Mapo Japanese restaurant with mild katsudon: Jongno Donburi Yeonnam

A quiet Japanese rice-bowl date in a Yeonnam-dong alley

The weather has been getting cooler lately, so my husband and I went on a hand-in-hand date through the alleys of Yeonnam-dong. As we walked in the autumn breeze, I suddenly craved a neat, comforting Japanese rice bowl so badly. So this couple headed to Jongno Donburi Yeonnam, a Japanese-specialty restaurant near Hongik University Station that we already love!

Finding it along the alley ✨

Jongno Donburi Yeonnam is easy to find if you take a slow, stroll-like walk from Hongik University Station toward Yeonnam-dong's main alley. I loved being able to enjoy the same flavors as the famous flagship in Jongno right here in Yeonnam-dong too, haha.

Take a look at the cozy, quiet atmosphere 🤍

Head downstairs and you are greeted by a clean interior with the warm, cozy feel of a Japanese home-style restaurant. It was pleasantly quiet rather than overly noisy, making it perfect for a Yeonnam restaurant date where my husband and I could chat away together!

Since it was quiet, it also seemed like a great place for people dining alone to have a comfortable meal.

And honestly, this was kind of important to me...??? Maybe because I am pregnant, but when I eat out, I worry so, so much about restroomsㅠㅠ I would be really concerned about infection if I had to use a dirty shared restroom outside, but Jongno Donburi Yeonnam has a clean restroom right inside, so I felt comfortable throughout the meal, haha.

Sake-don and katsudon: what did we order?

Choosing delicious menu items, la la 🎶

They say they follow a same-day sales policy using fresh ingredients aged from early each morning, which really inspired confidence. The menu was full of tempting rice bowls such as katsudon (breaded pork cutlet rice bowl), mixed katsudon, and tendon (tempura rice bowl), so choosing was difficult!

We happily ordered their signature salmon rice bowl, sake-don (salmon sashimi rice bowl), along with the tender katsudon.

Chewy, luscious salmon sake-don 🥹

At last, the food we had been waiting for arrived, and just looking at it made my mouth water. Perhaps because it is aged from early each morning, the salmon was thick and beautifully glossy. The owner recommended the salmon menu too, and now I see why, haha.

Since I am pregnant these days, I am actually extremely particular about freshness when eating raw food. But this was so fresh without even a hint of fishiness that it seemed like something pregnant people could eat comfortably too. With a little wasabi and rice, it just melted in my mouth—so good!

Sweet-and-savory katsudon that was not too salty

The katsudon my husband chose had soft egg and plenty of house sauce soaked into the crispy donkatsu (breaded pork cutlet). When you choose the wrong katsudon, it can be sooo salty that it is hard to eat even with rice, but Jongno Donburi's katsudon was seasoned just right! I loved that, haha.

The meat was thick yet tender, so it was really easy to scoop up with a spoon. If you are looking for Japanese food near Hongik University Station and craving a hearty meat rice bowl, I highly recommend the katsudon, haha.

We finished every last bite~!!!!!

My husband exclaimed with every bite, and together we scraped our bowls completely clean. The sauce was not overpowering and soaked moistly into every grain of rice, so we never got tired of it and successfully finished it all! I was happy to fill up with such a satisfying meal in this lovely cool autumn weather. I totally, totally recommend Jongno Donburi Yeonnam to anyone looking for Japanese food in Yeonnam-dong or a clean, easygoing meal. Its neat atmosphere makes it great for a date and excellent for dining alone too, so I think we will absolutely be back. If you find yourself craving a warm, delicious rice bowl near Hongdae, please stop by!