Gwanggyo Japanese restaurant 11:30am: hambak omurice, Gyuen-dang

We went to Gwanggyo to pick up my partner's custom-tailored shirt. Since we were there, we had to eat something good, right?!? So we visited Gyuen-dang, an Avenue France gyukatsu spot.

How to find Gyuen-dang at Avenue France Gwanggyo

Gyuen-dang is located outside on the first floor of Avenue France (across from Eunpyung World). Avenue France is close to Gwanggyo Jungang Station and parking is convenient, so it's fine to drive over — they also offer parking support.

If you're coming from underground, enter via the D25 entrance and take the escalator up — the restaurant is right there. If you go up through a different entrance, you'll have to walk all the way outside to get in, so make sure to come up through D25.

This is the entrance to Gyuen-dang connected from inside the building. Plenty of baby chairs are prepared too.

Inside Gyuen-dang: the room and the solo-diner window seats

Here's the inside of this gyukatsu Japanese restaurant near Gwanggyo Jungang Station. It's on the cozy side, but had great Japanese-restaurant vibes. The brazier interior really stood out. There are also solo-diner seats by the window, so it's good for eating alone in Gwanggyo.

What is on the Gyuen-dang menu?

Here's the Gyuen-dang menu. True to a Japanese restaurant near Gwanggyo Jungang Station, they have gyukatsu, omurice, donburi, curry, and udon, plus fried squid and fried chicken skin. For drinks there's Suntory highball, Kirin draft beer, and a small-size beer too. If a full draft beer feels like too much, try the small size.

Ordering the tenderloin gyukatsu and hambak omurice

I ordered the tenderloin gyukatsu and hambak omurice (mashed hamburg steak omurice). When you order gyukatsu, they light the brazier for you. You grill it yourself right there. The staff was really kind.

Here's the tenderloin gyukatsu (gyukatsu: breaded, lightly fried beef cutlet). The portion was quite generous. The outside is lightly fried and crispy, and you cook the inside to your own taste. The meat is really tender. It comes with rice, salad, and miso soup too, so it's a filling meal.

The hambak omurice arrived too. Under the fluffy egg is a hidden hamburg steak. We ordered one gyukatsu and one omurice to share, and it was just the right amount. Highly recommend this Japanese restaurant near Gwanggyo Jungang Station!!

How to eat the hambak omurice

Looking at it from the side, it looks like a giant egg sushi haha. If you gently cut and open the egg on the omurice, moist egg spills out inside, and you can drizzle the sauce on to your taste.

I only drizzled a little worried it'd be too salty, but it wasn't salty at all so you could really pour it on. It's soft, moist, and delicious. Omurice really is best done Japanese-style.

The moist egg, fluffy loose rice, and juicy hamburg steak made a really great combination. If we'd ordered two gyukatsu instead, it might have felt a bit greasy. The gyukatsu was delicious, but Gyuen-dang really does the omurice well too.

How Gyuen-dang tells you to grill the gyukatsu

Let's grill the gyukatsu first. The way Gyuen-dang recommends eating it deliciously is to first grill 1-2 pieces without butter, then melt butter in and grill the rest with it.

Even grilled without butter, it stayed moist and you could really taste the natural meat flavor. Just 15-20 seconds per side is enough. Being tenderloin, it was really soft. Highly recommend this Japanese restaurant near Gwanggyo Jungang Station.

In between bites of gyukatsu, we kept eating the omurice too. My partner is normally a meat person, but today they kept eyeing the omurice haha. That's how good this restaurant near Gwanggyo Jungang Station was. If you're looking for a lunch spot in Gwanggyo, I recommend Gyuen-dang.

The gyukatsu almost looks like sushi haha. The rice was sticky and it really got my appetite going lol. You can dip it in wasabi, salt, or sauce to your taste. This was a truly delicious meal at this gyukatsu spot in Gwanggyo's Avenue France.

Lunch crowds and parking tips at Gyuen-dang

That wraps up my review of Gyuen-dang, visited for lunch in Gwanggyo. I went at 11:30am and left around 12:30pm, and by the time I left it was nearly full. The parking lot also got busy around 1pm. If you come early, you can enjoy your meal comfortably without the crowds.

They also gave us 4 hours of parking, which made it nice to look around Avenue France afterward. Great for dates, family meals, or visiting with kids!