Team lunch tonkatsu near Olympic Park in Gangdong: Riae Premium

A tonkatsu spot in Seongnae-dong for a team lunch

We decided to have a big group lunch with everyone from the office, and our team lead's request was oddly specific and oh-so-tricky: somewhere simple but tasty and clean. So let me introduce the Seongnae-dong tonkatsu spot I dug up to answer that — Premium Riae :)

Riae Premium Olympic Park Branch: hours and location

• Hours: Daily 11:00 AM – 8:00 PM
• Break time: 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
• Last order: 7:30 PM
• Address: 46 Seongnae-ro 18-gil, 1st floor, Unit 1-1, Gangdong-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Riae is already well known as the tonkatsu place for the Olympic Park Asan Hospital cafeteria crowd. The moment I suggested it as our team lunch spot, someone went "Oh! I've been wanting to try that place!" — and it was decided instantly. It's close to Olympic Park too, so it'd make a great date spot after a picnic or a walk, and for those of us who work nearby, the clean interior and great taste make it perfect for a group meal.

From solo tables to group seating, plus a peek at the aging fridge

I loved that the interior has solo dining tables set up, making it easy to eat alone. I could totally see myself coming back solo later for a relaxed meal. Beyond that, there are group tables and regular tables, great for dates or team dinners too. And do you see that meat aging in the fridge over there haha — confidently showing customers the meat aging cleanly and hygienically really boosted my trust in the place! You could tell just by looking that the raw ingredients were top quality.

Ordering by kiosk: what we got

Orders are placed via kiosk at each table! Taking a look, there was a really wide variety of tonkatsu menu items. We ordered a mix — the Riae Signature Trio, the premium special sirloin katsu, hire katsu, and a soba set!

Each set came out neatly arranged, and our team lead loved how clean it looked — perfect for our team lunch! There really aren't many restaurants around Olympic Park, Asan Hospital, or Gangdong-gu Office in Seongnae-dong that work for a group lunch. There are plenty of casual spots, but a place that makes you feel properly taken care of is hard to find in Seongnae-dong. Clean, well put together, and the taste is guaranteed too — if you're looking for a tonkatsu place near Olympic Park in Seongnae-dong, it's got to be Riae Premium, right?

From the signature set: the ebi-fry (fried shrimp)

The ebi-fry from the signature set was so good! I honestly thought fried shrimp was pretty much the same everywhere, but the batter here stayed crisp all the way through without ever getting soggy. Dunking it fully in the sauce was pure bliss...

Five sauces to go with it

It was even better paired with the variety of sauces! Curry sauce, salt, wasabi, tartar, and tonkatsu sauce — mixing it up with all these different sauces meant the katsu never felt greasy or repetitive, and I kept eating until I was stuffed. So happy about that haha.

Menchi katsu, tenderloin, and rice

The menchi katsu (minced meat cutlet) was so soft inside with juices bursting out, while the outside stayed crisp — moist, crunchy, and juicy all at once. I'd confidently say it's one of the top menchi katsu spots in Seoul★. I also had the tenderloin with rice, and the rice was excellent too. The fluffy texture of the rice with the tender, soft tenderloin and the savory crisp coating, all with a light touch of salt, was pure paradise!!

Orange instead of lemon in the cold soba broth

And this refreshing cold soba (buckwheat noodles).. it would be a shame to skip it.

A lot of tonkatsu places use store-bought soba broth, but Riae Olympic Park Branch clearly put real effort into their soba broth — the tsuyu flavor and a burst of orange aroma made it refreshing and delicious. Unusually, they use orange instead of lemon, so instead of straight tanginess it leaves a deeper, more refreshing note — a clean broth flavor that really stuck with me.

Tonjiru instead of miso soup

Most tonkatsu places serve miso soup, but here it's tonjiru (pork miso soup) — and it tastes just like the tonjiru I had in Japan, maybe even better. This wasn't some throwaway side dish; it was good enough to order on its own and just spoon over a bowl of rice. There was so much meat in it, and the broth had such deep flavor that I wanted a refill :)

The tenderloin stuck with me more than the sirloin katsu

The sirloin katsu was great too, but honestly this tenderloin was the standout~~~ Soft with a tender bite, crisp on the outside, and not a single bit of sogginess from start to finish. That's really not easy to pull off, and everyone at the table was raving, saying they wanted to come back again and again and again!

When to go

If you want clean, well-made tonkatsu in Seongnae-dong, need a lunch spot to treat guests, are looking for a good restaurant after a picnic at Olympic Park, or need a place for a company lunch — I strongly recommend Riae Premium Olympic Park Branch, the tonkatsu spot recognized as the premium restaurant of Seongnae-dong near Olympic Park!!