Weekend lunch double king donkatsu in Gwangju: Jinsim King Donkatsu

Pork stir-fry, donkatsu (pork cutlet), and gukbap — the classic trio of soul foods for guys, haha. Even my high schooler reflexively shouts "donkatsu" or "pork stir-fry" whenever I ask what to eat. He wanted donkatsu for weekend dinner out, so we went to Jinsim King Donkatsu, a place known for its huge cutlets.

What is weekend lunch like at Jinsim King Donkatsu near Pyeongdong Station?

Jinsim King Donkatsu Pyeongdong Branch is a king donkatsu restaurant on Pyeongdong-ro 800beon-gil in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju. The dining room felt refreshingly spacious, and the large lot out front made it easy to get to by car. It's one of those donkatsu chains popping up all over Gwangju lately, so I was curious how it would taste — and once I got there, the flavor was good, but honestly the portion size was what really shocked me.

Even though it was a weekend lunch, the place was packed, and most of the customers were men — which gave me a strong hunch that the food would be tasty and the portions huge!!

• Address: 11-13 Pyeongdong-ro 800beon-gil, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju
• Parking: Large lot in front of the restaurant
• Self-bar for soup, broth, and side dishes

Jinsim King Donkatsu menu and prices

The signature menu at Jinsim King Donkatsu Pyeongdong Branch is the Jinsim King Donkatsu, one piece for ₩10,900, and the Double King Donkatsu, two pieces for ₩16,900, with noodle dishes like udon, jjolmyeon and memil (buckwheat noodles) running around ₩9,000. It's easiest to just look at the menu board.

The main draw is of course the donkatsu, but they also have fish cutlet, cheese cutlet, donkatsu nabe, noodle dishes (jjolmyeon, kalguksu, udon, cold noodles), and rice dishes (bibimbap, curry rice bowl).

• Jinsim King Donkatsu (1 piece): ₩10,900
• Double King Donkatsu (2 pieces): ₩16,900
• Udon, jjolmyeon, memil, etc.: around ₩9,000

The staff said the Jinsim Double King Donkatsu is the most popular item, so we ordered the double donkatsu and an udon.

Kiosk ordering and what is on the self-bar

You can order and pay by kiosk right at your table. There's also a self-bar set up in the middle of the restaurant where you can help yourself to warm soup, broth, and basic side dishes.

Both the soup and the donkatsu tasted exactly like that nostalgic old-school flavor we all know, so it ended up being an even more satisfying meal^^

That nostalgia-inducing soup loaded with black pepper, plus warm broth, and being able to just help yourself was really nice. Wrap vegetables were also set out.

How big is the Double King Donkatsu?

One piece of the king donkatsu at Jinsim King Donkatsu Pyeongdong Branch was the size of two pieces at a regular donkatsu place. I've been to plenty of king donkatsu restaurants like Hongik Donkatsu and Mudeung King Donkatsu, but this looks like the biggest king donkatsu I've seen yet. The cutlet is fried thin and crispy, and the sweet-tangy sauce comes poured on top (not on the side).

It's so big that instead of a fork and knife, they give you scissors and tongs, haha. Honestly, I don't think one adult man could easily finish a single piece (it's really more like two servings passing as one). The flavor is exactly the classic king donkatsu taste we all know — thin, no gamey smell, and generally delicious.

Being thin means it's crispy, and the moistness of the sauce (poured on top as standard) blends really well — it was delicious.

Eating the pork cutlet in lettuce wraps with soybean paste

It's delicious as is, but it's even better with vegetables. Honestly, since donkatsu is a fried food, you can get tired of it pretty fast if you just keep eating it plain.

Eating donkatsu together with lettuce, soybean paste, and cabbage is even tastier and has that magic of not getting old^^ There's a famous Gwangju dish called sangchu twigim, where you wrap fried squid in lettuce (the onion soy sauce is the killer touch). Just like sangchu twigim, donkatsu tastes even better eaten as a wrap^^ Everyone needs to know how good donkatsu wraps are, haha.

Packing up leftover donkatsu at the self-packing station

We ate hard between the two of us, but in the end one piece still had to be packed up. Jinsim King Donkatsu Pyeongdong Branch has a self-packing station inside the restaurant, so you can easily pack the leftovers yourself and enjoy them again at home.

If you visit with two people like us, ordering the double king donkatsu plus one side dish is enough to eat until you're full and still have food left over — solid value for money. Since you can also take leftovers home, I'd recommend going for the double!

Also, if you take part in the Naver receipt review event, you get a free drink, so definitely make sure to join that too~!

Jinsim King Donkatsu brings back memories with its soup-plus-king-donkatsu combo, has a flavor practically no one dislikes, and serves generous portions — a donkatsu spot that's hard to go wrong with. I think I'll be thinking about it whenever I want to eat donkatsu until I'm completely full^^