Dinner gyukatsu set with a friend after work at Izawa Sangam, DMC

I'm currently on a work trip to Sangam for about two weeks, and it turned out a close friend of mine commutes to Sangam DDMC via shuttle bus. So we decided to grab dinner together in Sangam after work!

I didn't know many good restaurants in Sangam, so I searched on Naver Map and found a place near the office where you could get gyukatsu — that's how we ended up making plans at Izawa Sangam.

Izawa Sangam location and hours

• Location: 1F, 2F, 15 World Cup buk-ro 50-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea (385m from Digital Media City Station Exit 9)
• Hours: Mon–Fri 11:30–21:00 (break 15:00–17:30 / last order 20:30)
• Saturday: 12:00–20:00 (last order 19:30)
• Sunday: Closed

Walking into the alley, the black exterior with a red door really stood out, so it wasn't hard to find.

It's far from Digital Media City Station, but it's very close to the DDMC building side where a lot of the companies are clustered!

Inside the restaurant and seating

Overall the place had wood-toned tables and brown chairs, with photos of gyukatsu and Izawa posters on the walls.

The restaurant has two floors — there are tables on the 1st floor, and going up the stairs, the 2nd floor has a slightly more spacious seating area.

The tables had decent spacing too, so it was a comfortable atmosphere for chatting with my friend over dinner. Every table has a tablet, so you can look at the menu and order right from your seat.

Menu and gyukatsu set price

The signature gyukatsu set is ₩17,000, and you can add extra gyukatsu meat too. They also sell steak-don, pork jowl-don, beef-don, mazesoba, cold soba, mini curry, onsen tamago, and more — the menu ranged from gyukatsu to rice bowls to noodles.

How was the gyukatsu set?

Since we came to a gyukatsu place, my friend and I ordered the gyukatsu set without a second thought!

Look at that color~ drooling already.

The gyukatsu comes as a full spread with rice, cabbage salad, cubed radish kimchi, pickled radish, and sauce, plus a mini grill set up at the table.

The gyukatsu arrives golden and crisp on the outside with a reddish interior, so you place each slice on the grill and cook it to whatever doneness you like.

Like in the photo, you can grill several pieces at once, so it was easy to pace the cooking to match how fast we were eating. If the flame gets weak or goes out, just tell the staff and they'll refuel it. They'll also swap out the grill plate if you ask!

Sometimes you get unlucky and end up at a gyukatsu place with tough meat, but luckily this Izawa in Sangam was soft with no chewy parts, so it was delicious. It's even better if you dip it in the sauce that comes with it or add a bit of wasabi!

I ended up here while looking for a dinner spot in Sangam, and it's a good place to stop by when you're craving gyukatsu near DMC :)

They're also running a review event, so it might be worth joining — you can get a mini curry or a soda.

Overall review

I already love gyukatsu and go get it for lunch sometimes, so I'm happy I found a tasty gyukatsu place while on my work trip to Sangam! If you like gyukatsu, give this place a try!

• Location: ★★★
• Atmosphere: ★★★★
• Value for money: ★★★
• Taste: ★★★★★