Baby shower lunch course near Gongdeok Station, Seoul: Usu Lunch C

My friend is about to give birth, so we decided to have a relaxed meal together and catch up properly before the baby arrives haha. Once she's given birth it'll probably be a while before we can meet up for a meal like this again, so I wanted somewhere a bit special this time! After searching around, I ended up at Usu in Gongdeok.

Where Usu Gongdeok is, plus parking and hours

Usu Gongdeok is right in front of Gongdeok Station Exit 2, with a spacious parking lot that's free for 3 hours with no limit on the number of cars. Hours are 11:00–22:00, open every day.

• Hours l 11:00–22:00 (open daily)
• Location l Right in front of Gongdeok Station Exit 2
• Parking l Free for 3 hours (no limit on cars)

It's a place centered on Korean-beef course dining, so besides meeting a friend it also seemed like a good fit for a Seoul sangyeonrye (a first meeting between two families before a wedding) restaurant, family gatherings, or anniversary dinners — which is part of why I chose it.

Private rooms at every table and free corkage

Every seat at Usu Gongdeok is a private room, and there's group seating too. Walking in, the whole place felt clean but calm, so it was great for talking quietly over a meal. And best of all — free corkage..!!! Because of that, the moment I walked in I thought this would be a great spot to come back to with my husband for an anniversary haha.

What comes with the Lunch C course at Usu

We ordered the Lunch C course that day. It started with roasted barley tea, then the courses came out one by one — the lineup was quite varied.

Before the courses properly started, the staff introduced the ingredients being used — Korean beef, caviar, vegetables, seafood — and just the ingredients themselves looked gorgeous and luxurious 👀✨

Ugye jinjuk (rich beef and chicken porridge)

The first dish was ugye jinjuk, a porridge made by richly simmering Korean beef bone broth and chicken stock. It came with garnishes of roasted whole garlic, a scallion crust, shiitake mushrooms, asparagus, and white wood ear mushrooms.

The safe-delivery celebration for my pregnant friend

And here's the other reason I chose Usu Gongdeok that day! When booking, I'd already requested a little celebration event for my friend's safe delivery. I told them she couldn't drink champagne since she's pregnant, and they prepared grape juice for her and a glass of champagne for me.

Three bite-sized starters

Next came three bite-sized dishes: the first was brioche with Korean beef bulgogi, mushroom duxelles, and truffle cream cheese; the second was a brick pastry with grilled scallop, aburga, clam cream sauce, apple, onion, and sea lettuce powder; the third was sweet shrimp, gim-bugak (crispy fried seaweed), roasted seaweed with pollack roe, fried abalone-innard rice, and yuzu sauce.

It was fun tasting each one, and the ingredients weren't things I usually get to try, so it really felt like a proper course meal.

Shiitake mushroom with shrimp and young zucchini

Next up was a shiitake shrimp and zucchini dish. It included shrimp and grade-A shiitake mushrooms along with zucchini, tofu, aged kimchi, golden enoki mushrooms, peanut tofu sauce, and wild chervil oil — with so many ingredients, each bite tasted a little different.

Sea bass pot rice

Then came the sea bass pot rice, served alongside a seaweed soup meal set! Before serving it into our bowls, they first showed us the pot rice in all its glory, then took it back to portion out 👀✨

Abalone with five-color gardenia noodles

Next was the abalone five-color gardenia noodles! Topped with black sesame julienned radish, bracken fern, shiitake mushroom, wild chervil salad, and perilla-leaf abalone, and the real kick was the sauce!! The sea lettuce dressing and mustard-garlic sauce really brought out the flavor 😋😋

Main course: 1++ sirloin with seaweed soup set

The main event of the course was 1++ sirloin! Grilled Korean beef came with Korean beef seaweed soup and a full meal set. Honestly, what more is there to say about Korean beef haha. The meat was tender and delicious, and my friend and I both enjoyed it. The sea bass pot rice that came with it was so light and tasty that it kept going in even though I was already full — magic 🪄. The fresh mustard-leaf kimchi and side dishes were all delicious too, so I finished the whole bowl of rice!

Since my friend is about to give birth, these days she has to be careful about pretty much everything she eats, so it was nice to spend this time slowly enjoying good food while chatting about everything from the birth to what's going on in our lives.

The congratulatory message served with dessert

But the real moment that got me was the final dessert 🥹 Along with the dessert, there was a message that read

Congratulations on the most precious first meeting in the world.

waiting for us.

The dessert served with it was cheese-wrapped dried persimmon and yakgwa (honey cookie) topped with walnuts. The persimmon-and-cheese combo was delicious, and the walnut-topped yakgwa was sweet and nutty — I enjoyed every bite right to the end. It felt like my friend got a nice memory to take with her before giving birth, and I was quietly proud of that 😊🫰🏻

They'd originally offered to take a Polaroid photo too, but we said we were fine without one haha. Still, the fact that they prepared even this little event felt really thoughtful.

The very last dessert was corn ice cream, corn cream cheese, apricot, corn crumble, sponge cake, and green tangerine cream sauce. It was sweet yet refreshing, a great way to end the course, and it felt carefully put together right to the very last bite.

What occasions Usu Gongdeok suits best

Trying the Lunch C course at Usu Gongdeok with my friend was satisfying overall — the food was refined and the course lineup was varied. But more than just a good meal, this was time spent unhurried with a friend about to become a mom for the last time before her birth, which makes it even more memorable haha.

It's close to Gongdeok Station and has a calm atmosphere, so it should suit not just people looking for good food in Gongdeok, but also those searching for a Seoul sangyeonrye restaurant, family gatherings, meals with parents, or anniversary dinners. Next time I want to come back with my husband for an anniversary — and this time I'll request an event ahead of time so we can properly celebrate the occasion haha. If you're looking for a special meal with a friend who's about to give birth, I'd recommend requesting a safe-delivery event in advance, like I did!