Gongdeok hanwoo course dinner for mom's first fine dining: Usu

My mom had always said she wanted to try a fine dining restaurant, so when a good chance came up, I took her to Usu, a well-known spot in Gongdeok. I went in thinking it was just a hanwoo (Korean beef) restaurant, but so many more dishes came out as part of the course than I expected?! It was fascinating and fun watching familiar ingredients get reinvented in new forms.

Where Usu is, plus parking and opening hours

• Location: Usu, B2, Lotte Castle President, 467 Gongdeok-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
• Hours: 11:00–22:00 (break time 15:00–17:00), open daily
• Parking: Lotte Castle President mall parking, 3 hours free
• Other: Corkage-free

It's directly connected to Exit 2 of Gongdeok Station, so it was easy to get to by public transportation.

You'll find Usu once you go down to the second basement floor of the building. Some Gongdeok restaurants can be tricky to find if their location isn't clear, but this one was easy since it's right by Gongdeok Station.

All seats in private rooms: inside Usu

The interior of Usu felt like an upscale hanjeongsik (traditional Korean set-meal) restaurant. The decor has a calm, nature-inspired feel and everything is neatly arranged.

Best of all, every table is a private room, so it really does feel private. There's also group seating, which would make it great for family gatherings too.

My mom and I went in, closed the door, and sat down — it was nice being able to eat quietly and talk. With this kind of atmosphere, I think it'd also be great for bringing your parents, an anniversary dinner, or even a meeting between two families before a wedding.

Usu's menu and which course we ordered

The menu ranges from à la carte to lunch and dinner courses. We ordered the Dinner B course at 90g today.

Once you order, they show you a display box with the ingredients and explain, almost like a little performance, what each dish will be made from.

Doesn't the beef look incredibly fresh? It's so realistic I couldn't tell if it was a well-made model or actual food!!! Everything looked like the real thing.

How the Usu Dinner B course was served, course by course

Woo-gye jinjuk (beef and chicken rice porridge)

The first thing to come out was woo-gye jinjuk, made with hanwoo bone broth and chicken stock — it had a savory, clean flavor.

It didn't have a strong chicken flavor, which actually made it easy to enjoy. Starting with a warm porridge felt gentle on the stomach!

The four bite-sized dishes at Usu

From left to right: scallop and clam / hanwoo bulgogi / sweet shrimp and gim bugak (fried seaweed) / lobster, each made into a bite-sized dish.

The scallop had a really tender texture. There was a subtle seafood aroma, and a crispy layer on top gave a contrast between the soft scallop and the crunch.

This was actually my first time trying caviar! The texture contrast in one bite was striking, which made it a memorable dish.

This was the dish I remember most out of everything I ate. It's hanwoo bulgogi and truffle cream cheese sandwiched between brioche, and the truffle aroma hit me the moment I took a bite?! Amazing!!

There were two sweet shrimp on top, so the first bite had a rich, creamy feel.

Underneath was fried abalone innard rice, which was crispy, and the combination of soft sweet shrimp, gim bugak, and the crunchy abalone innard rice worked really well together.

This one had an intriguing shape from the moment I saw it! It was a taco with sous-vide lobster, tomato, onion, and more. The lobster flavor wasn't overpowering, but it was fun to see a Korean-style take on a taco — like Usu's own interpretation.

Shiitake mushroom with shrimp and young zucchini

It was fascinating seeing the fillings stuffed inside a shiitake mushroom and a zucchini.

Eating the shrimp and shiitake together gave a chewy yet distinctly different texture between the two, and the zucchini side had tofu inside, giving it a mild, savory flavor.

Yukhoe gamtae (beef tartare with sea moss)

Yukhoe gamtae was beef tartare placed on top of gamtae (roasted sea moss) and rolled up to eat — the way you're meant to eat it was fun in itself.

The yukhoe was tender and tasted fresh, and paired with the distinctive aroma of the gamtae, it was a clean, well-matched combination. A staff member explained how to eat each dish as it came out, so even as a first-timer at fine dining, I could enjoy it without any trouble.

Okdom (tilefish)

The fish itself was on the lighter, cleaner side, and the neungi mushroom broth underneath was memorable. My mom and I were both surprised that mushrooms alone could produce such a fragrant broth.

Tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patty)

Along with the bulgogi sandwich, this was the dish I remember most. The moment I bit into it, the juices burst out.

It was tender to chew with all that juiciness, definitely different from a typical tteokgalbi.

Abalone with five-color gardenia noodles

I mixed the gardenia-yellow noodles underneath with various vegetables, and the abalone was so tender it felt like eating a high-end bibim guksu (mixed noodles)!

The main course: 1++ hanwoo sirloin on a personal grill

And finally, the main hanwoo course! 1++ hanwoo sirloin came out along with a personal tabletop grill for each of us, so we could each grill it to our own preference.

I grilled mine to about medium-rare — the meat was tender with great marbling, and I could taste that rich, savory flavor immediately.

A staff member also showed us how to grill the meat and vegetables properly, so we took our time cooking it.

Pot rice and seaweed soup set

The pot rice was mixed with fish — I think it was sea bream on the day I visited. They show it to you first, then mix it and bring it back.

Ta-da!! Here's the pot rice you saw earlier, along with seaweed soup and a table setting of side dishes. The seaweed soup had a rich broth and soft seaweed, making it great with the rice. Even though the course was long and I was already fairly full, having this meal course still felt satisfying to end on!

Out of the various ways to eat it, I liked it best with wasabi. My mom said the hanwoo was delicious too, which made me quietly proud 🤍

Dessert at Usu: corn ice cream

The final dessert was corn ice cream! This one really surprised me. The corn flavor and aroma came through more strongly than I expected, but the ice cream itself was smooth and melted right in your mouth.

We were eating and saying to each other, "is this why people come to fine dining?" — it was a fun dessert to end on.

Why Usu felt comfortable even for a fine dining first-timer

One thing I really liked about Usu was that with every dish, they explained how best to eat it. For someone like me who isn't used to fine dining restaurants, this kind of guidance really helped.

The pacing of the food was also surprisingly on point. Whenever I finished a dish and chatted for a bit, the next one would arrive right around then. It came out at exactly the moment you'd want it to, so my mom and I laughed and joked about whether there was a hidden camera in the room haha. Because of that comfortable pacing between dishes, we never felt rushed and could really enjoy the course.

It would suit anniversaries, meals with parents, family gatherings, and even something as atmosphere-sensitive as a meeting between two families before a wedding. If you're looking for a place to take your parents in Gongdeok, or somewhere a little special for an anniversary, this one is worth considering 🤍