Pork cutlet restaurant in Yeonnam-dong for premium loin katsu: Katsu

A pork cutlet favorite in Yeonnam-dong, Katsu Monster Yeonnam Main Branch

I found a really delicious pork cutlet (donkatsu) restaurant in Yeonnam-dong! It's called Katsu Monster, and apparently it's already famous among donkatsu lovers!

The Yeonnam branch is the main branch, with a few more locations around Seoul! It's on a street packed with restaurants in Yeonnam-dong. They're open long hours, every day from 10:30 to 21:00. I ate here for dinner today, but next time I have a lunch date with a friend in Yeonnam-dong, I'll come back! Donkatsu for lunch is just the best haha.

The set for two and choosing your noodles

You can check the menu even from outside! We ordered the set for two. It comes with 2 pork cutlets and you can pick one noodle dish. Donkatsu with noodles is basically a golden rule haha. We went with loin katsu, premium loin katsu, and spicy fish cake udon! Premium loin katsu is ₩2,000 extra! For noodles there's also cold soba, cold udon, and katsu fish cake udon. You can switch it up to your taste haha. Next time I'll have to try the cold soba or the katsu fish cake udon!

Every table has donkatsu sauce, wasabi, salt, salad dressing, and more, so it was easy to refill and keep eating.

Nearly full by 5:30pm

We arrived around 5pm, and by 5:30 the place was almost completely full. There was a mix of solo diners and couples on dates.

Next time I want to try the fillet katsu or the cheese katsu! I saw on another blog that the cheese in the cheese katsu is out of control haha.

Premium loin katsu with pork jowl attached, tender and full of meaty flavor

This is the premium loin katsu! Five big chunky pieces of cutlet. I had the loin katsu but shared with my husband. There's no resisting the premium loin katsu though... It was genuinely the softest donkatsu I've had in a while, and the meaty flavor was incredible. The fattier parts were so savory, ugh — I'm getting hungry again just writing this. Because it had pork jowl attached, it was really tender! I'd recommend this to anyone who loves soft, tender donkatsu.

It comes with salad, kimchi, clear soup, rice, and crackers. Isn't that such a great spread? I wish someone would bring me a meal like this every single day haha.

Spicy fish cake udon that even spice-wimps can handle

The udon portion was pretty generous too. The fish cake was loaded in without holding back, and the noodles were nice and chewy. I'll definitely order the udon again next time! It's called spicy, but it's not that spicy, so even people who can't handle spice can eat it!

Loin katsu with the perfect lean-to-fat ratio

This is the loin katsu! The ratio of lean meat to fat is really spot on. The lean part wasn't dry at all, it was moist, and it tasted great eaten together with the fatty bits, but was also tender eaten on its own! The meat was thick, so there was plenty of breading on it too, and it was genuinely crispy!

Quite a lavish spread, haha. What a happy life.

The rice was glossy too, like it had kelp mixed in! As someone who has to fill up on carbs along with protein, I was glad there was plenty of rice too!!

Salt, wasabi, or sauce — whatever you like

Usually when I go to a donkatsu place I leave a piece or two behind, but this was one of those rare places where I cleaned the whole plate. Really good donkatsu tastes great even without any dipping at all, so I ate it plain, then with just a bit of salt, then with wasabi too haha. I think you can just go with whatever you prefer.

Still, I dipped it a lot in the donkatsu sauce too lol.

The premium loin katsu, with its amazing meaty flavor, was delicious even with just a light dip in salt!

Clear soup with chicken in it

The clear soup wasn't just vegetables — there was chicken in it too. That's why the broth was light yet still had real depth. I kept switching between spoonfuls of the udon broth and the clear soup haha.

Top three donkatsu in Yeonnam-dong, and delivery is available too

Out of all the donkatsu places I've eaten in Yeonnam-dong, this ranks in my top three. The prices are reasonable, and above all, the meat is good quality fried in clean oil, so I think it would appeal to all ages! It also does delivery — the delivery riders were coming in constantly. My place is in the delivery zone too, so I'll have to try ordering it at home sometime haha.