, and they have a review event too. They say you get a mini okonomiyaki (Japanese savory pancake) if you participate. It means one more thing to eat, so make sure to get it.

Avenue France after your meal

Four hours of parking, a clean restaurant, and the fun of grilling your own gyukatsu. I have visited plenty of restaurants in Suwon, but this is one of the places at Avenue France Gwanggyo that I think will stick in my memory. It is great for going shopping right after your meal, too.

Next time, I want to try another gyukatsu cut. If the tenderloin is this good, I am curious about the other cuts too.