Ingye-dong cutlet restaurant with a hot dog bun add-on: Gyewondang

Lunch in Ingye-dong after an outpatient visit at Ajou University Hospital

It was Nampponi's outpatient day at Ajou University Hospital, so we rushed to Suwon early in the morning. He'd been fasting for a blood test, so after the test he said he was starving and wanted to eat nearby — cue the emergency restaurant search. I hadn't been to Ingye-dong since a lunch with a friend back in college, so it felt like a real throwback~

Searching for Ingye-dong restaurants, Gyewondang — famous as a date-spot handmade chicken cutlet place — caught my eye~ They have regular pork cutlet too, but the handmade chicken cutlet seems to be the signature menu.

What Gyewondang Ingye Branch looks like inside and out

The exterior of Gyewondang Ingye Branch has red brick and an old-neighborhood feel. Such retro vibes right from the entrance~ It's like an 80s Western-style house reinterpreted in a modern way. The 'beware of dog' sign at the entrance was so fun~ I remember seeing those signs all over old alleys back in the day, and honestly, the dog is just too cute haha😆😆

Since it's near Suwon City Hall Station, a lot of office workers seem to come here for lunch, and it's also famous as an Ingye-dong date spot~

I really loved the phrase at the entrance: 'Crispiness is a family promise, tidiness is our respect for guests.'

The interior design is elegant and retro too~ With tables from 2-person to 4-person, it looks like a good spot for solo dining as well~

Before ordering, when I went to wash my hands, the wet wipes were so cute haha — a 'jackpot talisman,' a Buddha health talisman, fun to look at one by one. The owner's sense of humor really shows through in every little detail👍

Gyewondang menu and prices

Gyewondang's menu ranges from the handmade steak-style Gyewon chicken cutlet to pork loin cutlet and the signature fried chicken steak, and you can choose between egg fried rice and a hot dog bun. You can also switch to a spicy cutlet, and there's a lunch set, combo menus, Gyewon chicken soup rice bowl, and Gyewon soft tofu rice bowl too.

For Gyewondang's cutlet dishes, egg fried rice comes as the default, but it can be swapped for a hot dog bun or black rice👍

Gyewondang chicken cutlet, 12,500 won: crispy from the first cut

Since it's a chicken cutlet place, you've gotta have the chicken cutlet, right?! The Gyewondang chicken cutlet I picked, ₩12,500, comes out neatly as a full table setting, great for solo dining too. Maybe because it's handmade, it cut so smoothly and made a satisfying crunch the whole way through. Pork cutlet ASMR~~~

Gyewon cutlet set, 17,500 won: a three-cutlet platter

Nampponi ordered the Gyewon cutlet set, ₩17,500, which comes as a combo platter with three kinds: chicken cutlet, fried chicken steak, and pork loin cutlet~

Maybe because it uses 100% whole chicken thigh meat, it was incredibly tender~ 👍👍 The chicken steak paired so well with the spicy sauce that we asked for a refill.

Can you add a hot dog bun at Gyewondang? Yes

We originally only ordered with egg fried rice, but seeing people nearby enjoying their hot dog buns so much made me wonder if I should've gone with the burger bun option instead. Turns out you can order it as an extra, so we added a hot dog bun!

You just put the cutlet on top of the vegetables and fold it in half for a big bite~ There were so many vegetables it was hard to close the bun👍👍 We're a couple who loves cabbage, so this was great for us~

900-won soda refills and the self-packing station

You can get ₩900 all-you-can-drink soda refills — what a deal~ Total bang-for-your-buck spot. Now I get why it's famous as an Ingye-dong date restaurant.

Best of all, there's a self-packing station where you can package up any leftover food individually.

If you're looking for an Ingye-dong date spot, it comes out clean and tidy — great for dates, and also a solid, filling lunch option for office workers :)

Gyewondang Ingye Branch hours, parking and location

• Hours 11:00–21:00, last order 20:30
• About 2 parking spots in front of the building, plus basement parking
• A collaboration of home cooking and Western-style cuisine, said to use 100% handmade chicken thigh meat