Single-seat solo dining at Izawa, a Yeouido gyukatsu restaurant

Today I went to a restaurant I'd recommend for a Yeouido date — Izawa, a gyukatsu specialist that's already a well-known Yeouido favorite. Everyone already knows it as a great restaurant, so let's go see how the Yeouido direct store is doing!

Where is Izawa Yeouido Direct Store?

Izawa Yeouido Direct Store

Izawa Yeouido Direct Store is on the 2nd floor of Yeouido Jonghap Sangga, right next to Yeouido Station. It's tucked into the side of the 2nd floor.

Inside Izawa: single seats built for solo diners

Inside Izawa Yeouido Direct Store

I visited in the evening, and being in Yeouido, the place was busy for both lunch and dinner. If you want to fill up on meat and just focus on your own meal, this is a place I'd really recommend, whether solo or on a date.

Inside, the space is split into single seats and group tables, with room for around 30 people. I came alone that day, and it was a comfortable meal for solo diners too.

Izawa Yeouido Direct Store has a kiosk at every table, so ordering was easy!

Izawa's menu: ramen and soba as well as gyukatsu

Izawa's menu

Izawa is already famous for its gyukatsu and well known as a Japanese restaurant near Yeouido Station, so there's also ramen and soba on the menu. Ordering one gyukatsu and one soba together looked like it would be plenty of food! For extra sides, there was the option to add more meat or a mini curry.

As soon as I ordered, they brought out a charcoal grill. With gyukatsu, the taste is one thing, but grilling it myself feels like a huge bonus.

Gyukatsu set 18,000 won plus mini curry 4,000 won

Gyukatsu set + mini curry

No sooner had I finished ordering than my food arrived. I ordered the gyukatsu set (₩18,000) plus the mini curry add-on (₩4,000). There's nothing that pairs as well with gyukatsu as curry — right when you're starting to get a little tired of the meat, eating it with curry is really delicious!! The basic set came with rice, soybean paste soup, side dishes and sauce. Ordering gyukatsu also gets you a salad, haha.

Here's the full lineup of gyukatsu and mini curry. Curry and gyukatsu go so well together that if you're coming as a couple, I really recommend adding the curry too!! That I ate the gyukatsu and curry alone — that's not a secret ^^

Grilling Izawa's sirloin gyukatsu to medium

Izawa's gyukatsu

A close-up shot of Izawa's gyukatsu. They said it's sirloin. Even as a single portion, the amount was substantial and the marbling was really good! Izawa is the restaurant that first brought gyukatsu culture to Korea, and I think it's still beloved for the way you grill the crisp-outside, tender-inside cutlet yourself on a mini charcoal grill, choosing your own doneness.

Time to sizzle it up. Since it's beef, you don't have to wait long. Being able to eat piece by piece at my own pace made it doubly delicious!

I grilled it for about 20–30 seconds, my favorite medium doneness. It was exactly the right doneness to eat. The inside was juicy and the outside was crisp — the best doneness. Can you see the juices about to drip off? The meat quality was clearly good, because it looked so appetizing.

I especially love eating gyukatsu with rice. Piling a big bite of salt-and-wasabi-dressed gyukatsu on top of the rice, letting the juices and rice mix together — it was truly, truly delicious, haha.

Another special thing about Izawa is the house-made sauce — it took the gyukatsu's flavor up another level. The taste changes every time depending on your own grilling and what you pair it with, so I was sad every time a piece of gyukatsu disappeared.

Adding an extra bowl of rice to the mini curry

About halfway through the gyukatsu, I moved on to the mini curry — pleasantly spicy, and mixed with rice it was a whole new world of flavor. It was delicious eaten alongside the gyukatsu, and just as delicious mixed plain with rice on its own, haha. I was really hungry, so I ordered an extra bowl of rice. The combination of gyukatsu with rice, and curry with rice, was so good that one bowl just wasn't enough, haha.

Why Izawa suits a Yeouido date or a solo meal

Inside the Yeouido department stores there are quite a few places that are expensive without the taste to match, but if you walk a little toward Yeouido Station, there are plenty of great restaurants like Izawa. If you're on a date, I really recommend visiting Izawa, a well-known Japanese restaurant near Yeouido Station. You'll be able to enjoy your meal slowly, at your own pace.