Late-night katsu in Yeonnam-dong: ₩2,000 loin upgrade, Katsu Monster

Where is Katsu Monster? At the end of the Miro-gil alley in Yeonnam-dong

I was craving Japanese-style tonkatsu (pork cutlet) again, so I visited Katsu Monster Yeonnam Main Branch (카츠몬스터 연남본점), a well-known spot in Yeonnam-dong 🐷 It sits right at the end of the Miro-gil alley.

It's a fusion tonkatsu specialty restaurant that hand-preps domestic sirloin and tenderloin every single day!

Bar seats for solo diners and late hours until 23:00

Katsu Monster Yeonnam Main Branch has bar seating, so it's fine for eating alone, and it also seemed like a comfortable spot to come with friends or a partner.

The owner who served us was kind too. We settled into a window seat for two. Since the place stays open late, it was great for coming in for a late dinner after overtime work haha (Fri–Tue 10:30–23:00, Wed–Thu 10:30–21:00).

Baby chairs, mouthwash, and hair ties placed around for guests — you could really feel the owner's thoughtful attention to detail.

Tablet ordering at Katsu Monster: udon, soba and curry too

Time to actually order. You can order easily via the tablet set up at each table haha. Beyond tonkatsu, there's a whole range of dishes like udon, soba, and curry too.

After some deliberation, we settled on the basic loin katsu and the special premium loin katsu 🙌 I ate in-store, but plenty of other customers were using delivery or takeout too.

For reference, tonkatsu sauce, wasabi, salt, and other condiments to add are set out on one side of the table like this, so feel free to help yourself.

Loin katsu 14,000 won vs premium loin katsu 16,000 won

Ta-da — the dishes we ordered were ready in no time 😉

• 📌 Loin katsu ₩14,000
• 📌 Premium loin katsu ₩16,000

The visuals are seriously impressive — they fry it up crisp right when you order!

They said if you sign up for notifications, you get a free mini spicy curry as an event bonus, so if you're interested, give it a try :-)

Loin katsu with kelp rice and Korean-style doenjang soup

I started with the loin katsu first — everything came out as a neat, tidy set haha.

They pour plenty of dressing over the cabbage salad, and give you enough tonkatsu sauce to enjoy too.

The soup that came with it was surprisingly not the usual Japanese miso soup but a Korean-style doenjang soup (soybean paste soup) — I was surprised how generously it was packed with meat, burdock root, zucchini, and cheonggyeongchae (young cabbage) haha.

Loin katsu is basically sirloin katsu — Katsu Monster's signature is frying it in clean oil with a perfect ratio of lean meat to fat.

It was a tonkatsu with a nicely crisp exterior and a thick, satisfying chew. The rice was also finely chopped with kelp mixed in, which set it apart from other places haha.

Premium loin katsu: what the 2,000 won gabrisal upgrade tastes like

This is the premium loin katsu (gabrisal, pork collar) 🐽, where the deep meaty flavor and savoriness really stand out. It's ₩2,000 pricier than the regular loin katsu, so naturally I was hoping it'd taste even better haha.

It has a higher fat ratio than the regular loin katsu and is a bit more tender.

I enjoyed it with a kick of wasabi on top, or simply dipped in salt to taste the pork's natural flavor.

Personally, sprinkling on some shichimi for a light kick of spice was also a nice treat :) It's a large portion, so finishing it left me really full!!

Gangjeong for dessert: is Katsu Monster a good Yeonnam-dong date spot?

For dessert, they brought out a sweet, crunchy gangjeong (Korean sweet snack), which rounded off the meal perfectly 🫠 Such a hearty, satisfying dinner.

I'd recommend Katsu Monster Yeonnam Main Branch as a date course in Yeonnam-dong.