Gongdeok Seoul Korean restaurant with personal charcoal grills: Usu

Where is Usu near Gongdeok Station?

Usu is a Korean dining restaurant 142m from Exit 2 of Gongdeok Station, on basement level 2 of the Lotte Castle President commercial building. We heard there was a famous Korean dining spot near Gongdeok Station, so we went on a weekday evening. Walking out from Exit 2, it's right there on B2 of the Lotte Castle President building!

Every table is a private room, so it's great for a private meal.

The interior is modern yet nature-inspired, and it really stood out!

First they bring out nutty roasted barley tea, and yep, good restaurants have good water too hahahaha

What comes in Usu's 218,000-won Dinner B course for two?

We chose the Dinner B course. Dinner B (for 2): ₩218,000

• Ugyejinjuk (beef and chicken porridge)
• Three bite-sized dishes (bulgogi sandwich / sweet shrimp with laver chips / scallop with clam)
• Shiitake with shrimp, zucchini
• Hanwoo beef tartare with sea mustard
• Jeju tilefish
• 1++ hanwoo tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patty)
• Abalone gardenia noodles
• Personal-grill 1++ hanwoo omakase
• Dessert

Before the food came out, they showed us the ingredients that would be used in the course and explained each one. (This was my first time experiencing this hahahaha)

Ugyejinjuk rice porridge

✔️The first dish out was ugyejinjuk — I wondered

what on earth 'ugyejinjuk' meant, and it turns out it's a soup carefully simmered from beef and chicken. On top of a garnish of crispy rice crust, scallion crust, shiitake mushroom, asparagus, and white wood ear mushroom, they pour a broth deeply brewed from hanwoo bone stock and chicken stock.

The moment I took a bite, a deep, rich meaty aroma wrapped around my whole mouth~ On top of that, I got to enjoy the texture of the rice crust and garnishes as I chewed. Eating this made me suddenly crave soju so badly..^^..

Three bite-sized starters

✔️Bite-sized dishes✔️ Do any of you ever say 'just one bite'? Yes, and right after 'no way,' comes these bite-sized dishes. My first reaction looking at the plating was 'oh, this feels intimidating to eat' hahahahahahaha No, this isn't food, it's basically an art piece;

✔️The bulgogi sandwich is hanwoo bulgogi, mushroom duxelles, and truffle cheese sandwiched between soft brioche, and it disappears the moment it hits your mouth. It's basically 'melts in your mouth good' — meaning it was, well, delicious.

✔️The scallop with clam is a grilled scallop and abalone on brick pastry, with clam cream sauce, apple, onion, and sea mustard powder sprinkled on top. (How does something this tiny have so much going on in it, ugh)

✔️The sweet shrimp with laver chips is apparently roasted gim (laver) chips brushed with pollack roe, topped with abalone innards rice, sweet shrimp, and yuzu sauce~ I'd actually read a bunch of reviews before visiting and everyone said this one was really good, so I had high expectations, and yep — that crunchiness plus nuttiness plus tanginess, it's all there hahahahahaha why have I gone my whole life without eating something like this, ugh. I'd definitely order this again.

Shiitake with shrimp and zucchini

✔️Shiitake with shrimp + zucchini✔️

✔️The shiitake with shrimp is a thick, chewy shiitake mushroom stuffed full with plump, springy shrimp meat and fried. So good, so good (though I do love shrimp in general). The thinly sliced, carefully rolled zucchini dish was also good. (Somewhat objectively speaking) hahahahahaha

Hanwoo beef tartare with gamtae seaweed and caviar

✔️Hanwoo beef tartare with sea mustard + caviar✔️ It was simply raw beef with pure freshness itself.. and on top, caviar, known as the jewel of the sea! (This was my first time ever eating caviar, ugh — honestly I don't even have words, since I had so little of it) One bite, and the distinct sea aroma of the sea mustard mingled with the nutty richness of the tartare's fat.. what a treasure, honestly I'd order this again 20000%

Grilled Jeju tilefish

✔️Grilled Jeju tilefish✔️ Grilled Jeju tilefish with barley and minari rice, and mullet roe with neungi mushroom broth poured over it

I already love tilefish.. and eating it with the neungi mushroom broth just knocked me out, ugh. Seriously, 2000% I'd order this again

1++ hanwoo tteokgalbi with abalone gardenia noodles

✔️1++ hanwoo tteokgalbi✔️ The hanwoo tteokgalbi was pure juiciness itself.. it kept making me think of white rice hahahahahaha at this size I feel like I could eat 100 of them.

✔️Abalone gardenia noodles✔️ You mix a variety of namul (seasoned vegetables) and garnishes evenly through it — if I had to compare it to something, it's like bibimbap but with noodles instead of rice? First time trying gardenia noodles, and the noodles were chewy with a nice springy bite.

How do you eat the 1++ hanwoo grilled on your own charcoal brazier?

✔️Personal-grill 1++ hanwoo omakase✔️

For the hanwoo grilling course, they give you a personal grill so you can cook it yourself like yakiniku~ Since staff don't grill it for you at the table, we actually found it more comfortable to eat this way!

True to top-grade 1++ hanwoo, the meaty aroma was really deep but the fat wasn't excessive, so we never got tired of eating more. Can you see the juices bursting out?

The side dishes and seaweed soup that came with the full spread were on another level, I don't even need to say more...hahahahahaha yeah.. Korean food really is my favorite after all!

Dessert and the verdict on Usu

✔️Closing out the meal today was dessert✔️ — the combination of corn sorbet, sponge cake, and yuzu sauce was so good! This was my first time experiencing Korean fine dining and I was extremely satisfied. It gave me a real, first-hand sense of why Usu near Gongdeok Station is considered a leading Korean dining restaurant in Mapo-gu! I'd definitely visit Usu near Gongdeok Station again.

Usu in Gongdeok: hours, parking and booking info

• ⏰ Daily 11:00–22:00 (no closed days)
• 😇 Break time 15:00–17:00
• 🏃🏻 Walk: 142m from Gongdeok Station Exit 2
• 👫 Groups: welcome (all seating is private rooms)
• 🍷 Corkage: free
• 🚗 Parking: 3 hours free