Mapo Station yakiniku restaurant: couple's set & myeongi wasabi, Gyudo

How do you get to Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok Main Branch from Mapo Station?

Premium Gyukatsu Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok Main Branch (프리미엄 규카츠 규도 마포공덕 본점) sits right where Mapo Station Exit 1 leads straight into the basement of the Obelisk arcade. I hadn't had a proper meal out with my boyfriend in a while and wanted some neat, tidy yakiniku (Japanese-style grilled beef) and gyukatsu, so we went to Gyudo!

It's run only as company-owned branches, and maybe that's why it already has quite a reputation among locals as a Mapo Station favorite. On a hot day like these, you never have to go outside: you walk from the subway straight into the arcade where it's nice and cool. So convenient!!

Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok Main Branch hours and parking

• Address: Basement 1, Unit 138, Obelisk APT arcade, 33 Mapo-daero, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 11:30–21:00 (break time 15:00–17:00)
• Last order: Lunch 14:20 / dinner 20:00
• Amenities: Reservations available, free parking (Obelisk apartment underground car park), high chairs, Wi-Fi

What are the atmosphere and interior of Gyudo like?

Gyudo has a sign with clean line design and a modern, cozy Japanese-restaurant look outside. Compared with the flashier signs outside the station, this clean-lined one really stood out!

Right in front, the shopfront looked very modern and like a small Japanese restaurant, but once we stepped inside it was much bigger and roomier than I expected. A statue of a cat? A fox? greeted us. I've seen waving cats in Japanese restaurants, but this one is an unusually charismatic cat statue.

The menu has a pot rice sungnyung (scorched-rice tea) with tonkotsu broth, bonito broth and even Solomon's seal tea, so you can pour whichever you like. The bowls and decorations made it feel like we'd gone back to Japan's traditional farming era.

The personal coat cabinets weren't just plain lockers either, they had a luxurious, solid-wood feel. They're empty now because it's summer, but just looking at them I wanted one... haha. Inside the drawers were a personal cutlery pouch and flakes to add to the sungnyung later, all portioned out! You can tell they pay close attention to guest comfort.

Every table has a mini bangjja yugi (traditional Korean brassware) hearth, and grilling the food ourselves was really different and fun!

What did we order at Gyudo for our date?

At Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok Main Branch we ordered the yakiniku set (gyukatsu set, yakiniku set, seaweed pollock roe). I picked it because it's the best-value way to enjoy several kinds of meat!

The menu itself is so unusual!! It looks like a fan, or maybe a notebook! As a premium gyukatsu specialist, the lineup is well thought out, from à la carte items to hearty sets. I was especially impressed by the note that they use wood-fire smoking for a distinctive flavor!

What is Gyudo gyukatsu like grilled on the hearth?

Gyudo's gyukatsu comes thin and crispy outside, rosy medium-rare inside, neatly sliced, and you grill it yourself on the brass hearth. It was the dish I was looking forward to most, and the presentation was beautiful from the start.

It comes out thin and crispy outside, with a perfectly rosy medium-rare inside, neatly sliced.

The moment it hits the custom-made brass hearth it starts sizzling and the smell is so good... T_T It was really hard waiting until it was cooked!

I'd never cooked a cutlet like this before, and I loved that it stayed hot and never went cold right up to the last piece!!

Seaweed pollock roe and soy sauce egg mixed into pot rice

Between bites of gyukatsu, we put seaweed pollock roe and soy sauce egg on the pot rice and mixed it all together, and it was honestly a one-of-a-kind treat... so good...

It isn't salty at all, and mixed with rice the savory depth is insane. I want it again even as I write this.

How are the Gyudo yakiniku set and the handmade sauces and wasabi?

Gyudo's yakiniku set is good-quality beef grilled and dipped in a sweet brown sauce. The yakiniku was my boyfriend's, but I think I ate almost all of it haha (the color of the meat was too tempting). You can really tell it's quality beef, so I had no choice but to keep stealing it...T_T

Well-cooked, tender beef dipped in sweet sauce was pure heaven!

I also liked that both the yakiniku sauce and the cutlet sauce at Gyudo are sweet brown sauces! And the wasabi is handmade too. It wasn't just plain spicy, it was smooth and savory! (They said the myeongi (wild garlic-chive) wasabi, all the sauces, and even the radish salad are 100% handmade!)

What is Gyudo's tonkotsu ochazuke finish like?

The meal ends with pot rice served with tonkotsu broth and pre-portioned flake toppings, a sungnyung-plus-ochazuke (rice in broth) combo.

We finished with Gyudo's special pot rice (sungnyung plus ochazuke), with tonkotsu broth and the pre-portioned flake toppings!

The tonkotsu broth is clear, yet deep and rich in flavor! It was my first tonkotsu ochazuke and it was the kind you never get tired of, you just keep wanting more! Next time I'd like to try it with the other broth.

Why I recommend Gyudo as a Mapo Station date spot

Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok Main Branch has good-quality yakiniku and gyukatsu, Shindongjin rice pot rice, and friendly service, so it's a place I'd recommend for dates or get-togethers.

The yakiniku and gyukatsu are such good quality that it's hardly worth saying how tasty they are. The ochazuke made with Shindongjin rice and the seaweed pollock roe were real highlights!

The mood isn't that of a plain restaurant either, it felt like they'd brought Japan's farming era over wholesale. The whole interior and its details felt like a really cool cultural space!

I went without big expectations, but the food was great and the staff were so kind that I felt like I'd found a real gem. It looked good for a light lunch or a date, and also for a blind date, a wedding invitation get-together, or a group gathering. If you're torn about Japanese food near Mapo Station, I recommend Gyudo.