Gyukatsu dinner at Mapo Station after wedding suit shopping: Gyudo

I've been running around with my fiancé for wedding prep lately! This day we'd just looked at wedding suits, and while hunting for dinner we ended up at Gyudo, a gyukatsu (breaded beef cutlet) spot near Mapo Station. It's said to be the only premium gyukatsu place in Korea, so I was curious, and 2 hours of free parking made it easy to go haha

Where is Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok, and what are the hours and parking?

Premium Gyukatsu Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok Main Branch (프리미엄 규카츠 규도 마포공덕 본점) is at 33 Mapo-daero, Mapo-gu, Seoul, in the Obelisk APT shopping arcade, B1, Unit 138. It's open daily 11:30–21:00 with a break from 15:00 to 17:00. There's no regular day off, Naver Reservation is available, and the Obelisk underground car park gives you 2 hours of free parking.

• Address: 33 Mapo-daero, Mapo-gu, Seoul, Obelisk APT shopping arcade, B1, Unit 138
• Hours: daily 11:30–21:00 (last order listed as 14:20)
• Break time: daily 15:00–17:00
• Closed: no regular closing day
• Reservations: Naver Reservation available
• Parking: free parking available (2 hours free in the Mapo Station Obelisk underground car park)

From the Obelisk car park to Gyudo

Drive into the underground car park of the Obelisk building at Mapo Station and you'll find a nice wide lot. Park, then head to the building entrance on the apartment side, where there's an intercom at the shared door. Press the security button and the guard's office opens the door for you!

Once inside, take the elevator up to the B1 shopping arcade, and there it is, to the right of the Hoot Poke shop: Premium Gyukatsu Gyudo!!

Is there a wait at Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok on a weekday around 5pm?

There's a waiting kiosk at the entrance, and at lunch or peak dinner hours it looked like the wait can get pretty long. Quite a few people were eating solo too. We came a little after 5pm on a weekday, not long after the break time ended, and it was relaxed haha

Gyudo's atmosphere and seating

The inside is spacious with a classy Japanese-restaurant interior! The room is split into left and right sides, with a good mix of tables for 2 and for 4.

Further in there's a closet for storing coats, plus bar-style solo seats that are perfect for eating alone!

Gyudo's menu and what we ordered

We ordered one smoked gyukatsu set and one smoked yakiniku (Japanese-style grilled beef) set. The menu has an unusual design, which was fun, but we just picked the gyukatsu and yakiniku that looked like the obvious signature dishes.

There's also a review event: leave a receipt review and you get fried shrimp!!

The back of the menu explains the Gyudo brand and how to eat it well. Combining Korean sungnyung (scorched-rice tea) with Japanese ochazuke (rice with tea), Gyudo built an unusual ochazuke concept. They use Sindongjin rice, and the myeongi wasabi (wasabi made from wild mountain greens), all the sauces and even the radish salad are said to be 100% handmade!!!

Gyudo's self-bar and personal drawers: what was good?

In the middle of the restaurant there's a self-bar for refill rice and broth, and I loved it. For the scorched rice made from the pot rice that comes as standard, you don't just add water. You pick the broth you want and pour it in!! Free rice refills too, nice nice haha

Another thing I liked: every table seat has a personal drawer, and inside is a custom-made cutlery pouch! Spoon, chopsticks and rice paddle are all prepared separately for each person, which was so convenient 👍

And here's our full Mapo feast, done~~!!

How does the ₩21,000 smoked gyukatsu set taste?

Gyudo's smoked gyukatsu set is ₩21,000, and it's described as one-of-a-kind gyukatsu, wood-smoked in an offset smoker. At first I wondered what smoked gyukatsu even was, but the myeongi wasabi and sauces being 100% handmade made it look even tastier.

The side dishes include a poached egg and a clear soup!

Tonkotsu broth scorched rice vs Solomon's seal tea scorched rice

The freshly cooked pot rice was fluffy and glossy. Scoop out the good rice, bring the broth you want back in the kettle, and make scorched rice~~ We picked one tonkotsu (pork bone) broth and one둥굴레차 (Solomon's seal tea), and the tonkotsu one tasted a bit like gukbap (rice soup), which was so weird haha

Then you grill the gyukatsu to your liking~~ This little brazier is also custom-made for Gyudo, a personal bangjja yugi (traditional brass) hearth 👍

Golden-brown gyukatsu dipped in the handmade wasabi and sauce gives you the full majesty of a Mapo favorite in one bite...❤️ so good

How is the ₩21,000 smoked yakiniku set different from the gyukatsu?

Gyudo's smoked yakiniku set is also ₩21,000, and it was every bit as good as the gyukatsu.

The yakiniku feels a little more raw than the gyukatsu,

but grill it golden brown and eat it with the special sauce and it melted in my mouth.

Would I go back to Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok?

Today's Mapo Station food trip really showed me what premium gyukatsu is about! 2 hours of free parking is generous and the food was so good that my chance of returning is 200%~!!