Seoul Station Japanese restaurant, weekend with a baby: Furato Shokudo

Last weekend I was out with the baby and we ended up eating out on the spot — so if you're looking for a clean Japanese restaurant or a grilled-meat spot near Seoul Station with parking, let me introduce a great one! It's Furato Shokudo Seoul Square Direct Store, famous as a gyukatsu (breaded beef cutlet) restaurant near Seoul Station. It's known for gyukatsu, but my personal pick was actually something else 😉 check it out below.

Where is Furato Shokudo Seoul Square, and is there parking?

Furato Shokudo Seoul Square Direct Store is at 416 Hangang-daero, Seoul Square B1F-4, Jung-gu. It's an ultra-convenient one-minute walk from Seoul Station Exit 9. Open daily 11:00–20:50 with a break time from 15:00 to 17:00, and parking is available.

Since it's on the basement level of Seoul Square, connected to Seoul Station, it's easy to reach on foot or by car, making it a good meeting spot too. It even offers 3 hours of free parking.

This Seoul Square restaurant is famous for its gyukatsu, so weekday lunches see fierce waits from office workers, requiring a Catch Table waitlist — but I deliberately booked a quiet weekend slot and got in with no wait. I'd recommend checking Catch Table in advance or booking through Naver Reservation before visiting!

Before heading in, let's run through Furato's signature menu items — gyukatsu and Japanese-style soft-boiled omurice are the flagship dishes.

At this lunch spot near Namdaemun, Furato Shokudo Seoul Square Direct Store, the staff greeted us kindly right as we walked in.

The interior was clean and cozy too, so it seemed like a great lunch or dinner spot for office workers as well as a date or blind-date venue near Seoul Station. In fact, I saw all kinds of visitors — solo diners, couples on dates, and family gatherings.

Tasting the gyukatsu and the steki set at Furato Shokudo

Each table had its own mini grill, and both the grills and the restaurant overall were spotless. It looked like it had opened that very day — top-tier cleanliness. I'm guessing the owner or manager just has a very tidy personality.

You can also order smartly right from your seat. We ordered the gyukatsu and the steki jeongsik. There's also a Naver receipt review event going on, so keep that in mind><

Furato gyukatsu (beef cutlet), 19,500 won

This is the gyukatsu, the signature dish of Furato Shokudo Seoul Square, a well-known Japanese restaurant near Seoul Station.

It comes with rice and soup, and the portion is generous enough for an adult man to eat solo. Highly recommend as a lunch spot for office workers near Namdaemun!

Furato's gyukatsu uses fresh beef with a thin coating, fried quickly at high heat so it comes out medium-rare — the fun part is grilling it yourself at the personal grill to your own liking (source: Furato's menu board 😎).

So it arrives crisp-outside, medium-rare-inside at first, and then you grill it on the mini grill to medium, medium-well, or well-done as you prefer.

I like medium-well, so I grilled mine just right, while my husband likes well-done, so he cooked his longer. Having your own personal grill is also more hygienic and lets everyone adjust to their own taste.

You can dip it in salt and fresh wasabi, or in sauce with fresh wasabi (I can't resist wasabi haha) — try all kinds of combinations to your taste. The catch is, everything tastes good.

Furato steki jeongsik (steak set), 19,500 won

When you think of Furato Shokudo, gyukatsu is usually the first thing that comes to mind, right? I also originally planned to order the famous Seoul Square gyukatsu, but this time I wanted to taste more of the beef itself, so I tried the steki jeongsik.

Personally, the steki jeongsik was way more delicious than the gyukatsu!

Why the 1,000-won Isigny salted butter is a must-add

On the staff's recommendation, we added this Ísigny butter, and it was the real kicker! Bottom line up front: add it, no question!! The marbling was gorgeous... fresh, tender beef —

it would probably taste great grilled plain on the personal grill too, but—

once you set the Ísigny salted butter cup on the grill, it melts down slowly and the butter aroma hits you right away. Grill each piece of steak on the butter-coated surface and the smell alone is out of control..

The rich flavor of the premium Ísigny butter soaks right into the meat, making it two — no, three — times more savory than grilling it plain! The steki jeongsik meat is already tender and delicious on its own, but coated in Ísigny butter, the texture turns soft and every bite gets more savory.

Steki jeongsik + adding Ísigny butter — you have to try this combination

Here too, the steki jeongsik at Furato Shokudo Seoul Square, a Japanese restaurant near Seoul Station, lets you adjust the grilling from medium-rare to well-done on the personal grill to your taste.

It's delicious plain, delicious with salt and wasabi on top, and delicious with the furikake-topped rice too.

The texture of gyukatsu is great, but if you want to really taste the beef itself and its tenderness, I recommend the steki jeongsik!

Visiting Furato Shokudo with a baby: no baby chairs

Furato Shokudo Seoul Square Direct Store didn't have a baby chair. We were out that day with the baby just in a carrier, no stroller, so the lack of a baby chair was a bit disappointing. Still, our baby can sit well on her own, so we sat her on the chair against the wall and gave her rice crackers while we ate. My husband ate quickly while looking after the baby, but said he still enjoyed it and wants to come back next time to eat more leisurely haha.

Final verdict on Furato Shokudo Seoul Square

Furato Shokudo Seoul Square Direct Store, a great lunch spot near Namdaemun, serves each dish neatly in a clean set format, and every menu item was delicious — I'd recommend it as a Seoul Square favorite, a go-to lunch spot for Seoul Station office workers, or a can't-go-wrong Japanese restaurant near Seoul Station! Next time, I'm coming back for the omurice.

• Japanese restaurant near Seoul Station with parking
• Gyukatsu favorite at Seoul Square
• Lunch spot near Namdaemun