# Gwangjin Japanese restaurant, rice menu only with a kid: Mentsuru - By Yerin Poh (https://superchart.com/en/@jangchung-noon-skillet/) - Written Sep 16, 2026 - Local places › Restaurants › Gwangjin, Seoul - Sponsored: This visit was sponsored by the business. - English edition: https://superchart.com/en/@jangchung-noon-skillet/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family/ - Also in: [한국어](https://superchart.com/ko/@jangchung-noon-skillet/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family/index.md) ## In short Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch is a ramen and rice bowl restaurant on Gwangnaru-ro near Children's Grand Park Station in Gwangjin, Seoul. Having already had noodles at lunch, a family of three — two adults and one child — came for dinner and ordered only from the rice side of the menu: hormone-don (grilled beef intestine rice bowl), gyudon (beef rice bowl) and gyoza. There was a line in the evening, but staff moved it along quickly, and the rice bowls were easy to share, making Mentsuru a straightforward pick for a family dinner with a kid. ## Good to know - **Menu ordered**: Hormone-don (grilled beef intestine rice bowl), gyudon (beef rice bowl), gyoza - **Party size**: 2 adults + 1 child - **Location**: 394 Gwangnaru-ro, 1st floor, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul (near Children's Grand Park) - **Wait**: A line at dinner time, but tables turned over fast, so the wait was short *as written by the visitor on Sep 16, 2026* A Konkuk University date-lunch favorite, Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch — here's our review after visiting with our kid 🍚 On the weekend, my husband, our kid and I were trying to figure out where to eat lunch near Konkuk University, and we ended up at Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch! We'd been playing by the Han River and showed up in the evening, and there were so many people waiting in front of the restaurant that I thought, "this must be a real local favorite." 😂 ![The waiting line outside Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch in the evening](https://img.superchart.com/images/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family-01-j9th5-900.webp) ![Exterior of Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch with the waiting line](https://img.superchart.com/images/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family-02-19ma4-m-900.webp) ## How long is the dinner wait at Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch? There was a fairly long line in front of Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch in the evening, but it moved faster than expected, so waiting with a kid wasn't too much of a burden. 📍 Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch ![Entrance sign at Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch](https://img.superchart.com/images/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family-03-c9875-1200.webp) Maybe because it's near Konkuk University and Sejong University, there were a lot of students on dates. We came as a family of three — husband, kid and me — and even in the evening, the energy near the university area was lively. What really stood out was the staff's energy! With so many customers, it could easily have been chaotic, but the staff moved briskly the whole time. Orders and service were fast, and even when things got busy, they handled it quickly, so despite the wait, the turnover felt pretty fast. At first I thought, "with this many people, we might be waiting a while," but we got seated sooner than expected. ## Rice instead of noodles: hormone-don, gyudon and gyoza 🍚 Japanese-style rice bowls! Since we'd already had noodles at lunch that day, this time we went mostly for rice menu items. ![Rice bowl menu board at Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch](https://img.superchart.com/images/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family-04-jdi3t-900.webp) ![Table menu guide for choosing rice bowl dishes at Mentsuru](https://img.superchart.com/images/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family-05-1xeiq-900.webp) We ordered - ✔️ Hormone-don (grilled beef intestine rice bowl) - ✔️ Gyudon (beef rice bowl) - ✔️ Gyoza That's what we ordered. The lineup worked pretty well for the three of us to share. ### 🥩 Hormone-don (grilled beef intestine rice bowl) ![A bowl of hormone-don at Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch](https://img.superchart.com/images/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family-06-1j0sl-m-900.webp) ![Close-up of hormone-don with beef intestine over rice](https://img.superchart.com/images/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family-07-svo0f-900.webp) The dish I was most looking forward to was, of course, the hormone-don! With beef intestine piled on top of the rice, it looked hearty just to look at. It had that distinctive savory, rich flavor of grilled intestine, which went great with the rice — one bite led to another. If you like hormone (beef intestine), this rice bowl is definitely worth trying. My husband also enjoyed the hormone-don, so we had fun trading spoonfuls and comparing flavors. 😆 ### 🥢 Gyudon (beef rice bowl) ![Gyudon shared with the kid at Mentsuru](https://img.superchart.com/images/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family-08-3l48s-900.webp) Since we came with our kid, we needed something our kid could eat too, so we ordered gyudon. The combination of tender beef and rice made it a pretty safe choice for eating with a child. Our kid ate this rice bowl with us, and having rice bowl options really made choosing easier for a family visit. When eating out with a kid, a place that offers rice bowls alongside the regular menu feels a lot more relaxed than one with only adult-oriented dishes. ### 🥟 Gyoza And a side dish you can't skip — gyoza! ![A plate of crispy pan-fried gyoza at Mentsuru](https://img.superchart.com/images/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family-09-1bjnf-900.webp) ![Table setting with gyoza alongside the rice bowls](https://img.superchart.com/images/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family-10-1w6zw-900.webp) We figured just the rice bowls might feel a bit lacking, so we added this too, and the crispy pan-fried gyoza paired really well with the rice bowls. A spoonful of rice, then a gyoza, then some hormone-don, then some gyudon haha. Ordering three different things meant everyone could eat something different. And it was so good we cleaned every plate! ![Table spread of hormone-don, gyudon and gyoza together](https://img.superchart.com/images/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family-11-1mpnz-900.webp) ![Finished plates after sharing all three dishes](https://img.superchart.com/images/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family-12-15q78-900.webp) ## Is Mentsuru a good Japanese restaurant to bring a kid to? 👨‍👩‍👧 A place that worked fine with a kid too. This visit wasn't just a Konkuk University date lunch with my husband — it was a full family dinner with our kid along. With a kid, when picking a restaurant, taste matters, but so does the range of menu choices, how the staff handle things, and how fast the tables turn over. ![Interior of Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch during the family dinner](https://img.superchart.com/images/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family-13-1vv9g-900.webp) ![Busy evening seating inside Mentsuru](https://img.superchart.com/images/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family-14-mrf37-900.webp) On that front, Mentsuru was easy overall — even with a wait, the staff responded quickly. And seeing quite a line out front, it definitely felt like a genuinely popular Konkuk University spot people around here seek out. I worried the wait might drag on, but when we visited, the line moved through fast. ![Outside Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch after finishing the meal](https://img.superchart.com/images/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family-15-19sfq-900.webp) ## Final verdict on Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch ❤️ Since we'd already eaten noodles at lunch, we went mostly for rice this time — hormone-don, gyudon, and gyoza — and splitting three dishes among the three of us meant we got to try a bunch of different flavors. The hormone-don especially was savory and filling, and my husband, who loves hormone, was pretty satisfied with it. For eating with our kid, having a dish like gyudon with rice and meat together was great. And personally, beyond the food, what stood out was how the staff kept moving with energy and responded quickly even with so many customers. Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch worked well not just for couples looking for a Konkuk University date lunch, but for a family dinner like ours with a kid. If you're looking for somewhere to eat near Children's Grand Park, it's worth keeping in mind — there may be a bit of a wait, but the turnover is fast. 😊 📍 Location: Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch (394 Gwangnaru-ro, 1st floor, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul). It's near Children's Grand Park, so it's a great spot to grab a meal before heading over to explore the park! ## Where it is - Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch (멘츠루 어린이대공원점) - 394 Gwangnaru-ro, 1st floor, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea - 서울특별시 광진구 광나루로 394 1층 - 37.547275, 127.0734369 - Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/search/%EB%A9%98%EC%B8%A0%EB%A3%A8%20%EC%96%B4%EB%A6%B0%EC%9D%B4%EB%8C%80%EA%B3%B5%EC%9B%90%EC%A0%90/@37.547275,127.0734369,17z --- Superchart · https://superchart.com/en/@jangchung-noon-skillet/mentsuru-childrens-grand-park-rice-bowls-family/ · https://superchart.com/llms.txt