Gwanak gyukatsu lunch with mom, one grill per table: Izawa

Izawa Sharosugil Branch is a great spot near Seoul National University Station for Japanese-style rice bowls and the Sharosu-gil vibe. The address is 2nd floor, 28 Gwanak-ro 14-gil, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, and it's open Mon–Fri 11:30–21:00 (break time 15:00–17:00, last order 20:00), Sat–Sun 11:30–21:30 (last order 20:30). Naver Reservation is available, and there's a birthday coupon letting you pick one of two ramen types. Group visits, reservations, easy pay, and pets are all fine too.

Why Izawa Sharosugil Branch for a lunch date with mom?

I hadn't been on a Sharosu-gil date with my mom in a while! We were debating what to eat and landed on beef gyukatsu (breaded beef cutlet) at Izawa — and to cut to the chase, my mom was super satisfied, haha. The gyukatsu itself was great, but what I really loved was being able to grill it to our own preferred doneness on our own personal grills.

Where is Izawa Sharosugil Branch, and how long is the wait?

Izawa is in Sharosu-gil, on the 2nd floor, so you just head up the stairs!

On the way up there's a poster right there that says "Izawa, the original gyukatsu." Definitely puts you in the gyukatsu mood, haha.

There can be a wait at Izawa, so they've set up a separate waiting area. And while you wait, they serve complimentary mini mori soba or drinks — such a nice little touch!

Inside Izawa: open kitchen and dining room

Once you're inside, it's all clean and tidy! It's mostly made up of 2-seat and 4-seat tables, so it looked good for a date and fine for a family meal too.

On one side there's an open kitchen, where you could catch a glimpse of gyukatsu being aged. The breading looked really thin, so I thought, "oh, they don't coat it too heavily," haha.

A charcoal grill at every table: two doneness levels, no argument

Each table comes with its own personal grill like this. I like my meat around medium-rare while my mom prefers well-done, so eating meat together usually means a bit of a mismatch, haha. Here, we could each grill to our own liking on our own burner — loved it!

Izawa's menu and how kiosk ordering works

The signature dishes are gyukatsu jeongsik and steki (steak) jeongsik, and there's also soba, rice bowls, and ramen, so it's a good spot for a full meal even if you're not there for gyukatsu.

Ordering is easy via kiosk, and you pay at the counter. You can even order a grill plate or charcoal replacement, which was convenient.

After ordering, a staff member came and lit our personal grill first. Thanks to that, by the time the food arrived the grill plate was already heated up, so we could start cooking right away!

What comes in the two-person gyukatsu and steki set

We ordered the two-person set with gyukatsu jeongsik, steki jeongsik, and drinks included!

Gyukatsu jeongsik (breaded beef cutlet set meal)

The gyukatsu jeongsik arrived first! It came with rice, soup, and salad, making for a pretty neat, well-rounded spread. The gyukatsu had really thin breading but still had proper crunch, and the meat let you really feel the tenderness that's characteristic of salchisal (chuck flap tail cut). It comes out already cooked rare, so you can eat it as is or place it on the personal grill and cook it a bit more to your preference! The meat was well-trimmed too, and I really liked the combo of crispy breading with a soft center. And most of all, my mom said it was delicious, which made me weirdly proud, haha.

Steki jeongsik (steak set meal)

And the one I actually enjoyed more was the steki jeongsik! Even with the same beef, eating it fried like gyukatsu versus in steak form gives a totally different feel. The tenderness of the salchisal really came through here in particular. It stayed tender whether cooked longer or a bit rarer, so personally, I'm voting for the steki, haha.

Grilling medium-rare and well-done side by side

You just put the meat on the grill and cook it as much as you like! I grilled mine to a nice medium-rare while my mom cooked hers a bit more, to well-done. Even with the same dish, we could each grill it to our own taste, so it's a great spot for people who don't agree on how well-done they like their meat.

Best sauce pairing at Izawa: pink salt and wasabi

Of all the sauces, my personal favorite combo was pink salt and wasabi! A light dip of salt plus a bit of wasabi on the tender meat made the flavor taste really clean, and I kept reaching for more, haha.

Restrooms and final thoughts on Izawa Sharosugil Branch

Lastly, I stopped by the restroom, which was kept clean inside the store. It's a unisex restroom, and there was even dental floss on hand, which was nice for a quick freshen-up after the meal!

Visiting with my mom, the beef gyukatsu really won her over, haha, and I loved that we could each grill it to our own doneness on our own personal grills at Izawa. Beyond gyukatsu, there's also steki jeongsik, soba, rice bowls, and ramen, so it's a solid pick when you want a hearty meal in Sharosu-gil.