Weekend lunch signature 2-person A set for couples at HOKATSU, Geomdan

A Geomdan New Town go-to, a Blue Ribbon restaurant, juicy tonkatsu.

On a weekend date with my husband, we ended up going to Geomdan New Town in Incheon and stopping by HOKATSU. It was selected in the 2026 Blue Ribbon Survey this year, so I was curious just how special this tonkatsu would be!

I tried the three popular tonkatsu, gyukatsu, and ramen. Let's get into the detailed review :)

• Location: 128, HOKATSU, 788 Seogot-ro, Geomdan-gu, Incheon, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 11:00–21:30 (break time 15:30–17:00, last order 15:00, 21:00)
• ✔️ Parking available

HOKATSU's location and parking in Geomdan New Town

Parking info

I searched for HOKATSU on T Map and it guided me straight to the basement parking entrance. The building's basement lot is spacious with plenty of spots, so parking is easy. Just let the staff know you parked and you'll get 2 hours free.

Location info

HOKATSU is on the 1st floor of the Megabox building. It's about a 5-minute walk from Dokjeong Station Exit 1, so it's very accessible. I took the elevator up to the 1st floor and opened the door directly to my left, and there was HOKATSU! I visited right around lunchtime at noon, but the atmosphere was subtly stylish enough that it'd be nice for dinner too.

Right at the entrance the Blue Ribbon mark catches your eye, and there's a Catch Table system so you can wait comfortably if there's a line. I got in right away without waiting, but plenty of customers came in after me. HOKATSU has held down this spot for over 10 years, so it's a popular Geomdan New Town restaurant!

Inside HOKATSU

The interior has a cozy, comfortable feel with a hint of vintage charm. It's a relaxed space good for solo dining, group gatherings, or family meals. They also have a baby chair and the whole place felt clean, so it seemed great for visiting with kids too.

I was surprised to see so many celebrity signatures on one wall! I was even more surprised after actually tasting the food..

Apparently this place developed Korea's first handmade yogurt dry-aging method. They age the meat together with handmade yogurt made from grade-1 milk for 24 hours, which creates the tonkatsu's soft texture — HOKATSU's own special aging method made me even more curious.

There's a self-serve bar on one side. Side dishes come as standard, so you can easily grab more when you need it.

HOKATSU menu and prices

The menu has everything from sets to tonkatsu, noodles, and sides. There's even a single set that's good for solo dining! For two people, we ordered the signature 2-person A set for ₩46,000. It includes three popular tonkatsu, gyukatsu, and tonkotsu ramen, so it was nice being able to try several menu items at once. They're also running a review event — write a review and get a free fried shrimp or menchi katsu, worth noting if you're interested.

On the table are tonkatsu sauce and salad dressing. The umami in this tonkatsu sauce is seriously amazing..!

What's in the signature 2-person A set

When you order, they bring out handmade yogurt, which was nice to eat lightly before the meal.

There was honey underneath so I mixed it in. It tasted like a plain, unsweetened yogurt with a tangy edge, and I liked that it was clean without any artificial sweetness.

HOKATSU cooks everything to order, so it takes about 15 minutes on average. Even with a bit of a wait, you get to taste crispy, tender tonkatsu! If it's your first visit, I recommend the signature 2-person A set so you can try HOKATSU's representative menu items in one go :)

The dishes come out neatly arranged so each person can eat comfortably, and they look really appetizing. The way they serve salt and fresh wasabi felt like eating at an actual restaurant in Japan — a nice, different touch.

First I drizzled black sesame dressing over the cabbage salad. The nutty flavor was great and it paired well as a palate cleanser between bites of tonkatsu.

The soup was warm, savory, and seasoned just right. The pickles and preserved vegetables also cut through the richness of the tonkatsu nicely between bites.

The three popular cutlets, juicy tonkatsu

The three popular cutlets come as two pieces each of tenderloin cutlet, cheese cutlet, and premium loin cutlet. One menu item lets you taste three different kinds of tonkatsu.

The cheese cutlet has that crispy-outside, tender-inside texture. It's a combination of 100% natural mozzarella and cheddar cheese, so you get a rich cheesy flavor. It's delicious on its own, but dipping it into the umami-packed tonkatsu sauce brings out both the cheese flavor and the sauce's savoriness even more.

The tenderloin cutlet comes cooked to a doneness that lets you feel the meat's soft texture. If you want it cooked more, just mention it before ordering! The reddish cross-section isn't undercooked meat — apparently that's just how fresh pork can look.

The tenderloin cutlet is drizzled with truffle oil. It was so moist, with real thickness that made the juiciness come through. The texture was soft to the point where I wondered how it could even be this tender. All three pieces were great, but after tasting this moist texture, tenderloin cutlet became my favorite tonkatsu..!

For the premium loin cutlet, the top part is really soft and almost melts in your mouth, while the bottom part has a cleaner flavor — the combination of the two textures and tastes worked really well.

The tenderloin cutlet went well dipped in salt, while the premium loin cutlet was delicious with tonkatsu sauce topped with fresh wasabi!

Crispy and moist gyukatsu

The gyukatsu comes out at 130g. I wasn't sure how much that would look like by weight, but it turned out to be a generous portion.

They put butter on a brazier and grilled the gyukatsu. The nutty aroma of the butter came through and it smelled amazing.

The sauce that comes with the gyukatsu had a tangy, savory flavor that paired really well when dipping the gyukatsu into it.

The gyukatsu's thickness was just right and the coating was extremely crispy. The inside was moist and tender with a deep, nutty flavor. Eating it plain and then dipped in sauce, alternating back and forth, made it even more delicious!

Tonkotsu ramen done right

The tonkotsu ramen also came in a generous portion, good for sharing between two. Eating three menu items total — the three cutlets, gyukatsu, and ramen — between the two of us was a really filling set!

The chashu pork slices were huge, with a nutty flavor and no off smells, seasoned slightly salty, which went great with the ramen broth.

The tamago (soft-boiled egg) was soft and sweet. It was cooked exactly to my taste..! Super soft, it practically melted the moment it hit my mouth.

The noodles had a springy texture, and the tonkotsu ramen's signature deep flavor paired nicely with the crunchy bean sprouts. It's clean and not too heavy, so it seems like a good ramen for people who can't handle greasy ramen well, or for anyone who hasn't tried tonkotsu ramen yet!

The complimentary water had a clean, green-tea-like taste, which felt like a refreshing finish after the meal!

HOKATSU quick summary

• Blue Ribbon tonkatsu restaurant in Geomdan New Town
• Korea's first handmade yogurt dry-aging method
• Popular three-cutlet set lets you try tenderloin, cheese, and premium loin at once
• The moist, juicy tenderloin cutlet stood out
• Gyukatsu is crispy, moist, and nutty
• Recommend the varied signature A set for first-time visitors
• Building basement parking, 2 hours free
• Cozy, clean interior good for solo dining, dates, gatherings, and family meals

Overall thoughts on Blue Ribbon restaurant HOKATSU

I really liked the juicy, moist combination of the three popular cutlets at Geomdan New Town's HOKATSU, and I think I'd order this exact menu again next time. The gyukatsu was also delicious, crispy outside, moist inside, with a strong nutty flavor! As a Blue Ribbon restaurant I had high expectations, and tasting it in person, it exceeded them — even compared to tasty tonkatsu I've had in Japan, this felt even more moist and delicious. Once you try it, you want to go back..! I get why it has so many regulars. If you're looking for a good tonkatsu spot in Geomdan, I recommend it :)