Half-and-half cheese katsu and zaru soba near Seoul Nat'l Univ.

Had a delicious dinner near Seoul National University Entrance Station. It's a newly opened spot so there wasn't much info out there, so let me share my review!

Crispy outside, juicy inside half-and-half katsu, sweet-and-savory katsudon, and refreshing soba — we tried all three, a little bit of everything.

Kosi Seoul National University Entrance Branch: location and hours

• 📍Location 466 Bongcheon-ro, 101ho, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• ⏰Hours Daily 11:00–20:50 (break time 15:00–17:00)
• 🚗Parking Not available
• 🍽️Signature menu Tori tempura bukkake udon ₩11,000 / Pork loin half-and-half katsu ₩13,500

What does the storefront look like?

Coming out of Exit 6 of Seoul National University Entrance Station, the sign catches your eye from a distance! It's only about a 3-minute walk from the station, so it's very easy to find.

As you approach, a clean wood-toned exterior greets you.

At the entrance, photos of the signature menu items are on display, so your eyes get to enjoy the food before you even walk in.

An interior that works for solo diners and families with kids

Inside, there are 4-top and 6-top tables, so it looks like it can seat groups too. (We took this photo after all the other customers had left, close to closing time.)

There are also counter seats where you can look out the window while eating solo — and there were actually quite a few solo diners at the same time we were there! There's a kids' table too, so it's fine to bring children along.

Table setting

Ordering and payment are done through the kiosk on the table.

Sesame, pepper, and salad dressing are set out beside it.

The menu lineup

I took photos of the menu board at the entrance. You can choose from cold udon, tonkatsu (pork cutlet), kama udon and maze-on udon, donburi, and side dishes — quite a range.

We ordered ✔️half-and-half katsu ₩13,500 ✔️katsudon ₩11,000 ✔️zaru soba ₩10,500. Let me introduce each one!

Zaru soba ₩10,500

The soba came out topped with fine shaved ice — cool and clean.

On the side of the tsuyu broth was a separate plate of grated radish, scallions, and wasabi, so once you've poured the broth over, you can add the radish and scallion-wasabi to taste.

Mix it all together and you get an even richer tsuyu. The cool, clean taste of the grated radish combined with the sharp wasabi and fragrant scallions to give it a savory, umami-packed kick. Dipping the soba noodles in fully is a real treat.

Katsudon ₩11,000

Katsudon topped with fluffy egg and a savory tare sauce over the pork cutlet.

For the katsudon, the crispy pork cutlet soaked up the sweet, salty sauce, and it went especially well eaten together with the rice.

You can see the size of the pork cutlet... Piling rice, egg, and pork cutlet onto one spoonful makes for a seriously filling bite.

Half-and-half katsu ₩13,500 — the cheese katsu is the real deal

The half-and-half katsu comes with a light, savory classic pork cutlet on one side and a cheese-stuffed cheese katsu on the other.

The classic pork cutlet tastes different depending on how you eat it — with wasabi on top, dipped fully in the tonkatsu sauce, or dipped in fine salt.

A cute single piece of inari (fried tofu pocket rice) comes alongside it. So nutty and good~!

And now, the cheese katsu 👍🏻 We took one bite of the cheese katsu

Both when my partner ate it and when I ate it, the cheese stretched way out haha. The moment you bite in, the savory cheese pulls long and stretchy — a joy visually and taste-wise both.

Vegetable tempura and sweet potato cheese korokke

If you take part in the review event, you get vegetable tempura and sweet potato cheese korokke.

Inside the crispy tempura batter is a sweet, soft sweet potato mousse packed with cheese.

Can you see the cheese stretching? The sweetness of the sweet potato with the salty, savory cheese — a textbook case of sweet-and-salty.

Freshly fried vegetable tempura, generously loaded with a variety of vegetables. The batter is thin and crispy, so the vegetables' natural crunch and subtle sweetness really come through.

Final verdict

Every single dish we ordered was delicious at Kosi, a Japanese restaurant near Seoul National University Entrance Station.

• ✔️Half-and-half katsu: the best way to enjoy crispiness and cheesy savoriness at once
• ✔️Katsudon: a hearty rice bowl with the perfect juicy, sweet-and-salty balance
• ✔️Soba: clean and refreshing with fine shaved ice, pairs well with the pork cutlet

All three main dishes were really delicious. If you're near Seoul National University Entrance Station and want great pork cutlet and soba, I'd recommend this place.