Yangjae katsu restaurant, tenderloin vs loin for two: Yangjae Katsu

A tasty katsu spot near Yangjaecheon Stream with hire and loin katsu plus fragrant perilla oil soba.

Yangjae Katsu: address, hours and parking

• Address: 56 Nonhyeon-ro 31-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea (1F)
• Hours: Daily 11:00–21:00
• Parking: Space for 3 cars in front of the restaurant

Looking for a pork cutlet restaurant near Yangjaecheon Stream

While looking for somewhere to eat near Yangjaecheon Stream, we ended up at Yangjae Katsu. I was craving tonkatsu and searched around before visiting, and honestly I was surprised by how many customers were there. It seems like this place is already pretty well known in Yangjae-dong — customers kept streaming in once mealtime hit. If you're looking for a good restaurant near Yangjaecheon, this seems like a place you'd have heard of at least once.

Best of all, they don't just serve tonkatsu — they also have soba, so it was nice being able to mix and match depending on what you're in the mood for.

A clean katsu specialist within walking distance of Yangjae Station

Yangjae Katsu is within walking distance of Yangjae Station and close to Yangjaecheon Stream, so it's a good spot for a stroll before or after your meal. There were quite a lot of customers when I visited too — watching the tables fill up one by one, I could tell this was clearly a popular place.

The interior was kept clean overall, with no cluttered or messy feeling — a comfortable atmosphere to eat in. The staff were also friendly, so even as a first-time visitor I had a pleasant meal.

And if you're driving, note that there's parking space in front of the restaurant. When I checked, there was room for about 3 cars right outside.

Three dishes two people ordered at Yangjae Katsu

We visited as two people this day and split the menu. What we ordered were hire katsu (14,000 won), loin katsu (13,000 won), and perilla oil soba (9,500 won) — three dishes in total. I thought about ordering just one type of tonkatsu, but since hire and loin taste quite different, and I was curious about the perilla oil soba, we ordered all three together. The menu also had a variety of set combinations pairing tonkatsu with soba.

Hire katsu: the light, tender cutlet at 14,000 won

First we tried the hire katsu I'd been looking forward to. It really did have a nice tender chew, not dry at all.

The outside was crisply fried while the meat inside stayed moist, so the contrast in texture between the coating and the meat was good. Dipping it fully in sauce was tasty, but eating it with salt or wasabi let the clean, light flavor of the meat itself come through even more.

If you prefer a clean, light style over greasy tonkatsu, hire katsu would suit you well.

So if you've been searching for tonkatsu near Yangjae Station and looking for a soft tenderloin cutlet, hire katsu is worth picking first.

Loin katsu: the richer, nuttier cutlet at 13,000 won

Loin katsu had a distinctly different feel from hire. True to being a loin cut, the meat's own savory flavor came through more, and with just the right amount of fat, each bite felt richer and fuller.

Still, it wasn't overly greasy. The crispy coating paired well with the tender meat, and if you want to properly enjoy that distinct savory tonkatsu flavor, loin katsu is a good choice too. Personally, I liked ordering hire and loin together and alternating between them. I figured they'd taste similar at first, but comparing them side by side, the texture and flavor were quite different.

So if you can't decide between the two, I'd recommend ordering both separately and sharing, like we did.

Why the perilla oil soba stood out at 9,500 won

And the dish I was glad we ordered that day was the perilla oil soba. Eating nothing but fried tonkatsu can start to feel heavy after a while, but having perilla oil soba in between made the whole meal much easier to get through.

The buckwheat noodles had that distinctive chewy yet soft texture, with a nutty perilla oil aroma added on top — not overpowering, and easy to eat, in a clean, light way. The subtle nuttiness of the perilla oil came through gently and blended well with the sauce on the noodles, and it paired great with the tonkatsu.

Yangjae Katsu also has set menus that pair perilla oil soba with hire katsu or loin katsu, not just as a standalone dish, so I thought it'd be nice to try a different combination next time.

Katsu and soba together: why Yangjae Katsu sells them as a set

Eating these three dishes together that day, I finally understood why they sell tonkatsu and soba side by side.

Hire katsu was on the light and tender side, so it paired well with the nuttiness of the perilla oil soba, while loin katsu had more inherent flavor, making it fun to alternate between the two. More than anything, sharing two types of katsu plus soba instead of sticking to just one dish let us really notice the differences between them as we ate.

Yangjae Katsu actually offers several combinations, like loin katsu with buckwheat soba, or perilla oil soba with hire katsu. If you're visiting with someone else, ordering different types of katsu to split, like we did, seems like a solid approach.

Is Yangjae Katsu worth a trip near Yangjaecheon Stream?

Yangjae Katsu was a good place to go when you want a proper katsu meal in a clean setting. There really were a lot of customers, so it clearly felt like a popular spot at mealtimes, and the staff were friendly, which made for a comfortable meal. If you're driving, it's worth noting there's parking for about 3 cars in front. Most of all, being able to enjoy hire katsu and loin katsu each with their own distinct appeal, plus order perilla oil soba on top, meant there was a good range of menu options. If you're looking for somewhere to eat near Yangjaecheon and end up craving tonkatsu, Yangjae Katsu is worth adding to your list. If you've been looking for a place near Yangjaecheon that serves both tonkatsu and soba together, this menu lineup is worth checking out.

Ordering one hire katsu and one loin katsu, then adding perilla oil soba like we did, is a good way for two people to share a range of flavors. It's also worth searching for if you're near Yangjae Station looking for tonkatsu, and it works well as a meal stop before or after a walk along Yangjaecheon.

Of everything we tried this time, the contrast between the light, tender hire katsu and the savory loin katsu was especially fun, and having perilla oil soba in between meant we could eat through to the end without feeling weighed down. If you want good katsu in a clean, tidy space, this is worth a visit.