Weekend reservation tonkatsu near Olympic Park in Seoul: Riae Premium

After a nice green stroll through Olympic Park, I found myself thinking "I want a proper premium tonkatsu today!" — so here's my review of a tonkatsu spot I visited. I went to Riae Premium Olympic Park Branch, a tonkatsu restaurant near Olympic Park built on 24 years of a craftsman's devotion to tonkatsu alone and a carefully honed aging technique using select premium pork.

I'll walk you through everything: not the little sample cutlet you usually get in a set menu, but a generous cold soba set that comes with a whole thick cutlet, the richly flavored Tokyo spice hire curry, and my tips for getting seated without a weekend wait.

Where is Riae Premium Olympic Park Branch, and where do you park?

Riae Premium is located right across from Olympic Park's north gate 2, so it's an incredibly convenient stop before or after a walk in the park.

Walking there: the Olympic Park North Gate 2 landmark

• Right in front of the Olympic Park north gate 2 crosswalk!
• 3 minutes on foot from the JYP Entertainment building
• 7 minutes on foot from Korea National Sport University
• 7 minutes on foot from Gangdong-gu Office

Getting to Riae Premium by subway and bus

• About 10 minutes on foot from Exit 3 of Olympic Park Station (Lines 5, 9)
• About 10 minutes on foot from Exit 3 of Dunchon-dong Station (Line 5) as well
• Take bus 3411 from Jamsil Station and get off at 'Yoon Sun-saeng English School' or 'Oryun Church' stop — just a 1–2 minute walk from there

Parking at Riae Premium Olympic Park Branch

Parking is available right in front of the restaurant, and there's a dedicated overflow lot at the back entrance when the front lot is full.

Inside Riae Premium and how to book for weekend peak hours

Once inside, there's a pretty generous number of table seats. The spacing between tables is relaxed, making for a calm mood that's great for chatting with your group over a meal. It's such a famous neighborhood spot that during weekend lunch and dinner peak hours, it fills up so much I could barely get a photo of the inside of the hall.

If you want to eat without a reservation, you'll need to quickly register for waiting on the Catch Table tablet out front. But honestly, the best move is to book ahead on Naver! We reserved in advance for weekend peak time and got to sit down right away and eat at leisure, while other guests waited in a long line.

Cold soba hire set vs rosu set: tenderloin or loin?

💡 Why Riae Premium stands out

Top-tier premium pork — they say they use only carefully selected YBD spotted pigs and Cheongdo persimmon-fed pigs, ranking in the top 0.3% in South Korea.

Golden aging & 2.2cm thickness — the loin is sliced a hefty 2.2cm thick, aged for the optimal time, then fried fresh to order so the outside is crisp and the inside stays juicy and moist. Today we ordered the cool seasonal cold soba set and a curry dish!

❄️ Cold soba hire (tenderloin) set & rosu (loin) set, each 19,500 won. At most other Japanese restaurants, ordering a cold soba set usually gets you one or two thin slices of tonkatsu on the side, right? But at Riae, you get a whole thick cutlet served as its own full portion! My jaw dropped at how generous the portion was the moment the bowl arrived.

The rich, refreshing tsuyu broth with floating slivers of ice is packed with springy, chewy buckwheat noodles!

A clean flavor that washes away the heat and thirst in an instant.

Hire (tenderloin) katsu at Riae Premium

The first bite was so tender and soft my teeth sank right in — it genuinely surprised me. Personally, the hire (tenderloin) hit my taste buds way harder than the loin.

Rosu (loin) katsu at Riae Premium

True to its 2.2cm thickness, it had that hearty, substantial texture and savory flavor of the meat itself, unfolding more with every bite — the textbook version of a loin cutlet.

The salad dressing that stole the meal

The house dressing for the salad, unlike store-bought sauces, was so bright and refined that it made me finish the entire cabbage salad.

Tokyo spice hire curry, 17,500 won

🍛 The Tokyo spice hire (tenderloin) curry is 17,500 won — this Tokyo-style spice curry was my mom's pick! A rich Japanese-style curry with a gentle, pleasantly tingling spiced flavor comes topped with a crisp-outside, tender-inside hire cutlet.

She soaked the fluffy rice generously in the curry, added a piece of tonkatsu on top, and ate it up happily. The owner and staff also looked after us thoughtfully throughout the meal and were so kind — it really felt like being treated with care!

Final verdict: who should eat at Riae Premium Olympic Park Branch?

The overwhelming meat thickness and juiciness that show off 24 years of craftsmanship, the generous cold soba set that comes with a whole cutlet, and the pleasant location right next to the Olympic Park walking path with easy parking — all of it! I highly recommend it to couples looking for an Olympic Park date course, or to anyone wanting a quiet, quality family meal with parents and kids.

💡 Riae Premium Olympic Park Branch is recommended for:

• Anyone who wants to taste juicy, premium aged katsu
• Anyone who wants to enjoy a refreshing cold soba set before summer ends
• Anyone looking for a Seongnae-dong restaurant with easy parking and friendly service right in front of Olympic Park's north gate 2
• Anyone who wants a comfortable, wait-free meal during weekend peak hours via Catch Table or Naver reservation

Before you visit, don't forget to book ahead on Naver or Catch Table!