Hongdae Japanese restaurant with spicy jjambbong nabe: Gusa Yeonnam

A trip to Seoul for the first time in ages!!! Eeeek. I went out to look around Hongdae and wondered what to eat, but I was craving Japanese food sooo badly today.

After wondering where to go, I’d come all the way to Hongdae, so I couldn’t just eat anything. Determined to eat somewhere delicious, I searched hard for Japanese restaurants in Hongdae and found Gusa Yeonnam (구사 연남)!! Here’s my review of this atmospheric Japanese restaurant in Hongdae.

Gusa Yeonnam location and hours

Gusa Yeonnam Location: B1, Yeontral Tower, 6 Donggyo-ro 30-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea Hours: 12:00–24:00 Break time: Mon–Thu 15:00–17:00

Hongik University Station Exit 3 is the closest way over. The entrance is a little tucked away, so check the photos and map and you should be able to find it easily.

The hours run from lunch until midnight, so you can enjoy it as a Japanese-style lunch date spot, or as an atmospheric izakaya for a drink in the evening. Keep the Monday–Thursday break time (15:00–17:00) in mind before visiting! There’s no break time on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.

An izakaya-style atmosphere

The moment you step inside, it really feels like an izakaya. Such a perfect atmosphere for a drink, haha. There are lots of cute figurines dotted around too, which made the Japanese-restaurant mood even nicer.

Gusa Yeonnam especially inspired confidence because of its open kitchen, and I loved being able to watch the cooking on the teppan grill in real time.

While waiting for our food, we watched the okonomiyaki being made, haha. Watching it somehow made me even hungrier~~

QR ordering and what three of us ordered

At Gusa Yeonnam, you order from the QR code. Scan it to bring up the menu, then order on your phone. So good.

From teppanyaki dishes to okonomiyaki, yakisoba, and nabe (Japanese hot pot), Gusa Yeonnam has a wide range of Japanese dishes—great for when you’re craving a little bit of everything.

There were three of us today, and we ordered the beef brisket jjambbong nabe for ₩25,000 with added udon, karai yakisoba for ₩15,000, and Gusa okonomiyaki for ₩16,000.

Add udon to the beef brisket jjambbong nabe

+ Adding udon is essential. It goes so well with it.

Once you order, they bring over this cabbage salad? It’s cabbage dressed with sesame oil, and it was nice alongside the spicy dishes.

The beef brisket and vegetables were plentiful, making it spicy and delicious. It had enough kick that I would have had a drink with it if it had been evening! It was warming and spicy, so I think it would be great with drinks too.

Haha, doesn’t it look so delicious?

We added udon to this. One bite and it had that spicy jjambbong flavor, so there was no way we could skip extra noodles. My top pick!! Add udon to the jjambbong nabe!!

Mayonnaise and egg yolk with karai yakisoba

The yakisoba I was most looking forward to!! The mayonnaise came separately, so we dipped it like this.

Breaking the egg yolk and eating it together took the edge off the slight heat and worked so well.

The yakisoba also had pork belly, shrimp, and squid, so the toppings were generous and delicious.

Gusa okonomiyaki with cheese

The okonomiyaki I wanted most of all!!! I was craving Japanese food so much.

The okonomiyaki has cheese in it too. Look at that stretchy cheese, haha!

The okonomiyaki was crisp outside and tender inside too!! It had pork belly, shrimp, and squid. The fillings were cut into nice chunky pieces, so it had a great bite!! The nabe was fairly spicy, but the okonomiyaki balanced out the heat, so the two made a great combination.

For anyone looking for a Japanese restaurant or izakaya in Yeonnam-dong, I recommend Gusa Yeonnam for a date or a meal.