Yeouido Park gyukatsu, weekend lunch with aged pollock roe: Hurato

Where is Hurato Sikdang Yeouido?

Hurato Sikdang Yeouido (후라토식당 여의도직영점) is on the 3rd floor of Yeouido Finance Tower, 160 m and a 3-minute walk from Exit 3 of Yeouido Station. If you want gyukatsu in Yeouido, this is the place, no question. It's a go-back-again favorite of Yeouido office workers. Yeouido Station is a transfer station for Lines 5 and 9, so it's easy to get to.

It's on the 3rd floor of Yeouido Finance Tower, and for reference, there's a Hollys Coffee on the 1st floor.

There's a Catch Table waiting kiosk next to the entrance.

By the way, I hear Hurato Sikdang started out as a small restaurant in Tokyo.

Hurato Sikdang Yeouido atmosphere and seating

The moment you step inside, a yellow mural catches your eye.

I'm guessing it's a big mural of a Japanese Sengoku-era battle scene!! So cool, honestly, haha.

The ceiling lights are made of stacked, criss-crossed wood. There are Audrey Hepburn posters in Japanese here and there too. There's also a long single-row table along the wall, so dining solo is easy.

Every table has its own personal brazier.

I went for weekend lunch, and it was less crowded than when I go on weekdays, so I could eat at a relaxed pace.

Hurato Sikdang menu and what to order on a first visit

The menu is split into gyukatsu and steki (steak), rice bowls, curry and omurice, udon, sides, and drinks. If it's your first time, I'd recommend the signature gyukatsu and the omurice!

What I ate: gyukatsu, omurice, and aged pollock roe (myeongran), haha.

Gyukatsu: served medium-rare and grilled on a personal brazier

The gyukatsu is crispy outside and rosy rare inside. It arrives medium-rare, and they told me to grill it on the brazier to my liking.

When I grilled it briefly, the outside got crispy once more and a nutty aroma rose up. There are three sauces: salt, a thick seasoned sauce, and a soy-based sauce. And wasabi too!

Dipped in salt, the beef flavor comes through clearly. A bit of wasabi on top wipes away any richness. Putting a piece of beef on top of rice is also highly recommended.

Soft-set omurice: pour the tomato sauce on yourself

The omurice comes with a yellow omelet sitting plump on the plate. The tomato sauce comes separately, and you pour it on yourself. When you slice through it with a knife, the soft-set egg spreads out all creamy.

This is the highlight of the omurice!! Haha.

The egg is all soft and wobbly, and once you pour on the sauce, the meal is complete. Inside, it's not plain white rice but fluffy fried rice. A bite of egg, a bite of rice, a bite of sauce. The flavor goes from gentle to rich and kept calling my spoon back.

Taking a bite of omurice in between the gyukatsu resets your mouth. The two together were surprisingly perfect.

Aged pollock roe: a palate cleanser between gyukatsu bites that goes great with rice

The salty pollock roe was more than a rice thief (밥도둑, a side so good you finish all your rice); it worked well as a side dish too. A whole piece of roe comes on a bamboo leaf, topped with sliced green onion and sauce, so it looks neat too.

The eggs pop and a salty savoriness rises up. Rather than eating lots at once, it's nice to pick at it little by little. I put a bit on rice and a whole bowl vanished in no time. It was also good as a palate cleanser between pieces of gyukatsu.

Who is Hurato Sikdang Yeouido best for?

Hurato Sikdang Yeouido suits you well if you want to grill your own gyukatsu in Yeouido. The brazier makes the grilling fun.

• Solo dining is comfortable, and it's a 3-minute walk from Yeouido Station, so it's great for a lunch stop.
• Prices are reasonable, so it's easy to go without worrying about the bill.
• Rice, miso soup and salad come with the meal, which I was happy about.
• Weekend lunch was less crowded, so it was nice to grill at a leisurely pace.

Come grill some gyukatsu at Hurato Sikdang, a Yeouido Park-area favorite 🙂