Seolleung Japanese restaurant for tender beef cutlets: Gyuen Dang

A newly opened gyukatsu restaurant near Seolleung Station

“Gyuen Dang Seolleung Branch,” a recently opened gyukatsu favorite near Seolleung Station

One day, while wondering what to have for dinner, I found a recently opened gyukatsu restaurant near Seolleung Station and decided to visit. Its name was Gyuen Dang (규엔당). It was such a fresh new Seolleung restaurant that it had not even been open for a week yet.

There is a Catchtable waiting-list machine at the entrance, and once inside, I spotted dental floss and Febreze too. (A gyukatsu place absolutely needs Febreze..)

The interior stretches out in a long layout, with plenty of seats. As you would expect from somewhere newly opened, everything was exceptionally clean and in great condition. The tables are fairly well spaced too, so it seemed like a nice spot for a date where you can talk comfortably.

Along one side of the restaurant, there are bar-style tables facing the walls on both sides, so it also looked very comfortable for dining alone.

The menu and how to eat gyukatsu

I looked over the menu. The signature choices are two kinds of gyukatsu (Japanese breaded beef cutlet): filet and striploin. There are also two kinds of omurice, plus steak rice bowls, tsukune rice bowls, curry, and udon. The fried squid and chicken skin looked incredibly good too, and I seriously debated whether to order them, but this time I decided to try just the gyukatsu. Oh, and orders are placed through the Naver QR code at your table.

Before eating, take a look at the guide at each table for enjoying gyukatsu and omurice. It says to cook the gyukatsu for about 15–20 seconds on each side.

Light striploin gyukatsu and truly tender filet gyukatsu

My filet gyukatsu and my wife’s striploin gyukatsu arrived. The filet gyukatsu was ₩24,000, while the striploin gyukatsu was ₩19,000.

The set includes gyukatsu, rice, soup, pickles (?), butter, wasabi, salt, and salad.

The filet gyukatsu comes sliced into thick pieces, like the filet cutlet you would normally imagine. The color of the cross-section looked seriously appetizing.

The striploin gyukatsu, by comparison, comes cut into longer pieces. Its presentation was no less appetizing.

For blood-sugar management, I always start a meal with vegetables.. I tried the salad that came with it, and the dressing was wonderfully nutty and delicious. I almost had another bowl, but held back.

Once I confirmed that the grill was heated up enough, I grilled the gyukatsu according to the guide.

My reaction after taking a bite of the filet gyukatsu with wasabi was, “It’s incredibly tender!” It was not merely a little more tender than other beef—it had a truly overwhelmingly tender texture. Since I love enjoying meat with rice, I happily had the filet gyukatsu with plain white rice too. Oh, and the katsu sauce served with it paired really well and was delicious. (It seems to have ginger in it.)

Putting it on the butter and grilling it over the butter lets you enjoy an even deeper flavor. It feels like it adds even more nuttiness.

Overall

• A place for high-quality gyukatsu
• Clean and comfortable, making it a good choice for a date
• Solo-dining seats are available too