Cafe R — Handmade Tonkatsu in Tongyeong

Hello, this is CULT.
I want to talk about a restaurant called Cafe R in Tongyeong.
Tongyeong is a very attractive destination for adults or people who love seafood, but it’s not particularly appealing for traveling with kids because of the food options. As someone who shoots kids’ snap photos, I’m often at a loss when clients ask what to eat with their children. There really aren’t many things kids will eat.
The good news is that recently a restaurant called Cafe R was remodeled, so you can enjoy a decent meal there — I recommend giving it a try. It’s called a cafe, but… actually it’s a tonkatsu (pork cutlet) place.

Cafe Al — Location and Summary

I live nearby and know the area well. There isn’t a large parking lot, but you can use the Daegyo Mart parking lot right in front, and there are plenty of spaces to park on the roadside. Although it’s not shown in the summary, please note there is a break from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. And they are closed every Sunday. [Naver Map]

The restaurant has entrances on both sides. The spot where I took the photo feels like the back entrance, and the main entrance is just to the left. If you go in through the main entrance you’ll find a kiosk right away. They’re only three steps apart, so I recommend entering through the main entrance. For reference, I first visited on the day it reopened after remodeling, and I’ve been back several times since.

Here’s the interior. I only photographed one side, so you can’t see everything, but counting the opposite side it’s about 30% larger in total. It looks like it used to be a café and at first seemed to follow Japan’s kissaten (喫茶店) culture — a place where you enjoy both meals and coffee — but after visiting several times since the remodel, I’d say it’s more like a regular restaurant than a true kissaten.

Here’s the menu. The menu on the table is different from the one on the kiosk — the kiosk has a few more items.

Our Neighborhood Pork Cutlet

This is a dish called Uridongne Donkatsu that I had on opening day. It’s a gyeongyangsik donkatsu, though it looks a little different from the gyeongyangsik I knew. It comes with a crisply fried handmade pork cutlet, a small portion of rice, cabbage salad, buchu geotjeori, danmuji, and udon broth. The price is 13,000 won.
People from Europe or the United States will likely enjoy it a lot, while Japanese diners might be a bit puzzled by the small amount of rice. Rice (1,000 won) can be ordered as an extra.
If you compare it to Japan, think of a thin tonkatsu; compared to Western countries, think of a thick cutlet or a hearty schnitzel.
I’ve visited many famous schnitzel places in Europe… but honestly, Korean neighborhood donkatsu is much tastier. This one is delicious too.

They come as one large piece and one small piece. Personally I prefer dipping the sauce, but if you’re eating quickly the sauce that’s poured on like this is nice too. And some Western friends ask why Korean-style cutlets don’t come with a lemon or lemon juice… Usually you squeeze lemon because of the porky smell, right? In Korea, if the pork smelled, that restaurant would be ruined. Since the meat doesn’t smell, they don’t give lemon.

This is the interior. The tonkatsu is fried perfectly—truly exemplary. It’s delicious 👍

We ate everything without leaving a scrap. I’d generally recommend this place if you’re with kids, friends from Western countries, or Japanese visitors.

I don’t need these anymore since I now have a business credit card, but back then I didn’t, so I photographed the receipts. European companies never accept meals as business expenses, do they? In Korea, if you produce regular content like this and there’s related business potential, they’ll recognize it as an expense. Anyway, this is a receipt for our local tonkatsu (₩13,000) and three chicken burgers for ₩10,000.

Cafe Al Hamburger

These are takeout-only chicken burgers. Three for 10,000 won — great value. They’re generous and tasty, so buying them to eat on the go works well, or you can take them to Nammangsan or Yi Sun-sin Park, or ride the cable car up and enjoy a light picnic while overlooking Tongyeong.
Right in front of Cafe Al restaurant is Daegyo Mart, so you can buy drinks there cheaper than at a convenience store.

The inside looks like this. It’s the kind of food that makes you wonder whether charging 10,000 won for three of them would be reasonable. I feel like they’re being sold far too cheaply. In Western countries, sliced cheese is cheap, right? Sliced cheese… in Korea or Japan it’s really expensive.
To avoid misunderstandings from cultural differences, I’d say this is a dish that uses quite a few ingredients that are costly in Korea. On the other hand, in Europe sliced cheese is an inexpensive ingredient, so the feeling is different.

This is what it looks like when cut in half. They usually cut it in half when packing it to go, so you don’t need to cut it yourself. I really enjoyed it. This is another burger I’d recommend to you.

Udon

They claim to be a cafe inspired by Japan’s kissaten culture, but the udon doesn’t quite match that. The price is 5,000 won.
It’s not Japanese-style udon but a typical Korean-style udon. Personally, I think there are many elderly people living nearby, so I believe this udon was made for them to enjoy. It’s low in salt and is characteristically soft and plain.

Fortunately, the noodles are square-shaped. Personally, I really dislike round udon noodles. Cafe Al Udon is good for a simple, no-fuss meal.
For reference, the place that sells round udon noodles with Korean-style udon broth is near the Dongseoul Bus Terminal. It’s arguably the worst udon in the world.

Donjjol Set

This is the Donjol set. The price is 11,000 won
It comes with a basic donkatsu (pork cutlet) and jjolmyeon (spicy chewy noodles). To explain first: jjolmyeon is way too spicy for many Japanese or Westerners. If you can’t eat spicy food, don’t even think about trying the jjolmyeon. For Koreans, it’s just a nicely spicy meal.

These are fried dumplings that come with jjolmyeon. They’re, of course, delicious when dipped in the spicy sauce.

Jjolmyeon should be mixed together with the noodles and cabbage salad, but if you’ve encountered so many red dishes while traveling in Korea and assume this one isn’t very red and eat it without thinking, you’ll be in trouble. As I mentioned earlier, this is really spicy for Japanese people and Westerners.

This is Cafe Al’s basic pork cutlet. They serve the sauce on the side, which is the style I like. Of course, I enjoyed it very much. I’ve tried a variety of dishes, and the Donjjol set (pork cutlet and jjolmyeon combo) was the most filling, which I liked. If you come with family and your child is too young to eat much pork cutlet, I think ordering this is a good option. The child can eat the pork cutlet while mom or dad has the jjolmyeon.
That’s it for today — I’ll wrap up here and be back soon with new travel info 😀

Cultravel

Cherry blossom road along Pyeongin Ilju-ro in Tongyeong

If you visit Tongyeong's Pyeongin Iljuro during cherry blossom season, you can enjoy the blooms in a peaceful, relaxed setting. Tongyeong City put a lot of effort into preparing it, but it's not well known because of limited promotion. It's a lovely cherry blossom-lined road, so I recommend stopping by.

• My personal recommendation: Tongyeong Chungmu Kalguksu