Mapo Station gyukatsu with a toddler: 15-a-day tenderloin, Gyudo

I love gyukatsu and eat it every now and then, and this time I visited Gyudo's Mapo Gongdeok main branch near Mapo Station with my 18-month-old. When you eat out with a baby, the taste matters, but you also look closely at whether there's something the baby can eat, whether feeding is easy, and what the atmosphere is like. On that front, this visit was more satisfying than I expected :) The gyukatsu was really tender, so the baby ate a ton, and I also liked that rice and broth are free to help yourself to at the self-bar. Let's get to the review!

Where is Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok Main Branch, and when is it open?

Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok Main Branch is in the basement level 1 of the Obelisk APT shopping arcade, 33 Mapo-daero, Mapo-gu, Seoul. If you see Hana Tour on the first floor of the arcade, just keep going straight and you'll reach the restaurant.

There are seats in front of the restaurant where you can wait. It's fairly close to Mapo Station exits 1 and 2, so it's easy by public transport, and you can use the building's parking lot, so driving is fine too.

Opening hours are 11:30–21:00, with a break time of 15:00–17:00.

I'd recommend double-checking the hours before you go. Reservations via Tabling are also possible!

What's the atmosphere at Gyudo like? Is it stuffy with a baby?

The moment you walk into Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok Main Branch, it feels clean overall and strongly like a Japanese-style gyukatsu specialty shop.

The interior was roomier and tidier than I expected.

Besides table seats, there are spots good for eating alone, so it works for solo meals, meals with friends and family outings. Even with a baby like us, the space didn't feel cramped, which was nice.

Gyudo self-bar: unlimited rice and tonkotsu broth

The part I liked most about visiting Gyudo with a baby was the self-bar! You can have unlimited tonkotsu (pork bone) broth, dungulle tea (Solomon's seal tea) and katsuobushi (bonito flake) broth.

The cauldron refill rice supposedly uses Sindongjin rice, and maybe that's why it was sticky, nutty and delicious. We tried pouring tonkotsu broth over rice for the baby, and wow, the baby ate it so well, hahaha!

Each table has a small brazier for grilling the gyukatsu!! Personally, I thought this style worked well even with a baby: the adults grill the gyukatsu to the doneness they like, and I could prepare fully cooked meat separately for the baby.

Gyudo menu: what did we order?

Let's open up Gyudo's menu, which looks like the gate of a grand old mansion, haha.

The menu has brief notes on how to eat and how to use things.

There was also the gyukatsu hire (tenderloin), a limited item at 15 a day. So we went straight for the gyukatsu hire!!

There was a kids' menu and a soba menu too.

And looking at the sides, I thought Gyudo really chose its menu well. They're combinations you can't not order, and I worked hard to hold back.

Furikake and a utensil pouch in the table drawer

Under the Gyudo table there's a mini drawer! Inside, flake toppings (furikake, rice seasoning) are packed separately to go with nurungji (scorched rice), which felt like a thoughtful touch to make every dish tastier. There was also a pouch with utensils in it!

It holds not just a spoon and chopsticks but wooden tableware, neatly packed, so it feels hygienic, and you can sense Gyudo's own vibe even in small details like this.

Receipt review event and butter-grill guide

Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok Main Branch also runs a receipt review event. It says that if you write a review and show it to the staff, you get 1 fried shrimp as a free extra per review. Worth picking up on small events like this :)

The guide on how to enjoy the food even more was fun too. It explains melting butter on the grill to enjoy the gyukatsu butter-grilled, and even mixing the leftover butter into your rice. It was fun that gyukatsu isn't just eaten one way but can be enjoyed in several.

This is the interior I snapped while waiting, and it really looks like Japan, hehe.

Striploin gyukatsu and limited gyukatsu hire: how did they taste?

The striploin gyukatsu finally arrived! The outside is fried crispy, but inside you can see the moist, tender meat. You can see the grain of the meat even in the photo, right?

And this is the gyukatsu hire!!

Since the gyukatsu hire uses the tenderloin cut, the meat looked super tender from the first glance.

Look at that, T_T Grill it right now!!!! We also ordered chicken karaage (Japanese-style fried chicken) as a side.

The pot rice that came with it, you scoop into a bowl and pour the included broth over to make nurungji (scorched rice)!

Sprinkle on the furikake from the drawer and let it soak~ 😋 Ahh, we shared one brazier!! The gyukatsu grilling away,,

You can grill the gyukatsu to whatever doneness you like, so we cooked it to our taste, and for me the best combo was a light dip in Maldon salt with wasabi on top.

Can an 18-month-old eat gyukatsu?

Gyudo's gyukatsu is tender, so even the 18-month-old ate it really well once I cut it finely. Eating out with a baby is hard when the meat is tough, but that day I could feed the baby's meal and still eat comfortably myself, haha.

The owner who quietly brought new chopsticks

What really stuck with me that day was the owner's thoughtfulness. The baby was playing with chopsticks and dropped them on the floor, and we were about to just pick them up, wipe them with a napkin and keep using them. But a moment later, the owner silently brought over a new pair of chopsticks.

We hadn't even asked for new chopsticks; the owner noticed the situation and took care of it first, which made me even more grateful. It's really a small kindness, but for someone eating out with a baby, that small kindness feels huge. I think only people with a natural knack can do that, haha. The food was tasty too, but thanks to the owner's attentiveness that day, the impression that Gyudo is a good place to visit with a baby stayed with me even more strongly.

Looking for a Mapo Station restaurant? I recommend Gyudo!

After this visit, Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok Main Branch felt less like a place that just has tasty gyukatsu and more like one where the whole process of eating felt comfortable. Tender gyukatsu with Maldon salt and wasabi was delicious, and being able to help yourself to rice and tonkotsu broth at the self-bar made it great to visit with a baby.

Above all, families eating out with small children like us pay close attention to whether the food is too tough and whether there's rice the child can eat, and I was very satisfied on those points. And with seats from solo spots to tables, it seems to suit solo meals, dates, family meals and meals with friends.

If you're looking for something a little different near Mapo Station, a restaurant with tender gyukatsu, or a comfortable place to eat out with a baby like me, Gyudo is worth a visit :) I'll especially keep thinking about that gyukatsu with Maldon salt and wasabi on top🤭