Seongsu Japanese restaurant for beef katsu on a grill: Gyuen Dang

A Saturday in Seongsu: Reserved beef katsu and straight in

I headed to Seongsu on Saturday to browse some showrooms here and there~ Since it was the weekend, I expected crowds and wanted to avoid waiting! While looking for a good restaurant that took reservations, I went for beef katsu for the first time in ages haha. Reservations in Seongsu...!! 👏🏻 This time, I visited Gyuen Dang Seongsu Main Branch (규엔당 성수본점)~ I was so excited for beef katsu after so long 😋

Gyuen Dang Seongsu Main Branch is close to Exit 3 of Seongsu Station! It is on the second floor, so do not get lost on the first floor—just head straight upstairs haha.

There was a preview of the menu out in front of the building~ I liked being able to see what they had before going in! 👍🏻

Follow the stairs on the left side of the building and you will find the entrance right away~ There were quite a few people waiting when we arrived! But we had a reservation, so we went straight in haha. We booked for 4 PM on Saturday and arrived almost exactly on time.

They also have a Catchtable waitlist, so you could put your name down and look around nearby before coming back! For reference, I took this waiting-list photo when we came out after eating. There were still no fewer than nine parties waiting...! Definitely a popular Seongsu beef katsu spot, haha.

The atmosphere and how to order

There were so many guests inside that I could not photograph the whole place~ There were more tables beyond what you see in the photos, so it had more seating than I expected.

It had the feel of a Japanese-style beef katsu restaurant haha. I think people looking for a Japanese restaurant for a Seongsu date after browsing showrooms would really like this place!

The restroom was inside the restaurant! It was unisex, but it was kept clean, so it was perfectly fine to use~

Here is the menu~! Beef katsu and omelet rice seemed to be the main dishes, but there were lots of other options too, including rice bowls, udon, and curry. They also had fried items as sides~ I was a little sad that the torikawa, or fried chicken skin, I wanted was sold out 🥲 They are running a review event too, so it might be worth joining if you visit~ To order, you press the bell attached beside the table and tell a staff member. We ordered sirloin beef katsu, hamburger-steak omelet rice, Kirin draft beer, and a small Kirin draft beer! 🐷

Open the table drawer and you will find cutlery, napkins, and wet wipes. The table also had instructions for eating the beef katsu and omelet rice, so you could enjoy them without having to ask the staff haha.

I was worried that the beef katsu might splatter on my clothes, so I asked a staff member for an apron, and they brought one over~

Sirloin beef katsu topped with Isigny butter

The Kirin draft beer came out first~ 🍻 I love restaurants with these little beers hahaha. You know those times when you want a beer, but a full one would fill you up, while skipping it entirely feels a little disappointing?! This size is just right for me then 😝 I ordered the small beer, while my companion got the regular size~ It was the best match with the beef katsu! 👍🏻

And finally, the sirloin beef katsu arrived!! 🥩 When they brought it over, they lit the charcoal grill. It came with rice, soup, salad, and danmuji (pickled yellow radish), plus wasabi, salt, and sauce for dipping the beef katsu. And there was Isigny butter too, which is something that makes Gyuen Dang special! 🧈

Time to start grilling in earnest~ 🍴 I grilled the beef katsu on its own, and I also grilled it with Isigny butter on top. It was definitely tastier with the butter because the flavor was richer hahaha. I think I grilled almost every bite with butter on it haha. The meat was seriously tender too—it just melted in my mouth... Where did my meat go... 🤷🏻♀️ It was good dipped in sauce as well, but personally, I preferred it with wasabi and a light dip in salt~ 😛 The heat stayed good while we ate, so we did not need a replacement grill, but they said you can press the bell to request one if needed!

Hamburger-steak omelet rice—cut sideways, but still delicious

Next came the hamburger-steak omelet rice! I liked that it arrived almost at the same time as the beef katsu. It also came with soup, salad, and danmuji, plus sauce in a separate bowl to pour over it.

But I guess I was really hungry hahaha. Without thinking, I cut the omelet rice sideways 😂 I was supposed to cut it lengthwise.... Such an idiot... 🤦🏻♀️ But hey, as long as it tasted good, right!! Hahaha. I poured on the sauce and tucked right in. First of all, there was more hamburger steak than I expected, so it was incredibly filling~ The egg was super generous and soft too! How many eggs did they use... 🥚🥚🥚 The rice underneath was not plain rice either—it was tasty fried rice, which I loved. The sauce was not overly salty and tasted just right~! With the soft egg and hamburger steak together, it was such a satisfying dish haha.

A Seongsu date meal with less worry about waiting

As everyone knows, Seongsu is always packed on weekends, so this time I looked for somewhere I could eat without worrying about a wait and ended up at Gyuen Dang Seongsu Main Branch~ Even on a Saturday afternoon, reserving in advance meant we could walk right in without waiting, which was so convenient! Seeing several parties waiting when we came out really made it seem like a popular restaurant haha 💯 I loved being able to grill the beef katsu right on the charcoal grill to my liking, and grilling it with Isigny butter gave it such a lovely nutty richness—so good! 😌🧈 The omelet rice was filling too, with soft egg and a generous amount of hamburger steak! It is also quite close to Seongsu Station, and reservations or the Catchtable waitlist are available, so I would recommend it to anyone looking for a meal while exploring Seongsu~! Especially if you are looking for a great Seongsu beef katsu spot or a distinctive Japanese restaurant for a date in Seongsu, I think it is worth a visit :) My long-awaited beef katsu was a success~!