Yeonnam-dong rice bowl restaurant: katsudon & salmon, Jongno Donburi

While visiting Yeonnam-dong, I was wondering what to have for lunch when I found Jongno Donburi Yeonnam. There are so many restaurants in Yeonnam-dong that even choosing a menu can be difficult, but that day I was craving a filling rice bowl rather than trying lots of different things. So we decided to order one katsudon and one salmon don and share them.

A calm donburi restaurant down a Yeonnam-dong alley

Jongno Donburi Yeonnam sits farther into an alley, so it still has that distinctive Yeonnam-dong atmosphere. Rather than being elaborately decorated from the entrance, it had a calm, clean feel. A large Jongno Donburi sign was mounted on the wall, making it easy enough to find as you follow the alley. There was a menu board outside, so we could look over the choices before going in. As you would expect from a donburi specialty restaurant, there were several rice bowls including katsudon, ebi don, salmon don, and butadon, plus udon and nabe options, so the selection was more varied than I expected.

Once inside, it felt like a small Japanese restaurant. There was a long bar counter and an open kitchen right in view, so it looked like a perfectly comfortable spot for a solo meal, too. The wood-toned interior felt warm, and the soft lighting was relaxing. I also liked being able to naturally watch the food being prepared in the open kitchen. It is not a sprawling, flashy restaurant, but that compact atmosphere suited a donburi specialty restaurant even better.

Why we ordered katsudon and salmon don together

The dishes we ordered that day were katsudon and salmon don. They are completely different styles of rice bowl, so ordering both made me feel we had chosen well. One was warm and hearty katsudon, while the other was salmon don topped with fresh salmon, and it was fun to alternate between them.

Moist katsudon with sauce and egg

First, the katsudon looked very appetizing as soon as it arrived. A generous portion of pork cutlet and onion sat over rice, covered with softly cooked egg. Green leaves on top added a nice touch of color, too. Eating pork cutlet on its own and eating it as katsudon definitely feel different. The cutlet had absorbed plenty of sweet-salty sauce, and with egg and onion included, it went wonderfully with the rice. The sauce had naturally soaked into the rice as well, making it the kind of dish you want to scoop up in one big spoonful.

In particular, the egg was not cooked completely firm, leaving soft parts that paired nicely with the cutlet. The onion's gentle sweetness also softened the overall flavor. Because the cutlet had absorbed the sauce, it was not the kind of pork cutlet that stays crisp all the way through like one fresh from the fryer. Instead, the coating had taken in the sauce and egg, letting me properly enjoy the distinctive moistness of katsudon. With rice, cutlet, egg, and onion together, one bowl alone was quite filling. And then there was the salmon don we ordered alongside it.

Salmon don generously topped with thick-cut salmon

Personally, the salmon don was the dish that caught my eye most in photos. There was enough salmon to nearly cover the rice, with wasabi placed in the center. The vivid orange salmon and its white fat marbling were visible as they were, making it look appetizing before I even took a bite. The salmon was not sliced paper-thin, either; each piece had a satisfying thickness. That meant I could fully enjoy salmon's soft texture and rich flavor with every bite. After adding a little soy sauce and a bit of wasabi to the rice, it was, of course, a familiar and delicious combination. Personally, I preferred adding a little wasabi to each piece of salmon rather than mixing a large amount in all at once. The wasabi's sharp kick rose gently after the salmon's richness, and I kept reaching for more.

Taking a bite of salmon don after katsudon completely changes the mood again. The katsudon was warm, sweet, and substantial, while the salmon don felt comparatively clean and soft. So if two people visit, I think ordering one different bowl each and sharing them is a nice combination.

A meal rounded out with soup and side dishes

We also had the soup and side dishes that came with the meal. The warm soup was nice to sip now and then between bites of donburi, and sides such as danmuji (yellow pickled radish) and jangajji (soy-pickled vegetables) helped refresh the palate while eating katsudon. The side-dish selection was not excessive, but it was more than enough alongside the donburi. Seeing the katsudon and salmon don side by side, I really liked the contrast in our choices. One bowl was full of warm egg and pork cutlet, while the other was generously topped with raw salmon; switching bowls with each other meant we could enjoy two different flavors in one meal.

An atmosphere suited to solo diners and meals for two

I also liked the interior atmosphere at Jongno Donburi Yeonnam. Yeonnam-dong has many bold, distinctive restaurants, but this one was comparatively calm, making it easy to focus on the meal itself. With its long bar seating, it looked easy enough to stop in for one bowl of donburi when visiting Yeonnam-dong alone. Of the two dishes I tried, I think katsudon would suit anyone wanting a warm, filling meal, while I would recommend salmon don to salmon lovers. In particular, the salmon don was generously layered with salmon over rice, so anyone who loves salmon could enjoy it satisfyingly.

Above all, I was glad we ordered katsudon and salmon don together. They are both rice bowls, but their flavors and textures were so different that they did not feel repetitive. When the katsudon's sweet-salty flavor began to feel a little rich, the salmon don tasted soft and clean; returning to the warm katsudon brought out another flavor again. When walking around Yeonnam-dong, there are so many choices, from cafés to restaurants, that it is often hard to decide where to go. But if you like Japanese-style rice bowls, Jongno Donburi Yeonnam is worth stopping by. It is the kind of place that comes to mind when you want to settle a meal with one delicious, satisfying bowl rather than a grand, elaborate dining experience. At Jongno Donburi Yeonnam this time, we ordered one katsudon and one salmon don and enjoyed them both. The combination of warm, moist katsudon and salmon don topped with thick-cut salmon worked better than I expected, so I think I would be torn between these two dishes again even if I returned. If you are looking for lunch or dinner while on a date in Yeonnam-dong, or if you enjoy Japanese donburi such as salmon rice bowls and katsudon, it would be a nice place to try. Jongno Donburi Yeonnam was a place where I enjoyed a proper bowl of donburi in a compact, comfortable atmosphere rather than an overly flashy one.