Anniversary lunch course with wine and dessert service, Gongdeok: Usu

It was my husband's and my wedding anniversary this time. We couldn't really celebrate properly on the actual day because of work, which was such a shame. So to make up for it, I was looking for a date course and found that Usu Gongdeok, a well-known spot in Gongdeok, is a private room restaurant — perfect for an anniversary dinner, so I decided to visit.

Location and hours of Usu Gongdeok, a private-room restaurant in front of Gongdeok Station Exit 2

Room 201, B2, Lotte Castle President commercial building, 109 Mapo-daero, Mapo-gu, Seoul, 11:00-22:00 (break time 15:00-17:00)

Usu Gongdeok, the private-room restaurant I visited, is located right in front of Gongdeok Station Exit 2, inside the Lotte Castle President commercial building, so it wasn't hard to find.

Once inside, the upscale atmosphere immediately caught my eye.

All private rooms, 3 hours free parking, and corkage-free

Usu is a well-known Gongdeok restaurant where every seat is a private room, so you can enjoy a really private meal, and group seating is also available.

There's also a large parking lot with 3 hours free (no limit on the number of cars), so it would be great for something like a formal meeting between families or a private gathering, and since it's corkage-free, if you love wine you'll be very happy. Also, if you need a birthday or anniversary service, they'll arrange it when you book — definitely worth using. I noted a wedding anniversary service when I reserved.

The Lunch C course at Usu, the private-room restaurant in Gongdeok

This is the room we were shown to. The clean interior and privacy are perfect for an anniversary meal, right? ^^

Since we'd booked in advance, barley tea was already set out in the room and the table was already set. Here's the course being served today.

Since lunch and dinner courses run separately, you can check the menu composition and à la carte options separately. Before the course starts, they show you the ingredient display box.

Inside is the ingredients used in the course, and showing it to us beforehand made the course even more enjoyable.

First course — hanwoo and chicken porridge, and anniversary wine

This is a porridge made from hanwoo bone broth and chicken stock, and being richly simmered, the aroma alone was on another level. The garnish inside — nurungji (crispy scorched rice) and white wood ear mushroom — gave a great texture to bite into.

When they brought out the first course, they also prepared anniversary wine for us — one non-alcoholic, one sparkling.

Second course — three bite-sized dishes

Isn't the visual amazing? It felt like they were expressing a forest. I tried the three, one by one.

First, the bulgogi sandwich. It has brioche, hanwoo bulgogi, and truffle cream cheese — the truffle aroma came through and paired well with the hanwoo bulgogi, and all three elements worked really well together. The seasoning wasn't too strong either, which I liked.

Scallop and clam. Inside a brick pastry are grilled scallop and clam cream sauce. The crispy brick pastry went well with the filling, and the onion and apple bits gave it a lively texture too.

Sweet shrimp gimbugak (fried seaweed chip). Grilled seaweed brushed with pollack roe made into a sandwich, with fried abalone innards rice sandwiched in between, and sweet shrimp on top. This combination was insane. The savoriness was incredible, and with the yuzu sauce added, it tasted absolutely amazing.

Third course — shiitake and shrimp, zucchini

With peanut tofu sauce and wild chive oil as the base, the left side was zucchini, and the right side was made with shrimp and A-grade shiitake mushroom. Both were excellent and paired well with the sauce.

Fourth course — abalone gardenia noodles in five colors

On top of the gardenia-colored noodles are laver dressing and mustard-garlic sauce, garnished with abalone, seasoned wild chive, perilla leaves, and bracken fern.

Mixing it all together and eating with the abalone on top, the tender abalone, the noodles, and the sauce all came together perfectly.

Fifth course — pot rice

This comes out with the main dish as part of the table setting, but before mixing it, they show you the finished pot rice. Isn't the visual amazing? It looked so upscale it stirred up my appetite.

Sixth and seventh courses — hanwoo grilled at your own brazier, and the table setting

I think one reason Usu, the well-known Gongdeok spot, is popular as a private-room restaurant is this individual brazier setup. Being able to grill it to your own taste is even better, right?

The 1++ grade hanwoo sirloin and the table setting includes the pot rice from before, hanwoo seaweed soup, and three side dishes. Vegetables were also served alongside the grilled hanwoo.

The grilled hanwoo was as tender and delicious as it looked, and the pot rice mixed with fish and vegetables had no fishy smell at all and tasted really good.

The hanwoo seaweed soup was mild and perfect to eat with rice too. Between the meat and the pot rice with side dishes, I ate until I was full.

Final course — dessert and anniversary snacks

The main dessert was corn ice cream.

Topped with corn cream cheese, corn crumble, and even green tangerine cream sauce, the corn's savoriness and the tanginess paired together in an oddly perfect way.

And because I'd booked it as an anniversary, they also prepared anniversary snacks for us. And even a candle... I finished off the dessert feeling really happy.

Overall thoughts on the anniversary meal

I visited Usu, a well-known Gongdeok spot, for an anniversary dinner date, and it was such a satisfying meal. I got to have a private date at this private-room restaurant in Gongdeok, and nothing was lacking — not the food quality, not the server's kindness. It was satisfying enough that I'd want to come back for every anniversary.

If you're looking for a well-known Gongdeok restaurant, a private-room restaurant in Gongdeok, or a great spot in Gongdeok for a date or a special occasion, I recommend Usu Gongdeok.