Weekend lunch at a Seocho tonkatsu and udon restaurant: Kosi Gyodae

While looking for somewhere to eat lunch near Gyodae Station, I discovered Kosi Gyodae Branch, a tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet) spot I'd heard was popular. I love both tonkatsu and udon, so I was excited just looking at the menu — and eating there made me even happier.

We visited around 1pm on a weekend and were lucky enough to get in without waiting, but looking at the waitlist sheet by the entrance, there had clearly been a decent line before we arrived..!! If you're looking for a lunch date, meeting spot, or family meal place in Gyodae, this one's worth checking out!

Where is Kosi Gyodae Branch and when is it open?

• Address: 32 Seocho-daero 48-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 1F
• Hours: Daily 11:00–20:50
• Break time: Daily 15:00–17:00
• Regular holiday: None
• Reservations: Available via Naver Reservations
• Parking: Free parking available (1 spot in front on weekdays, 2 on weekends)

Kosi is in an easily walkable spot from Gyodae Station, so accessibility was great. It's in a strip of restaurants clustered together, so it seems like a popular choice for Gyodae lunch spots!

How many cars can park at Kosi Gyodae Branch?

Kosi Gyodae Branch does offer free parking, but

• ✔️ 1 free spot in front of the store on weekdays
• ✔️ 2 free spots in front of the store on weekends
• ✔️ Free parking support at Hanseong Parking Lot, 3 minutes on foot (30 minutes per table with orders over 20,000 won)

the spots weren't exactly plentiful, haha. It's probably more convenient to come by public transit if you can!

How long was the wait at 1pm on a Saturday?

We visited around 1pm on a Saturday and got seated right away, but looking at the waitlist sheet hanging at the entrance, there had clearly been quite a wait before us! We got lucky with the timing and didn't have to wait at all 👍️

Since it's such a popular tonkatsu spot in Gyodae, they consistently get a lot of lunch customers, so you should probably expect a wait during peak lunch hours..!

I liked that they had solo seats set up separately for solo diners, haha. The whole place had a clean, tidy feel overall!

The self-serve corner with aprons and side dishes

There's a self-serve bar on one side where you can freely grab side dishes and sauces, which was nice. I liked that you could just help yourself to whatever you needed, haha.

Each table also has tonkatsu sauce and sesame powder set up, so you can adjust it to your taste.

Grinding sesame into the tonkatsu sauce like this doubles the flavor of the tonkatsu, lol.

Set or single dish? The lunch menu at Kosi Gyodae Branch

I really liked the menu setup at Kosi Gyodae Branch. You can order the tonkatsu a la carte or as a set, so it's easy to order a combination that matches how hungry you are, haha.

We ordered one set and one a la carte dish!!

The dishes we ordered came out as a full table spread like this, so clean and neat it was really nice to eat.

Half-and-half katsu set with kake udon, 17,000 won

Menu: Half-and-half katsu set (with kake udon) / Price: ₩17,000. First up, the half-and-half katsu set!

It's a setup where you get to try two kinds of tonkatsu at once, so it's perfect for people like me who like trying a variety of things.

The breading was crispy and the meat was juicy, so the texture was really good, and the cheese katsu in particular was so packed with cheese that it kept oozing out, lol.

The kake udon that came with the set had a clean broth that paired really well with the tonkatsu! Taking a sip of the warm broth in between bites cut through the richness, so the combo was really good~~~

Tori-ten bukkake udon, 11,000 won: why one dish feels like a full meal

Menu: Tori-ten bukkake udon / Price: ₩11,000. Personally, the dish that impressed me more was the tori-ten bukkake udon! Since it's a la carte, I thought only the udon would come out, but the spread was way more generous than I expected?

First, one piece of inari sushi (seasoned fried tofu pocket with rice) comes as a default, plus cabbage salad and basic side dishes. Thanks to that, even though it's a la carte, it became a pretty filling meal, haha.

Probably to keep the noodles springy, the broth doesn't come poured over the noodles — you pour the broth over the noodles yourself like this,

and then mix in seaweed flakes and other toppings to your taste!

After giving it a good shake and slurping it up, the bukkake udon noodles were so springy and chewy that the texture was just amazing.. It's a dish that's great to eat cold, so it suited the hot weather perfectly, haha.

The chicken called tori-ten was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, so it was incredibly delicious, haha. It had that delicious karaage (Japanese fried chicken) vibe!!

Is Kosi Gyodae Branch worth it for a lunch meetup near Gyodae Station?

After going in person, I understood why Kosi is such a popular tonkatsu spot in Gyodae. In particular, since there's such a variety of set menu combinations, it was perfect for me since I like trying a bit of everything! If you have a lunch meeting near Gyodae Station or you love Japanese food, definitely give this place a visit!!