Gyukatsu restaurant at Mapo Station for a rainy date: Set 4, Gyudo

A rainy-day date at Mapo Station: why is Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok so easy?

Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok Main Branch is a gyukatsu restaurant you can walk to from Mapo Station without getting rained on. That makes it a really good place to plan a date around Mapo Station! Let me introduce a gyukatsu spot I really love!

The reason I love Gyudo near Mapo Station is that if you order just one gyukatsu, you can even finish with ochazuke (rice with hot broth poured over),

and if you pour the broth a different way, you can even make it feel like you had a bowl of gukbap (Korean rice soup). You can enjoy it in so many ways, which is why I love this place.

Atmosphere and seating at Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok

The space is prettily Japanese-style, with set menus and counter seats for solo diners. It's so pretty that it's a perfect stop whenever you're missing a trip to Japan, which is why it's a Mapo Station restaurant I adore haha. The set menus make ordering easy, and there are counter seats that suit people eating solo near Mapo Station, so it feels really low-pressure to visit :)

From cutlery to dental floss: table amenities

There's cutlery in the table drawer and all sorts of things you might need are ready, so you don't have to ask for each one. That was really convenient.

Up front they even have fabric softener spray and dental floss. This place is amazing, seriously haha

If you worry about smelling like gyukatsu

There's a separate space to store your clothes. When visiting with family, a lot of people worry about the smell, and for anyone thinking "what if the smell soaks into my clothes?", this seems just right haha

How do you book for groups or families?

On weekdays, reservations for lunch and dinner are possible for up to 12 people, and parties of 4 or more can sit separately. The seating is fairly spacious, so it seems great for a family meal too :) Check seats for your schedule quickly through Naver reservations!

Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok menu: why choose a set

There's a (limited) Chu Sung-hoon "Ajossi" Tokyo Steak on the menu, along with plenty of other dishes. Personally I think the sets are good value, so whenever I visit I tend to pick a set over single items! The gyukatsu set includes 2 gyukatsu meals and drinks, which makes it a more reasonable choice.

This time I chose the fillet gyukatsu set, with gyukatsu plus fillet gyukatsu. You get a really tender, soft flavor, so if you like juicy meat, I think Set 4 is a great combination!

Regular gyukatsu vs fillet gyukatsu: how did they taste different?

Gyudo's regular gyukatsu is light yet seems to lock in the meat's juices, so it felt moist and soft. It wasn't tough compared with other places.

Fillet gyukatsu needs gentle grilling, and it was even softer, more tender and nuttier than the regular one. Really good!

Gyudo's hot plate cooks slowly

Gyudo's hot plate cooks at a comfortable pace, so I could take my time and eat at my own speed. The usual square gyukatsu plates tend to stick and scorch fast at the start, but Gyudo's plate really lets you enjoy it slowly, which felt different from other shops!

Pot rice ochazuke: which broth did we pick?

The rice at Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok comes as pot rice (solbap), the kind that leaves scorched rice (nurungji)! I chose tonkotsu broth and my friend chose bonito, and there was also corn silk tea (dungulle), so you can pick whatever flavor you like.

And if you add the furikake (rice seasoning flakes) topping partway through, it gives a whole other feel, like building a proper ochazuke.

Also, if you save a little of the seaweed (gamtae) pollock roe that comes alongside, you can eat it with the ochazuke. Being able to pair all sorts of things like this is really the charm of Gyudo.

Honestly you could just eat gyukatsu with rice, but you can eat it like a course meal, so I wanted to introduce it as a Mapo Station restaurant that's great for dates :)

Oh, and if you run short of rice, you can grab more next to the broth, so this is truly a hearty gukbap place haha

How to get to Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok from Mapo Station

Between Exit 1 and Exit 2 of Mapo Station, there's a path leading into the arcade. Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok is easy to find right after you enter the arcade.

In this monsoon season, please do visit Gyudo, a Mapo Station date spot you can reach without an umbrella!