Yeouido gyukatsu restaurant, well-done sirloin on a weekend: Izawa

Since my friend Hongsun moved jobs to Seoul, her solo dining tour of Seoul has begun — and as a Japanese food lover, her first solo pick was Izawa, a gyukatsu restaurant near Yeouido Station.

While looking for a gyukatsu spot near Yeouido Station, I found Izawa Yeouido Direct Store, which is actually Korea's first-ever gyukatsu specialty restaurant. Let's go check out this honest review of a Yeouido Station gyukatsu place I had high hopes for!

Izawa Yeouido Direct Store: hours, parking and the basics

• 📍 Address: 42 Yeouinaru-ro, 203, 204, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul
• 🕒 Hours: 11:00–21:00 (last order 20:30) / break time 15:00–17:00
• 🚗 Parking available (1 hour free at the ground-floor lot)
• 📶 Wi-Fi available
• 🚻 Separate men's/women's restrooms
• 🪑 Group seating (minimum 1–4 people)

How to walk to Izawa from Yeouido Station Exit 5

Izawa Yeouido Direct Store is right there once you come out of Yeouido Station Exit 5 and head up to the 2nd floor of Yeouido Jonghap Sangga.

Izawa, this gyukatsu spot near Yeouido Station, sits in the mall right at the main Yeouido Station intersection, so the wait on weekdays is intense!! I went during weekend lunch instead.

If I'd come any later I probably would have had to wait, but a solo seat was open, and with the nice weather the view out the window was gorgeous.

Solo seats at Izawa are 2-seaters, so they work for dates too

Even though they're solo dining seats, they're 2-seaters, so I'd definitely recommend Izawa Yeouido as a date spot too — being close to The Hyundai Seoul made it even better!

Apparently singer Lim Young-woong has visited a lot too — the walls and interior are covered in his autographs and photos, so this must really be the real deal.

With signed photos of Lim Young-woong and Hibab scattered around, this really does confirm it's a proper Yeouido spot you can trust.

Nearly full house, this gyukatsu place near Yeouido that almost had me waiting! Even at lunch it was buzzing.

Table turnover was faster than I expected, and the ventilation was good enough that smells didn't cling — I really liked that, since I'd come in on a work break.

Especially that big window gave such a nice open feeling, and you could see all of Yeouido Station — the view was really lovely.

Even though it was a weekend, families, groups and couples alike kept coming in.

Izawa's menu: tablet ordering and the gyukatsu set (sirloin)

Ordering was easy via tablet, and I went with Izawa's signature dish: the gyukatsu set (sirloin)!!

I happened to glance at the next table and next time I really want to try the steki set (sirloin) or steki don (sirloin) — it looked like an incredible yakiniku visual.

A friendly staff member served it and explained how to eat it! It genuinely looked like the gyukatsu I had in Japan, so 100% satisfied.

The breading held its shape perfectly too — pass! The sirloin inside looked moist.

What sirloin gyukatsu tastes like grilled on Izawa's mini grill

Alright, let's start piece by piece! Staff checked in periodically to swap out the charcoal on the mini grill — the fire lasted a decently long time.

Grilling it just how you like, the smell alone starts rising properly.

Okay, now finally time to taste it — it's been so long since gyukatsu, so I'm so excited!! Izawa, why did it take me this long to come...

Wow, I started my first bite with wasabi — and this stuff is dangerously good... The harmony of crispy outside, moist beef inside really brings out the full flavor.

Take a bite with the fluffy, well-cooked rice and it's pure happiness.

Dip it into Izawa's special sauce too and the flavor just gets richer — the meaty aroma, the smoky char, the umami all explode.

The beef has just the right amount of fat, tender texture, and the breading — not too thick — holds it all together perfectly.

Lightly fried cutlet-style so the juices don't escape, the beef's juiciness and aroma stayed alive, and it melted in my mouth even more than expected — this really is a proper gyukatsu spot near Yeouido.

As expected, the classic wasabi combo with gyukatsu tastes so refined — thanks to Izawa, I think I'm getting into gyukatsu for a while now...

This time I grilled it a bit more well-done to enjoy the texture, and it didn't get tough at all — more smoky char plus a bit more bite from the beef, so I guess I'm a well-done person.

Curry sauce for 4,000 won over the leftover rice

Lastly, you can add this curry sauce for 4,000 won — it's spicy and surprisingly similar to the Japanese curry at Abiko! They gave a generous amount of curry, enough to finish as a rice bowl with leftovers.

The slightly spicy curry cut through the richness perfectly for a good finish — and with that much sauce, it was great to enjoy alongside the gyukatsu too.

There's actually a separate curry gyukatsu (sirloin) menu item, but doing it this way — adding curry to half-leftover rice and topping it with gyukatsu — is also the best combo!

True to being Korea's original gyukatsu restaurant, this was such a delicious meal — a Yeouido spot near Yeouido Station worth visiting with a date, family, or friends as part of a The Hyundai Seoul course!