Seongsu gyukatsu lunch for two, sharing two dishes: Gyuen Dang

I hadn't been on a weekday date with my boyfriend in Seongsu in a while, so while looking for a good lunch spot near Seongsu Station, I ended up at Gyuen Dang Seongsu. Since there were two of us, instead of both ordering the same thing, we got one gyukatsu (Japanese-style beef cutlet) and one omurice to share — and honestly, this combo turned out pretty great.

Where is Gyuen Dang Seongsu Main Branch, and what are the hours?

Gyuen Dang Seongsu Main Branch is on the 2nd floor of 10 Yeonmujang 7-ga-gil, Seongdong-gu (Seongsu-dong 2-ga), Seoul. Coming out of Exit 4 of Seongsu Station and walking toward the Yeonmujang-gil alley, it was easy to find. It's only about a 5-minute walk from the station, so getting there by public transit wasn't a hassle at all. The area around the restaurant is full of Seongsu's signature cafés and concept stores, so it's also a good route for a bite followed by a stroll.

• Hours: Mon–Fri 11:00–21:30 (last order 20:30)
• Sat–Sun 11:30–22:00 (last order 21:00)
• Break time: 15:00–17:00
• Parking: no dedicated lot
• Visit: weekday lunch, with my boyfriend, party of 2

Gyuen Dang's building entrance and parking near Seongsu Station

Gyuen Dang Seongsu Main Branch is on the 2nd floor, and the sign is visible from far away, so it was easy to spot. There's no dedicated parking, so if you're driving, it's better to check nearby parking lots in advance. We came by public transit that day, and it was close to Seongsu Station!

Inside Gyuen Dang: a clean, quiet dining room

When you think of a restaurant in Seongsu-dong, you tend to picture a hip, lively vibe first, but Gyuen Dang Seongsu felt calmer than expected. The exterior was neatly done in wood tones, and the interior was clean overall.

The first thing that caught my eye once we sat down was the small burner in the middle of the table. When you order gyukatsu, you don't just eat the meat as is — you grill it yourself on the table burner to your liking, so even before the food arrived, I was already looking forward to how we'd eat it!

The tables weren't so close together that the neighboring table felt intrusive while eating. It was comfortable for chatting slowly with my boyfriend, and overall the place felt well kept.

Tenderloin gyukatsu, 24,000 won, grilled with Isigny butter

At Gyuen Dang Seongsu Main Branch, since there were two of us, we ordered one gyukatsu and one omurice. At first I considered getting two gyukatsu, but thought it'd be a bit of a shame if we both ate the same thing, so we picked omurice for the other one.

Tenderloin gyukatsu – ₩24,000. There's a choice between striploin gyukatsu and tenderloin gyukatsu, and I went with tenderloin. It comes with rice, miso soup, and cabbage salad as basics, plus salt, fresh wasabi, and sauce to go with the gyukatsu.

Butter came alongside it, and it turned out to be Isigny butter. Getting Isigny butter instead of just any regular butter had me looking forward to it even before eating.

First, I grilled it plain and dipped it in salt.

The coating was thin and crisp, while the tenderloin inside stayed moist and tender. Being tenderloin especially, there was almost no chewiness, and the more I chewed, the more I could taste the meat's own soft flavor.

I tried eating it following the recommended way to eat gyukatsu.

They put Isigny butter on top and grilled it for us. Melting the Isigny butter and grilling the gyukatsu with it added the richness of the butter, making it even more delicious. I like wasabi, and with the butter's savory aroma already there, the wasabi cut through the richness while making the tenderloin's clean flavor come through even more.

How was the 17,000 won hamburg omurice at Gyuen Dang?

The hamburg omurice is ₩17,000. This is the dish we ate alongside grilling the gyukatsu piece by piece. When it first arrived, a plump soft-set omelet sat on top of the rice, with a hamburg steak patty on top of that.

I ate it following the recommended way to eat the omurice.

Slowly splitting open the omurice!! Cutting through the middle of the egg with a knife, the omelet spread open softly. With this kind of omurice, the moment of splitting the egg is always the most fun part.

After spreading the omelet open, I poured the sauce over it as instructed. Scooping up the egg with rice and the hamburg patty all in one bite, the soft texture of the egg combined with the sweet, rich demi-glace sauce.

Two gyukatsu or one gyukatsu plus omurice for two?

This was something we debated a bit before ordering too. Since there were two of us, we could have ordered two gyukatsu, but personally I'd recommend the combo of one gyukatsu + one hamburg omurice at Gyuen Dang Seongsu Main Branch. Especially if you're visiting as two people, like on a lunch date with a boyfriend, ordering one of each and sharing is a good approach.

Of course, if gyukatsu itself is your main goal, ordering two gyukatsu would suit you better. But if you're like us and want to try a bit of several dishes, this combination was satisfying.

Final verdict on lunch for two at Gyuen Dang Seongsu

This time, we visited Gyuen Dang Seongsu Main Branch for weekday lunch with my boyfriend and had the tenderloin gyukatsu and hamburg omurice. What stuck with me most was the soft texture of the tenderloin gyukatsu and the Isigny butter it came with. More than anything, visiting in person confirmed that ordering two different dishes for two people to share worked better than just ordering gyukatsu alone.

To sum up,

• Anyone looking for a lunch spot within walking distance of Seongsu Station
• Anyone who wants to try gyukatsu in Seongsu
• Anyone planning a lunch date in Seongsu

— this was a place worth considering. Visiting on a weekday lunch let us eat at a relatively relaxed pace while chatting, and the process of slowly grilling the gyukatsu ourselves suited a date meal well. If you're picking out lunch in Seongsu and want something a little different in the way of Japanese food, it might be worth visiting Gyuen Dang Seongsu and ordering one tenderloin gyukatsu and one hamburg omurice to share.