Mapo Korean restaurant family lunch with abalone noodles: Usu

There are surprisingly many things to think about when you eat out with family, right?

The food has to be good, of course, but you also check whether there is a room where you can talk quietly, whether the atmosphere is suitable for bringing older family members, and whether it is comfortable with children, too.

The place I visited for a family gathering this time was Usu near Gongdeok Station. 😊 Korean dishes centered on Hanwoo (Korean native beef) grill arrived one after another like a course meal, and the selection was so well put together from beginning to end that it felt less like simply going out for meat and more like being treated to a meal. In particular, because we could dine in a separate room, it was a place worth noting for anyone looking for a Gongdeok family gathering spot or somewhere to take their parents.

Getting to Usu from Gongdeok Station

The route to the restaurant connected to the Gongdeok Station exit

Usu was easy to find from the Exit 2 side of Gongdeok Station. Gongdeok is fairly convenient to reach by public transit from different areas, so it is a good option when choosing a place for a family gathering or appointment, too.

Once you enter the building and find the restaurant, the atmosphere feels a little different from an ordinary barbecue place right from the entrance. WOOSOO KOREAN GRILL DINING. The clean, calm interior and soft lighting gave it a very upscale first impression. ✨ It would suit a meal with your parents or an occasion that calls for a little formality!

What are the all-private rooms like?

All seating is in private rooms

One of the things I liked about Usu in Gongdeok was the private rooms. Each room is separated along the corridor, so it was nice to eat and talk among ourselves without worrying about the next table. The room we used had a calm gray-toned interior and plenty of space between the table and walls, so it did not feel cramped. There was even a separate clothes rack.

Best of all, they had a high chair available. 👶 When eating out with a child, that is one of the first things I check, and it showed that they had families in mind, too. Personally, I think it would be a great fit for a parent’s birthday, family gathering, formal meeting between families, company dinner, or any important meal when you need a quiet space.

What comes with the Lunch C 80g course?

That day, we chose the Lunch C 80g course. According to the menu, it was 79,000 won for 80g.

• Beef and chicken jinjuk, a thick rice porridge
• Three bite-size dishes
• Shiitake mushroom, shrimp, and zucchini
• Hanwoo yukhoe (seasoned raw beef) with gamtae seaweed
• Abalone five-color gardenia noodles
• Hanwoo grilled on an individual brazier
• Seasonal fish pot rice and Korean set meal
• Dessert

Even just looking at the menu, it was a course that used quite a wide range of Korean ingredients.

Oh! They also served barley tea, and it was so nutty and delicious that I drank an entire pitcher, haha.

A gentle start with beef and chicken jinjuk

A warm porridge came out too, and its nutty flavor and soft texture felt comforting on the stomach. Rather than opening the course with bold flavors, it began simply and cleanly, which I liked because it flowed naturally into the dishes that followed.

Three beautiful bite-size dishes

Before the main meal, three small bite-size dishes arrived first. We were told to eat from left to right: a bulgogi sandwich, scallop and clam, then a lobster taco. A Korean course meal can sometimes start off a little heavy, but here, even the plating felt very clean and refined. They were easy to sample in small bites, like a little wake-up call for the appetite before the proper course began. With small flowers and ceramics alongside them, I simply had to take photos. 📸 Every bite was so delicious—I kept exclaiming over them, haha.

Shiitake mushroom, shrimp, and zucchini

This dish arrived in a green bowl, and the look of it immediately caught my eye. 💚 It used familiar Korean ingredients such as shiitake mushrooms, shrimp, and zucchini, but the plating and sauce combinations felt quite modern. When I dipped the zucchini generously in the sauce and ate it in a big bite, the savory, nutty sauce filled my mouth~~~~ It was so good, haha.

The especially memorable abalone five-color gardenia noodles

The dish that stayed with me personally was the abalone five-color gardenia noodles. Large pieces of abalone sat on top, and you mixed the noodles, vegetables, and sauce together. The abalone’s signature chewy texture worked better with the noodles than I expected. Whenever I lifted a bundle of noodles, the abalone and vegetables came along too, and eating them together in one bite made the texture even better. The sauce was especially nutty and delicious, so I scraped up every last bit with my spoon. 😋

Hanwoo grilled on an individual brazier

Finally, the Hanwoo grill I had been waiting for arrived. The beef came cut into easy-to-eat pieces, and each person grilled theirs directly on the mini brazier in front of them. I like mine well-done, so I loved being able to cook it right away to my own preferred doneness. 😊 Grilling one piece at a time and eating it while warm kept the juices intact, and pairing it with the grilled vegetables and wasabi brought another layer of flavor!

More than anything, I liked that we were not sharing one large grill; I could slowly cook at my own pace on my own brazier. As befits the main dish of the course, it was the one I looked forward to most and found the most satisfying. 🥩✨

Finishing with seasonal fish pot rice and a Korean set meal

Pot rice topped with seasonal fish and a Korean set meal arrived with the Hanwoo. A piece of nicely browned fish sat on top, and when mixed with the rice, the aroma of scallion and the fish’s nutty flavor came together beautifully. With the soup, kimchi, and side dishes served alongside, the ending felt like returning to a proper Korean meal.

I sampled beautifully plated dishes at the beginning, had Hanwoo as the main, and then finished with rice and soup, so the sense of satisfaction after the meal was quite big. Koreans really do feel like we have eaten well only once rice appears at the end, right? Haha.

A neat finish with dessert

Dessert came at the end of the course, too. We had eaten a fairly filling main meal by then, so this light and refreshing dessert was a perfect match to finish. Corn ice cream with corn cream cheese and a tangy green tangerine cream sauce was just right as a palate cleanser!

Final thoughts on our family meal

Usu in Gongdeok was impressive in both its space and course composition, making it hard to describe simply as a place with delicious Hanwoo. What I especially liked was being able to enjoy Hanwoo and a variety of Korean dishes as a course while dining comfortably in a separate room. Each dish also felt thoughtfully plated, so it truly gave us that special-occasion meal feeling. 😊

• Anyone looking for a restaurant with private rooms near Gongdeok Station
• Anyone looking for somewhere to take their parents for a meal
• Family gatherings, birthdays, and other special days
• Anyone who wants to enjoy Hanwoo and Korean food in a more special way
• Anyone looking for a quiet Korean restaurant in Gongdeok

If you are looking for somewhere in Gongdeok for a proper family meal, take a look at Usu Gongdeok. 🥩✨ Rather than just eating grilled Hanwoo, we could slowly enjoy the entire Korean course, which made the meal with my family feel even more special.