Magok Soba Restaurant Yosyoku serves creative basil and spicy paitan soba, crispy tonkatsu and Japanese-style fusion dishes, perfect for lunch or solo dining in Magok.
Magok Soba Restaurant: Yosyoku for Creative Basil and Paitan Soba in Seoul
Whenever I meet my younger sibling in Magok, we usually have one goal: find somewhere good to eat.
Sometimes we return to an old favorite, and other times we use the opportunity to discover one of the many new restaurants constantly opening around Magok and Balsan.
Yosyoku Magok (요쇼쿠 마곡점) was an easy choice.
I’d already visited another Yosyoku location in Seongsu, so when I found out there was a newer branch in Magok, I didn’t need much convincing.
What makes Yosyoku interesting is right there in its name.
Yoshoku (洋食) refers to Western food that was introduced to Japan and gradually reinterpreted into a distinctly Japanese style.
Yosyoku takes that idea and gives it another contemporary twist in Korea.
You’ll find familiar Japanese comfort foods such as tonkatsu, curry, and rice bowls, but the real reason I wanted to return was the restaurant’s unusual selection of fusion soba.
Basil soba. Tomato soba. Mentaiko oil soba. Rayu paitan soba.
These aren’t the traditional cold buckwheat noodles you may immediately imagine when you hear the word “soba.”
And that’s precisely what makes this Magok soba restaurant so much fun.
Magok Soba Restaurant Yosyoku Location
Address:
Room 213, 2F, Leader Square, 45 Magokjungang 6-ro, Gangseo-gu, Seoul
Korean address:
서울 강서구 마곡중앙6로 45 리더스퀘어 2층 213호
Magok Soba Restaurant Yosyoku is located on the second floor of Leader Square, approximately a six-minute walk from Exit 3 of Magok Station.
Take the elevator to the second floor and head further inside the building, and the restaurant is easy to spot.
There’s also a menu displayed outside, which I appreciated because you can take a quick look at the dishes before deciding to go in.
Parking support is available for diners in the building, making the restaurant convenient if you’re driving as well.
Magok Soba Restaurant Yosyoku Opening Hours
Monday–Friday: 11:00 AM–9:00 PM
Break time: 4:00 PM–5:00 PM
Closed: Saturday and Sunday
These were the business hours provided at the time of my visit. As restaurant schedules can change, check the latest hours before heading over.
more info : Official Instagram
A Bright, Modern Japanese Restaurant in Magok
Magok Soba Restaurant Yosyoku has a clean, modern interior with a bright and casual atmosphere.
Magok and nearby Balsan are packed with office buildings, so restaurants around here can become extremely busy during weekday lunch hours.
And Yosyoku definitely feels designed with that crowd in mind.
There are plenty of four-person tables, and the layout makes it easy to move tables together when colleagues want to eat as a group.
That makes it practical for both a quick weekday lunch and a casual team dinner after work.
But there’s another feature I particularly like.
A Good Magok Soba Restaurant for Solo Dining
Toward the back is counter seating, which immediately makes Yosyoku much more approachable for solo diners.
If you work around Magok or Balsan and just want to sit down alone with a bowl of noodles after work, you won’t feel awkward here.
Behind the counter, you can also see the open kitchen.
It was impressively clean and organized on my visit, which made the whole restaurant feel even more polished.
Around the walls are colorful illustrations and graphics featuring some of the signature dishes, with a mix of Japanese and English typography.
They’re decorative, but also surprisingly useful when you’re staring at a menu full of unfamiliar fusion dishes and wondering what to order.
Magok Soba Restaurant Yosyoku Menu: Japanese Yoshoku with a Modern Twist
Menus are displayed around the restaurant, and you’ll also receive a brochure-style menu at your table.
The actual order is placed through a tablet.
The basic concept is Japanese-style Western food served with rice, so the menu covers quite a lot of ground.
There are tonkatsu dishes, rice bowls, curry, and several Western-inspired soba dishes.
Prices are also approachable enough that I can understand why the restaurant appeals to office workers looking for an everyday lunch rather than a special-occasion meal.
You’ll also find several highballs and other drinks, so Yosyoku can easily transition from a lunch restaurant into somewhere to have dinner and a casual drink after work.
But personally, there’s one section of the menu that makes Yosyoku stand out.
The Fusion Soba Selection
I’ve eaten plenty of Japanese food around Seoul, but it’s not often that I find this many unconventional soba variations in one restaurant.
Depending on the menu, you’ll find flavors such as:
Basil Soba
Tomato Soba
Mentaiko Oil Soba
Rayu Paitan Soba
They’re playful combinations that blur the boundary between Japanese and Western-style cooking.
That’s the biggest reason I come to Yosyoku.
If you’re particularly hungry, I’d recommend looking at one of the sets that includes tonkatsu as well.
That’s exactly what we did.
Drinks: Melon Highball and Tomato Basil Ade
One nice surprise at Yosyoku is that the drinks are reasonably priced, which made it easy for us to order one each with our meal.
We chose a Melon Highball and Tomato Basil Ade.
And apparently we’d accidentally decided on a color theme because both arrived in beautiful shades of green.
The Melon Highball was easy to drink, with less of a strong alcohol taste than I expected.
To me, it tasted almost like a Japanese melon soda with alcohol added.
The Tomato Basil Ade was the bigger surprise.
I wasn’t entirely sure how I’d feel about tomato and basil in a sparkling drink, but it was fresh, slightly tangy, and surprisingly refreshing.
There was also a highball version on the menu, and after trying the ade, I immediately thought I’d like to order that one next time.
Tonkatsu: Crispy Outside, Tender and Juicy Inside
Our tonkatsu came as part of a set, so I wasn’t expecting an especially large portion.
I was wrong.
There was considerably more pork than I’d anticipated.
It also came with several ways to enjoy it, including tonkatsu sauce, truffle oil, and Himalayan salt.
The texture was exactly what I want from a good tonkatsu.
The breading was seriously crisp, while the pork inside remained remarkably soft and juicy.
There was just a thin layer of fat along the meat, enough to add richness without overpowering the lean pork.
But the biggest surprise was the truffle oil.
Tonkatsu with Truffle Oil and Salt
I’d never really thought of pairing tonkatsu with truffle oil before.
My first assumption was that fried pork plus oil might simply become too rich.
Instead, I loved it.
The truffle aroma added another savory dimension to the pork, and the combination became even better with a little salt.
Of all the sauces on the table, truffle oil + Himalayan salt ended up being my favorite way to eat the tonkatsu.
Definitely try at least one piece this way before reaching automatically for the regular tonkatsu sauce.
Basil Soba: Creamy, Nutty and More Subtle Than Expected
Of all the fusion soba dishes, Basil Soba sounded like one of the combinations most likely to divide opinion.
I expected the basil flavor to be quite strong.
Instead, it was surprisingly gentle.
The broth was rich and nutty, while the basil came through as a subtle aroma rather than dominating every bite.
That made the bowl much more approachable than its name might suggest.
Even someone who isn’t usually adventurous with fusion food could probably enjoy this without much difficulty.
The noodles were another pleasant surprise.
Rather than the texture I associate with traditional buckwheat soba, these had a springy bite that reminded me more of Japanese ramen noodles.
Combined with the creamy broth, they made the dish feel comforting and substantial.
Honestly, the flavor was mild enough that I could imagine bringing my parents here and ordering this for them too.
It’s creative without trying too hard to be unusual.
Rayu Paitan Soba: Creamy Broth with Adjustable Heat
Our second bowl was Rayu Paitan Soba.
“Rayu” refers to chili oil, while paitan is a rich, cloudy broth style, so this was the option I expected to deliver more heat.
You can choose the spice level when ordering.
Since it was my first time trying this particular bowl, I played it safe and chose the regular level.
As someone who genuinely enjoys spicy food, I probably shouldn’t have.
The broth had a slight sweetness followed by a moderate kick.
For my palate, I’d put the heat somewhere around the level of Shin Ramyun.
It was pleasant rather than challenging.
If you’re sensitive to spicy food, the regular level should already provide enough warmth.
If you’re a serious spice lover like me, however, I’d go up a level.
That’s what I’m planning to do next time.
The Soft-Boiled Eggs Deserve Some Attention Too
Both soba bowls came with a soft-boiled egg.
And they were beautifully cooked.
The whites were tender, while the centers remained wonderfully soft and creamy.
They added richness to both bowls without distracting from the broth.
If the seasoning feels slightly mild for your taste, there’s also sauce available for the soba.
Rather than pouring in too much immediately, I’d recommend trying a little with the noodles first and adjusting from there.
Shrimp Potato Croquettes: Don’t Skip This Side
We ordered the shrimp potato croquettes as an extra side because I was worried the meal might need just one more thing.
In hindsight, we already had plenty of food.
But I’m still glad we ordered them.
The inside was extremely soft and creamy, and what impressed me most was how clearly I could taste the shrimp.
Sometimes a shrimp croquette tastes mostly of potato with a vague hint of seafood somewhere in the background.
Not this one.
The shrimp flavor was properly present.
The croquettes came with tartar sauce, whose tanginess worked beautifully against the soft, rich filling.
Then I started experimenting.
We still had some of the truffle oil from the tonkatsu, so I mixed a little into the tartar sauce.
And that was dangerously good.
The tangy tartar gained an extra earthy richness from the truffle, creating an entirely different dipping sauce.
I’d happily do it again.
If two people are visiting, my preferred order would be one soba per person plus the shrimp potato croquettes to share.
Japanese-Style Side Dishes
The meal also came with a simple selection of side dishes: soup, pickled radish, kkakdugi, and seasoned bean sprouts.
It’s a familiar Japanese-Korean restaurant setup, but surprisingly, the bean sprouts became my favorite.
They were seasoned with plenty of umami and immediately woke up my appetite.
They’re especially useful between bites of richer dishes such as tonkatsu or creamy soba.
I also noticed the tableware.
Each dish arrived in simple, attractive Japanese-made bowls and plates, and the attention to those small details made the overall presentation feel more considered than I’d expected from such a casual restaurant.
What Should You Order at Magok Soba Restaurant Yosyoku?
If you’re visiting primarily because you’re curious about the fusion concept, I’d skip the most familiar dishes and start with one of the unusual soba bowls.
For two people, I’d order:
Basil Soba + Rayu Paitan Soba + Shrimp Potato Croquettes
That gives you two very different noodle dishes and an easy side to share.
If you have a bigger appetite, add tonkatsu or choose a set that includes it.
Between the crispy pork, creamy fusion noodles, and shrimp croquettes, the meal becomes much more substantial than it initially appears.
And if you like truffle, don’t forget to try the tonkatsu with truffle oil and salt.
That was one of my favorite little discoveries of the meal.
Is Yosyoku Magok Good for Lunch Near Balsan?
I think this restaurant makes particular sense for people working around Magok and Balsan.
It’s casual enough for an everyday meal, there are plenty of dishes that work as complete lunches, and the counter seating makes eating alone easy.
The menu also has enough variety that you don’t necessarily have to order the same thing every time.
One day could be tonkatsu, another curry, and another one of the fusion soba bowls.
Then after work, you could just as easily pair your meal with a highball.
If you’re visiting during the weekday lunch rush, though, I’d expect the restaurant to be considerably busier given how many offices surround it.
A Little Yakult to Finish the Meal
Just when we thought we were finished, we were given a small Yakult-style yogurt drink to cleanse the palate.
It’s such a familiar little Korean touch that it made me smile.
After crispy tonkatsu, creamy noodles, croquettes, and drinks, that cold, sweet final sip was strangely perfect.
Nothing fancy.
Just a satisfying way to end the meal.
Is Magok Soba Restaurant Yosyoku Worth Visiting?
If you’re looking for a Magok soba restaurant that goes beyond traditional Japanese noodles, Yosyoku is worth adding to your list.
What I enjoyed most wasn’t simply that the dishes were unusual.
Fusion food can easily become creative for creativity’s sake, but the combinations here remained approachable.
The Basil Soba was creamy and nutty with a surprisingly subtle herbal aroma, while the Rayu Paitan Soba offered a richer, spicier alternative with adjustable heat.
Add genuinely crispy tonkatsu, flavorful shrimp potato croquettes, and affordable drinks, and it makes for a satisfying casual meal without feeling overly expensive.
For office workers around Magok and Balsan, it’s an easy weekday lunch option.
For solo diners, the counter seats make dropping in comfortable.
And for me, the variety of unusual soba dishes is reason enough to return.
Next time?
I’m definitely ordering the Rayu Paitan Soba spicier.
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