Yeouido gyukatsu restaurant with spicy karai ramen after a race: Izawa

Gyukatsu near Yeouido Station, crispy yet tender beef with a rich, spicy karai ramen. Izawa Yeouido branch.

Off to refuel my running partner, who just set another personal best in the 30-minute range at the 2026 Forest Run, beating their old 40-minute time!

But most restaurants in Yeouido don't open until 11am on weekends, so we searched hard at Mega Coffee and suddenly craved gyukatsu. (Wasn't this super trendy like 10 years ago?!)

We waited it out, then went and stuffed ourselves silly with the gyukatsu double plus karai ramen.

What eating at Izawa Yeouido is really like

Everything stayed piping hot till the end, and the karai ramen was spicier and richer than expected, so the broth just kept disappearing.

They must use really good beef — it was so tender, crisp outside and juicy inside, not greasy at all, so I didn't even think about pickled radish or kimchi!

Izawa location by Yeouido Station Exit 5, and parking

Izawa Yeouido is on the 2nd floor of Yeouido Jonghap Sangga, right in front of Exit 5 of Yeouido Station. Go up the stairs and head straight to the back corner, and you'll spot it. There's even a huge autographed photo of trot singer Lim Young-woong on the fridge.

For parking at Izawa Yeouido, you can register for 1 hour free at the ground-level lot, and the whole party has to arrive before you can be seated.

Inside, it looks like it can seat about 20 people, and the window-view seats make it feel open and bright. I saw 'Izawa waiting' in related searches — seems it's already well known among Yeouido office workers as a lunch spot too?!

The tablet even has the 1-hour parking support written on it! Just remember, it's ground-level parking only — no underground. Honestly, walking in is probably the least stressful option.

Ordering the gyukatsu double (33,000 won) and karai ramen (12,000 won)

Decided on the gyukatsu double and karai ramen! I was curious about the basil ramen too, but figured gyukatsu can get a little rich, so a spicy broth would pair better — great call in hindsight~~

At ₩33,000 and ₩12,000, maybe not bad at all for Yeouido prices (it is Korea's Wall Street, after all!)

How spicy is Izawa's karai ramen?

The karai ramen came out first, with 2–3 slices of chashu, piping hot. It looks kind of orange and not very spicy at first, but it's somewhere between Shin Ramyun and buldak in heat — spice wimps might end up with a runny nose.

A lot of ramen places give you overcooked noodles, but these were neither al dente nor mushy — springy and chewy, an even texture that noodle nerds would love!?

The broth reminded me a bit of spicy cream pasta, so I think women in particular would love it. If they offered extra chashu I'd get it in a heartbeat — soft, thick slices with that savory pork flavor that makes you want rice. I wanted to add a bowl of rice and mix it right into that broth, it was that good.

Grilling the gyukatsu double on the tabletop charcoal grill

The star of the day — the gyukatsu! Two hefty chunks of sirloin came out, packed tight, with cabbage salad, wasabi and ginger on the side.

The gyukatsu, already fried crisp outside and juicy inside, gets grilled again on a charcoal brazier to medium-rare. The heat was stronger than expected, so it cooked fast! Since it's pretty intense, you need to focus on one piece at a time and not get distracted. They kept adding more charcoal (?) when it weakened, so we got to enjoy it warm and delicious right to the end.

Itadakimasu..! Looking at these photos makes me want to eat it again... Until the next Yeouido running race.

Eaten with wasabi, the fat cuts through and it feels refreshing; on its own it's great too.

It comes with soy sauce and a slightly sweet sauce as well, but the beef quality itself is so good it's delicious either way~ Next time I'll definitely try the basil ramen and dontoro-don (pork jowl rice bowl) I'm curious about — guess I'll be back for lunch at the next Yeouido running race.