Mapo Korean restaurant lunch with sea bream pot rice: Usu

Lately, even when I’m just having one meal, I’ve been loving courses where I can taste a little bit of this and that 🍽️ So off I went to Usu (우수) in Gongdeok! It was a Korean beef dining spot with such a varied menu that eating was genuinely fun.

Usu location, hours, and parking

• Location: Lotte Castle President Shopping Arcade B2, 109 Mapo-daero, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 11:00–22:00 / break time 15:00–17:00
• Parking: Available

For parking, park on B3 of the Lotte Castle shopping building, then take the escalator up to B2!

A restaurant made entirely of private rooms

Every seat inside is in a private room, so you don’t cross paths with other tables and can dine privately. Maybe that’s why it’s known in Gongdeok for family gatherings, especially formal family meetings before marriage. With quiet, independent spaces for a course meal, it also looked perfect for an anniversary date or an important gathering.

I had no idea what it was, but this very luxe-looking box,,, turned out to be the enormous secret box we’d meet later 🪎

From à la carte Korean beef grilling to course meals

At Usu, you can enjoy everything from à la carte Korean beef grilling to neatly presented course meals, depending on your taste and occasion! Lots of Korean beef dining spots don’t sell soju, so I was quietly happy that this one does. My fellow soju people will understand,,, I think parents and older relatives who enjoy a shot of soju with Korean beef would like it here too.

What does the Lunch C Course include?

While we chatted away in our room, there was a knock and the box I’d seen in the hallway came in. They showed us a display box holding the ingredients for our meal. They explained that it was an individual-plate course of carefully selected premium Korean beef and seasonal ingredients, and my heart was already racing before the meal. It had been such a long time since I’d had a course meal…

Beef-and-chicken rich porridge and three small bites

The beef-and-chicken rich porridge had a deep, savory umami from intensely simmered Korean beef bone stock and chicken broth. It was mild, yet the broth’s flavor was so concentrated that the porridge alone had a subtle depth. Toasty scorched rice, fragrant scallion crust, shiitake and white wood-ear mushrooms, and asparagus added plenty of texture too!

The three bites were, from left, scallop and clam, a bulgogi sandwich, and a lobster taco—and they recommended eating them in that order too.

The first bite dish completely won me over with its texture and flavor! Tender scallop and clam cream sauce came together inside crisp brick pastry, making it nutty with a gentle aroma of the sea. Creamy avocado, refreshing apple and onion, popping avruga, and the savory saltiness of gamtae (sweet seaweed) powder made this one bite surprisingly full of flavor and texture.

Between soft, subtly sweet brioche came the deep umami of Korean beef bulgogi and the nutty, rich fragrance of truffle cream cheese—such an elegant, delicious flavor… Deep mushroom flavor and a bright apple pickle note cut through the richness, while Korean beef jerky and porcini powder made the meat and mushroom flavors feel absolutely packed into one bite!

On the first bite, the springy lobster’s mild, gentle sweetness contrasted with the crisp tortilla. Fresh tomato and onion, plus gochujang mayo with a light smoky aroma, came together spicy and nutty to really lift the umami. This final bite dish was my personal favorite…

Shiitake shrimp and zucchini

The shiitake shrimp dish surprised me when I tasted it! It was like menbosha, with shrimp tucked between premium shiitake mushrooms, but the mushroom tasted like steak… oh my goodness… One bite gave me the tender shiitake alongside shrimp’s springy, nutty flavor. The key is dipping it generously in the peanut tofu sauce! The smooth, nutty sauce made the shrimp’s umami even more pronounced, and they worked especially well together. I scraped up every last bit from the plate…

Tenderly cooked zucchini held tofu, aged kimchi, and golden enoki mushrooms, giving it a mild flavor with subtle umami. The aged kimchi added little tart notes throughout, so it never felt rich, and dipping it in the sauce with chamnamul oil added a fragrant, nutty finish. Its incredibly soft texture was memorable.

Before portioning it out, they showed us the finished sea bream pot rice that would later come with the grilled Korean beef set meal. Seeing the plump sea bream and aromatic pot rice made me look forward to the main even more.

Abalone five-color gardenia noodles

A noodle dish I love appeared… I think people who like gamtae will enjoy this one! Tossing the gardenia noodles evenly with gamtae dressing and mustard-garlic sauce brought up gamtae’s aroma intensely, with nutty and pleasantly sharp flavors right away. Chewy abalone, bracken fern, shiitake mushrooms, seasoned chamnamul, and other garnishes added their own textures and aromas for an even fuller flavor.

In particular, fragrant perilla leaf and nutty shredded radish with black sesame gave it a clean yet umami-rich finish.

1++ sirloin grilled over charcoal and sea bream pot rice set meal

At last, the grilled Korean beef set meal I’d been waiting for appeared…

The main 1++ sirloin could be grilled directly over charcoal, so we could have it cooked exactly how we liked. This is an 80 g Korean beef course, and extra portions are available, so I worried it might not be enough. But after the earlier courses and the set meal, I was so full and satisfied that I was glad we hadn’t added more. The sirloin had a subtle charcoal aroma, with rich juices and nutty flavor, and eating it with the neatly served side dishes and vegetables let us enjoy the Korean beef in even more ways.

The sea bream pot rice was so delicious that it surprised me after one bite. The sea bream’s mild, delicate umami had seeped into every grain, making it nutty yet clean-tasting. The comforting flavor unique to pot rice and the sea bream’s soft texture paired easily with the grilled Korean beef. The side dishes were lovely too—especially with a little jeotgal (salted seafood) on top. The Korean beef miyeokguk (seaweed soup) had a properly deep, savory broth from the first sip. It was mild rather than overpowering, so I kept reaching for my spoon. A little warm seaweed soup here and there cleansed the palate, making the whole combination so! good.

Corn ice cream dessert

Anyone else love the corn ice cream sold at convenience stores?! If so, you’re going to love this dessert with corn ice cream in it. From the first bite, corn’s distinctive sweet, nutty flavor really came through. Corn cream cheese gave the smooth ice cream a slightly richer taste, and crunchy corn crumble appeared throughout for great texture 🌽 Apricot’s gentle sweet-tartness and a bright green tangerine sauce gave it a little pop and kept the whole dessert fresh. It finished much more cleanly than I expected. Dessert really is essential at the end of a meal…

Lunch C Course overall review

Overall, this course never leaned too hard on one flavor; each item, from the small bites to the main and dessert, had a distinct personality. The 1++ Korean beef that we grilled ourselves looked beautiful from the moment it arrived, and the sea bream pot rice and Korean beef seaweed soup made for a satisfyingly filling finish. The atmosphere was calm and elegant too, so it seemed very well suited to a special-day meal or a formal occasion such as a pre-marriage family meeting. With a great balance of flavor, composition, and atmosphere, this is a place I’d recommend to anyone looking for a good restaurant in Gongdeok or a Seoul course meal.