Gyukatsu lunch after The Hyundai Seoul near Yeouido Station: Izawa

A Yeouido date-course restaurant recommendation! < IZAWA >

A while back I went to browse The Hyundai Seoul with my mom, and while trying to figure out lunch, we ended up at Izawa, a gyukatsu (beef cutlet) place. It even has parking, so it's fine to drive there too.

The best part of Izawa's gyukatsu is that you grill the meat yourself on a mini charcoal grill! You can cook it to your own taste, which makes eating it kind of fun too. It's right in front of Exit 5 of Yeouido Station, so it was really easy to find. This is my review of Izawa Yeouido Direct Store, said to be a regular haunt of singer Lim Young-woong :)

Where is Izawa Yeouido Direct Store, and where do you park?

Izawa Yeouido Direct Store is on the 2nd floor of Yeouido Jonghap Sangga, right in front of Exit 5 of Yeouido Station. The building's outdoor ground-level lot gives you 1 hour of free parking, so driving there isn't a hassle.

The building is visible the moment you come out of Yeouido Station, so finding it wasn't hard at all. Go up to the 2nd floor, walk all the way to the right, and Izawa is right next to Bonjuk.

It's a good stop after browsing The Hyundai Seoul and heading toward Yeouido Station, and it also works well as a course after shopping or a date in Yeouido, ending with a meal.

How long is the Sunday lunch wait at Izawa?

We visited Izawa on a Sunday for lunch and got seated right away with no wait. Still, the place was nearly full.

Toward the back there were floor-to-ceiling windows with seats good for solo dining, and most other tables were groups of 2-4 enjoying a relaxed meal. The atmosphere was cozy and had a nice mood, so it would be great for a date too!

Izawa menu and prices

Izawa has a variety of beef dishes beyond just gyukatsu. The gyukatsu set (sirloin) and steki set (sirloin) are each ₩18,000, and the mazesoba is ₩12,000.

• Gyukatsu set (sirloin) ₩18,000 — the signature dish: fresh beef cutlet grilled to your liking on a mini charcoal grill
• Curry gyukatsu (sirloin) ₩20,000 — gyukatsu paired with Izawa's special curry
• Steki set (sirloin) ₩18,000 — beef seared lightly on the surface, sliced, then grilled to taste on the mini grill
• Steki-don (sirloin) ₩18,000 — a rice bowl topped with medium-rare steak
• Dontoro-don ₩13,500 — a rice bowl topped with richly marbled pork jowl

The menu was more varied than I expected, so it's a good spot not just for gyukatsu fans but for anyone who likes beef dishes in general — plenty to choose from. The walls have a lot of autographs and photos of singer Lim Young-woong, apparently a famous regular here!

Gyukatsu set at 18,000 won, grilled on a mini charcoal grill

What my mom and I ordered that day was Izawa's gyukatsu set at ₩18,000. It's fresh beef cutlet you place on a mini charcoal grill and cook to your own taste.

Because you can grill it little by little exactly how you want, it really lets you appreciate what makes gyukatsu good. There's also a bit of fun in placing each piece on the grill and hearing it sizzle.

When I eat gyukatsu, I like it crisp on the outside and just slightly cooked and moist on the inside, and with this grill-it-yourself style, you can adjust it exactly to your own taste. Since there's a mini charcoal grill right on the table, the dish looks pretty fun the moment it arrives too.

Put a piece of gyukatsu on the grill, cook it briefly, dip it in sauce, eat it with rice, grill another piece!!

Free side dish refills to finish the meal

At Izawa we refilled the cabbage salad, kkakdugi (radish kimchi), and soup twice each. The combination of rice, kkakdugi and the sauce was so good I kept going back for more.

The sirloin cut definitely has some richness to it, so it paired really well with the rice, kkakdugi, and cabbage salad. They also have ice-cold draft beer, so if you visit in the evening, having a drink while enjoying the relaxed vibe sounds like a proper Yeouido date course.

Enjoying delicious gyukatsu at Izawa, a Yeouido date-course restaurant — total success!!