Gongdeok hanwoo omakase with lobster taco bites: Usu Dinner B

Visited Usu in Gongdeok for a birthday celebration! There are so many good restaurants near Gongdeok Station, but I wanted somewhere a bit special this time, so I went to Usu for their hanwoo (Korean beef) omakase course.

What I especially loved about Usu Gongdeok is that every single seat is in a private room, so you can eat quietly and privately. It felt like a great spot for meet-the-parents dinners, family meals, anniversaries, or even business dinners.

Here's my review after visiting and trying the dinner course at Usu, a hanwoo omakase restaurant near Gongdeok ☺️

Where is Usu in Gongdeok, and what are its hours?

Usu Gongdeok is located at 201, B2F, Lotte Castle President Commercial Complex, 109 Mapo-daero, Mapo-gu, Seoul. It's open daily from 11:00 to 22:00 with a break time from 15:00 to 17:00, and it's open year-round.

• Complex parking lot available, 3 hours free (no limit on number of cars)
• All seats in private rooms
• Group bookings possible / baby chairs available / reservations accepted
• Corkage-free / resident sommelier / wine pairing available

Finding the Usu Gongdeok entrance in the Lotte Castle President complex

When looking for a meet-the-parents venue or an anniversary spot, food matters but so does whether you can talk quietly. Usu Gongdeok felt well suited for exactly that kind of family gathering or meet-the-parents dinner. The staff greeted us kindly right from the entrance, so even as a first-time visitor, I felt comfortable walking in.

Inside Usu Gongdeok: every seat in a private room

I loved that every seat at Usu Gongdeok is in a private room, so you can eat comfortably without worrying about the table next to you. The overall interior mixed modern and natural elements — lush green plants with clean design gave it a comfortable yet upscale feel.

Rather than an overly flashy fine-dining atmosphere, it felt relaxed enough to bring your parents along. There's also a 30-seat group room, which seemed great for larger family gatherings or company dinners.

This private dining space at a Gongdeok room-style restaurant felt right for meet-the-parents dinners or other important occasions. Corkage-free is another plus if you want to bring your own wine or liquor to enjoy with the food. With a resident sommelier and wine pairing available, it's a good choice for those who love hanwoo and wine together ☺️

Usu Gongdeok course menu and prices

Usu Gongdeok's menu is split into lunch and dinner courses, with prices varying by hanwoo cut and weight in each course.

Lunch: A ₩39,000 / B course 80g ₩59,000, 110g ₩69,000, 140g ₩79,000 / C course 80g ₩79,000, 110g ₩89,000, 140g ₩99,000 / Signature course 110g ₩99,000, 140g ₩109,000

Dinner: A course 90g ₩99,000, 120g ₩109,000, 150g ₩119,000 / B course 90g ₩109,000, 120g ₩119,000, 150g ₩129,000 / C course 130g ₩139,000, 160g ₩149,000 / Premium course chef's choice 140g ₩179,000, shrimp meat 140g ₩189,000

What comes in the Dinner B course, 90g hanwoo for 109,000 won?

I visited for my birthday and ordered the Dinner B course with 90g of hanwoo for ₩109,000. It wasn't just grilled beef — the course ran from appetizers through various Korean dishes, main grilled hanwoo with a rice set, and finished with dessert, so it felt like a proper Korean fine dining experience.

Before the course started, they showed us the day's ingredients and explained them briefly. They said they use ingredients from all over the country, centered on what's in season — seeing them laid out like that built up my anticipation for the food.

First course: beef and chicken porridge

The first dish was beef and chicken porridge — a rich porridge made by deeply simmering hanwoo bone broth and chicken stock, topped with crispy scorched rice, scallion crust, shiitake mushroom, asparagus, and white wood ear mushroom.

At first I thought it'd be a familiar porridge, but the broth itself was so deep and rich that it immediately felt upscale from the very first dish. Not overpowering, just clean and mild — a great appetizer to open the palate.

Four bite-sized dishes: scallop and clam, bulgogi sandwich, sweet shrimp with gim bugak, lobster taco

Next came four bite-sized dishes that I wanted to photograph the moment I saw them! Using hanwoo bulgogi, sweet shrimp and gim bugak (crispy seasoned seaweed), scallop and clam, and lobster, each one was beautifully composed into a bite-sized piece. Every plating was gorgeous, and staff kindly explained the ingredients and how to eat each one as it arrived ☺️

First was the scallop and clam — a crispy pastry topped with tender-cooked scallop, clam cream sauce, and a hint of gamtae (sea lettuce) fragrance. The crisp outside and soft scallop paired with a savory, smooth clam cream sauce, and the subtle gamtae aroma made it feel refined. The plating was so pretty that it kept me taking photos throughout my birthday visit 📸

Then came a combination I personally love — the bulgogi sandwich! Soft brioche held hanwoo bulgogi with truffle flavor and a refreshing apple pickle. The sweet, rich hanwoo bulgogi came with a subtle truffle aroma, and the apple pickle added bursts of freshness in between — more harmonious than I expected. Reimagining familiar hanwoo bulgogi as a bite-sized dish made it feel fresh again ☺️

Next was sweet shrimp and gim bugak — sweet, tender shrimp with savory abalone innards rice and salty pollack roe seaweed, finished with a refreshing citron sauce. Crunching into the crispy gim bugak first, then hitting the abalone innards rice and shrimp inside, with the citron sauce cleaning up the palate at the end — a small bite-sized dish that impressively packed in so many flavors at once.

Last was the somewhat special lobster taco! A fusion-style bite dish with plump sous vide lobster, tomato and onion, and a smoky gochujang mayo. The familiar Korean gochujang flavor met the lobster's plump texture surprisingly well. The subtle smokiness in particular gave it a different charm from the other bite dishes.

Shiitake mushroom, shrimp and zucchini

Next up was a shiitake shrimp and zucchini dish.

Shrimp and shiitake mushroom took center stage, joined by zucchini, tofu, aged kimchi, and golden enoki mushroom. A savory peanut tofu sauce and wild chive oil added both nuttiness and a slight brightness. The plump texture of the shrimp paired nicely with the soft zucchini.

Hanwoo yukhoe (beef tartare) with gamtae seaweed

One dish that personally stood out was the hanwoo yukhoe (raw beef tartare) with gamtae. Tender hanwoo yukhoe came with crispy scorched rice, pickled Chinese artichoke, and cured egg, meant to be wrapped in gamtae.

The soft texture of the yukhoe against the crisp scorched rice was a great textural combo. The distinct gamtae aroma made every bite feel packed with flavor. They make the sauce in-house too — you could feel the attention to detail in every dish.

Jeju tilefish in neungi mushroom broth

Next was a Jeju tilefish dish, served with barley and wild chive rice, mullet roe, and pine mushroom broth.

You eat the softly cooked tilefish along with the pine mushroom broth — clean yet deeply savory, really giving that Korean fine dining feeling. Not overpowering, letting the natural flavor of the ingredients shine — it seemed like something great to share with older family members too.

1++ hanwoo tteokgalbi (grilled beef patty)

Next up was hanwoo tteokgalbi (grilled beef short rib patty), served with crushed pistachio, celeriac puree, shiitake mushroom duxelles, white balsamic sauce, and basil oil.

The plating alone made me keep taking pictures, and the tteokgalbi itself was soft and juicy. Meat alone can feel heavy, but the soft puree and sauces balanced it out nicely. It felt like enjoying a familiar Korean tteokgalbi in a fine dining style!

Abalone with five-colour gardenia noodles

Then came the abalone gardenia noodles with five colors, topped with abalone alongside black sesame-dressed radish, bracken, shiitake mushroom, seasoned wild chive, and perilla leaf. A gamtae dressing and mustard-garlic sauce came with it, giving a refreshing, clean flavor that felt different from everything before it.

The abalone's plump texture paired well with the mix of greens, and it worked great as a palate cleanser right before the main hanwoo dish.

The main: 1++ hanwoo sirloin with a seaweed soup rice set

And finally, the main event! The main dish of the Dinner B course was 1++ hanwoo sirloin with a hanwoo beef seaweed soup rice set. The moment the beef arrived, the marbling alone looked stunning. The color and marbling immediately told you this was quality hanwoo.

A personal grill was set up so I could cook it to my preferred doneness myself. Grilling small portions at a time rather than all at once meant I could enjoy warm hanwoo right up to the last bite.

One bite in, it was tender with no toughness, and the juiciness and flavor really came through. Delicious with just a touch of salt, and even better with wasabi — you really can't skip the wasabi pairing with hanwoo haha.

The accompanying rice set was clean and complemented the beef well. Eating it alongside kimchi, seasoned greens, and salt made the meal feel more substantial than just grilled beef alone.

The hanwoo beef seaweed soup in particular had a deep, rich broth that went great with rice. Between the hanwoo and the seaweed soup, it really felt like a proper full Korean meal!

Corn dessert and jasmine tea

To finish the meal, dessert arrived last — corn ice cream, corn cream cheese, apricot, corn crumble, and sponge cake with green tangerine cream sauce.

The sweet, nutty flavor of corn paired surprisingly well with the tangy green tangerine. After all that hanwoo and rich food, it could've felt heavy, but the refreshing citrus flavor cleaned up the palate nicely. The variety of textures showed they put real thought into the dessert too ☺️

Jasmine tea came out at the very end, and I finished the meal leisurely with a warm cup.

What does the birthday service at Usu include?

Visiting on your birthday, Usu Gongdeok prepares a special birthday service! They set up sweets with a candle, and even took a Polaroid photo for us, leaving a lovely birthday memory 🥹💕 They also served a glass of wine, letting me properly enjoy the birthday mood in the middle of the course 🍷

Is Usu Gongdeok worth it? Final verdict

• A Korean fine dining restaurant that's easy to reach from Gongdeok Station
• All-room seating means quiet, private dining
• Recommended for meet-the-parents dinners, family meals with parents, gatherings, and anniversaries
• A varied Korean course featuring 1++ hanwoo
• Impressive menu built around seasonal ingredients
• Grill hanwoo yourself at your own pace on a personal grill
• Resident sommelier on-site with wine pairing available
• Corkage-free, so great to enjoy with your own wine
• 3 hours free parking at the complex
• Group room available, good for company dinners or business meetings

That's my review after trying the Dinner B course myself! If you're looking for somewhere to eat with your parents in Gongdeok, or an important occasion like a meet-the-parents dinner, Usu Gongdeok is worth considering ☺️

It's not just about grilling hanwoo — the course lets you leisurely enjoy a range of dishes built around seasonal ingredients, from 1++ grilled hanwoo to the rice set and dessert. A great spot for special occasions. The all-private-room seating was personally my favorite part.

If you're looking for a quiet room-style restaurant in Gongdeok, somewhere to eat with your parents, or a spot for a meet-the-parents dinner, anniversary, or family gathering, I'd recommend Usu Gongdeok, a Korean fine dining restaurant in Gongdeok ✨