Gyeongui Line Forest Park tonkatsu with kelp rice: Katsu Monster

The weather has turned nice again lately, making Gyeongui Line Forest Park a great place for a walk. The autumn weather perfect for strolling has been continuing. This time I visited a Yeonnam-dong restaurant right at the entrance of the forest path. Let me introduce a Yeonnam-dong tonkatsu spot, Katsu Monster Yeonnam Main Branch.

Where is Katsu Monster Yeonnam Main Branch? A Yeonnam-dong alley at the Gyeongui Line Forest Park entrance

Here's my first impression of Katsu Monster Yeonnam Main Branch, a well-known tonkatsu spot in Yeonnam-dong. It's located in a Yeonnam-dong alley packed with popular restaurants.

Wandering through the Yeonnam-dong alleys, you find restaurants and cafés with all kinds of different vibes. Katsu Monster stood out with a look reminiscent of a resort — with the nice weather lately, it seemed like a great spot to sit on the terrace. It really captured the feel of enjoying autumn weather in a Yeonnam-dong restaurant.

The weather is nice everywhere these days, but once you're in Yeonnam-dong, you have to head straight for the good food, right?

Katsu Monster menu: loin katsu, hirekatsu and cheese katsu

Here's the menu at Katsu Monster Yeonnam Main Branch, a well-loved tonkatsu spot in Yeonnam-dong. With bar seats available, it's also a great Hongdae-area solo dining restaurant. Loin pork cutlet (roseukatsu), fillet pork cutlet (hirekatsu), and cheese katsu! If you want to try more than one type — loin and fillet — the mixed katsu or combo katsu options look great too.

If you want to enjoy the cold soba or udon side dishes at Katsu Monster Yeonnam Main Branch, the set menus look like a good option — there's a solo set and a 2-person set to choose from. Since I wanted to enjoy both the tonkatsu and the cold soba, I ordered the solo set.

There were plenty of combinations available — mixed katsu, loin, fillet, and cheese katsu — and if you want to try all three types of katsu, the triple katsu looked like a good option too.

Inside Katsu Monster: bar seats for solo diners, baby chairs and a terrace

This Yeonnam-dong restaurant makes great use of its space. The wall had a sauce station stocked with tonkatsu sauce and other condiments, kept impressively clean. While waiting for my order, I noticed quite a lot of delivery orders coming in — if you're looking for a delivery or takeout spot in Yeonnam-dong, Katsu Monster looks like a solid choice.

Katsu Monster, a well-known Yeonnam-dong tonkatsu restaurant, also had baby chairs ready, along with baskets for storing bags or coats — a thoughtful touch. The terrace seating in particular gave the place an even better atmosphere, almost like being on vacation, making it worth a visit if you're after a different kind of Yeonnam-dong restaurant. It also looked great for a date course. Highly recommend it as a Yeonnam-dong date spot!

The hirekatsu solo set: kelp rice and doenjang soup with meat

For my solo set, I chose the fillet pork cutlet and also ordered cold soba on the side. The cabbage salad that's essential with tonkatsu was fresh and well prepared. What really stood out, though, were the rice and doenjang soup (soybean paste soup) served alongside. They prepared kelp rice, just like what I'd had in Japan, and the doenjang soup was Korean-style with meat in it, making it even more delicious.

The fillet pork cutlet, hirekatsu, held in its juices beautifully, making it even more delicious — the tenderness of the fillet meat was outstanding.

The cold soba came in a generous portion too, filling enough for a satisfying meal, topped with cool radish, scallion, and seaweed for the perfect soba.

Final verdict: why Katsu Monster is worth a stop in Yeonnam-dong

Katsu Monster Yeonnam Main Branch even served sweet soy sauce as a little dessert touch — a thoughtful detail. The fillet katsu was genuinely delicious, a real standout at this tonkatsu spot. With its tender texture and juicy fillet katsu leaving a strong impression, I'd recommend Katsu Monster Yeonnam Main Branch as a Yeonnam-dong restaurant worth visiting.