Old-style pork cutlet lunch, black rice option: Gyewondang Ingye

Today I want to share my visit to Gyewondang Ingye Branch, a great pork cutlet spot for a filling lunch in Ingye-dong, Suwon. I went looking for a good-value lunch place in the area and ended up pleasantly surprised — the portions were bigger than expected and the interior was clean, so it seemed like a solid choice for both an office lunch and a date. The signature menu item, the Gyewon chicken cutlet, was especially generous, haha.

Where to park at Gyewondang Ingye Branch

Parking is available too, so if you're driving, here's what to know!

• Free parking in the underground lot
• If the underground lot is full, ask staff and they'll let you park in front of the store
• Roadside parking available 11:30–14:30 during lunch hours

One important thing! Apparently, for those visiting during lunch, roadside parking is actually more convenient. Something to keep in mind if you're driving, haha.

What's the vibe right at opening time?

I visited around 11am that day. Since I arrived right around opening time, I was basically the first customer, which let me look around the place at my leisure, haha. Inside, the interior had an overall wood-tone look with a slightly retro feel. The tables were spaced comfortably and the space felt clean, so it seemed like a good spot for a meal on a date too.

When I visited, there were reserved seats already set up, and not long after, a group of office workers came in all at once, haha. Since reservations are possible in advance, it seems like a great place for group meals, and also a good lunch spot for office workers in Ingye-dong.

Self-serve bar and ₩900 soda refills

On one side of the store there was a coffee machine, a drink machine, and a self-serve bar. The drinks especially caught my eye! For ₩900 with one drink order per person, you can get unlimited soda refills. If you like soda with your pork cutlet, this is a pretty nice perk, haha. The self-serve bar was kept clean too, which gave the impression that the whole place is well-managed.

What we ordered

We ordered two things that day: the Gyewon chicken cutlet and the handmade pork loin cutlet. It seems both normally come with fried egg rice, but we swapped both to black rice. Also, the Gyewon chicken cutlet came with one free extra sauce! Since the basic pork cutlet sauce is already drizzled on top, we chose spicy sauce for the extra, haha.

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While waiting, the food came out faster than expected, and finally, the dishes arrived! And... wow, it was really generous, lol.

Gyewon chicken cutlet

First up was Gyewondang's signature menu, the Gyewon chicken cutlet. It's made with 100% chicken thigh meat, and seeing it in person, the meat was really thick. Instead of the thin, flat shape of a typical chicken cutlet, the meat itself was chunky, so it made quite an impression visually. Plus, being gyeongyangsik style, it comes with pork cutlet sauce drizzled moistly on top.

Could two people share this?

That's what I thought the moment I saw it — the portion was that big, lol.

Taking a bite, being chicken thigh meat, it was really soft and juicy. None of that dry feeling you get with chicken breast, and you could feel the juices as you chewed — really tasty. With the crispy breading paired with tender chicken thigh meat, I think anyone who likes chicken cutlets would be pretty satisfied. And the basic sauce had that sweet, mellow taste typical of gyeongyangsik cutlets! Dipping it in the extra spicy sauce I ordered gave it a whole different feel, which I liked, haha.

Handmade pork loin cutlet

Next, the handmade pork loin cutlet! This was the classic gyeongyangsik pork cutlet through and through, haha. A thick, well-fried cutlet with plenty of sauce poured over it — exactly the old-school gyeongyangsik pork cutlet look I had in mind!

The pork cutlet sauce felt a bit creamier than the gyeongyangsik sauces I've had elsewhere. And there was quite a lot of onion mixed into the sauce, so eating the cutlet together with the onion was delicious. The savory-sweet sauce combined with the texture of the onion kept it from feeling greasy, making it easy to keep eating. I also felt glad I'd switched to black rice, haha. Cutting off a piece of cutlet, dipping it generously in sauce, and eating it with rice really hits the spot.

Butter curry, on the house

And the owner kindly gave us a bit of butter curry on the house. I tried it lightly spooned over the rice, and it was surprisingly delicious too, lol. It had that distinctive soft, savory butter curry flavor that went really well with the black rice. Eating curry alongside the cutlet felt like getting an extra dish for free, haha. Getting a little something extra like that made for a happy meal : )

In summary

Gyewondang Ingye Branch, found while looking for a lunch spot in Ingye-dong, Suwon! I liked the clean, wood-toned interior, but above all, the generous portions of pork cutlet were satisfying. In particular, the Gyewon chicken cutlet was delicious with its thick, 100% chicken thigh meat that was soft and juicy, and the handmade pork loin cutlet had a great combination of creamy gyeongyangsik sauce and onion. If you're looking for a good-value pork cutlet spot for an office lunch in Ingye-dong, Gyewondang Ingye Branch is worth a visit.