Yeouido gyukatsu restaurant with city views and a mini grill: Izawa

There's so much good Japanese food in the world, but if I had to pick my absolute favorites, gyukatsu (breaded beef cutlet) would always make the list! Today I'm recommending Izawa, a gyukatsu spot near Yeouido Station that I went hunting for once again ➰

Where is Izawa Yeouido Direct Store? Hours and parking

Izawa Yeouido Direct Store sits on the 2nd floor of Yeouido Jonghap Sangga, right in front of Yeouido Station Exit 5 — and it's actually Korea's first specialty gyukatsu brand. Hours are daily 11:00–21:00, with a break time from 15:00–17:00 and last order at 20:30.

• Hours: Daily 11:00–21:00 / Break time 15:00–17:00 / Last order 20:30
• Location: 2nd floor, Yeouido Jonghap Sangga, in front of Yeouido Station Exit 5
• Parking: 1 hour free at the ground-level lot; basement parking in the building is paid
• 📍Seating only once the whole party has arrived
• 📍Free mini curry with a review

Since this is such an office-worker neighborhood, every table has a table-order tablet, which made ordering easy. I came here with a friend I've known for almost 20 years — we were already in Yeouido and I just really wanted gyukatsu, haha. Is there any greater power than eating gyukatsu on a Monday half-day off?

Izawa's menu: noodles and rice bowls around 10,000 won too

Izawa Yeouido Direct Store's menu also had plenty of options around ₩10,000 for office workers looking for a good meal near Yeouido Station — pork jowl rice bowl, spicy ramen, basil ramen, mazesoba, cold buckwheat noodles, and more. I wanted to try the noodles too, but the gyukatsu turned out to be pretty filling on its own...

Why the A-Set is the answer for two, with a drink for 500 won more

Before diving into the gyukatsu, here's a tip for Izawa near Yeouido Station. If you're only having gyukatsu, I highly recommend the A-Set Menu! À la carte gyukatsu is ₩18,000, while the A-Set is two gyukatsu plus a drink for ₩36,500 — that's ₩18,250 per person. Basically you're adding a drink for just ₩500, so if there are two of you, there's really no reason not to order it. Since we were purely on a gyukatsu hunt, we went straight for the A-Set.

How thick is Izawa's sirloin gyukatsu?

The gyukatsu set (sirloin) arrived, and the sirloin gyukatsu looked gorgeous. It was thicker than I expected, so the quality really stood out. I like pork cutlet too, but if beef cutlet is available at a similar price, I have to say beef wins every time ..><

Hot broth, diced radish kimchi, mustard leaf kimchi, two kinds of sauce, salad, wasabi, ginger, and the gorgeous-looking sirloin gyukatsu — the whole spread.

When you order gyukatsu, they bring a mini charcoal grill to your table, and the fun part is grilling the meat yourself to exactly the doneness you like. I heard you can also grill the sirloin steki (the non-fried version) on the grill — I'll have to try that next time!

The sirloin gyukatsu at Izawa near Yeouido Station wasn't sliced thin — it had a nice thickness to it, which is exactly my type.

It's gone now, but I used to love Izawa back when it had branches in Hongdae and Times Square — that's got to be almost 10 years ago now, haha! Honestly, falling for that flavor is what got me eating gyukatsu here in Korea at all.

Grilling the gyukatsu piece by piece on the mini charcoal grill

Rather than cooking the whole thing at once, it's better to put on just as much gyukatsu as you're about to eat, one piece at a time. Grill it until the outside is slightly crisp but the inside stays soft — that's the sweet spot.

Since Izawa's sirloin is naturally thick-cut, it really gives you that satisfying feeling of eating actual meat. It's also great for eating a piece at a time while chatting with your company — if that kind of date is your style, why not try Izawa near Yeouido Station?

Gyukatsu with a downtown Yeouido view from the window

Getting to look out at the downtown Yeouido skyline while eating gyukatsu made the atmosphere even better!✨🥰 Highly recommend this gyukatsu spot right in front of Yeouido Station.

And finally — let's take a look at the autographs of celebrities who've enjoyed gyukatsu here. Lim Young-woong's signature was there three times, so maybe he's a regular..! I'd love to become a regular myself. That was Izawa, the gyukatsu specialist near Yeouido Station!