Gyeongbokgung night tour dinner at Gwanghwamun gyukatsu spot Ichigyu

Hi everyone, it's Dodori~!

The Gyeongbokgung night tour for the second half of the year is happening right now, and while looking for a good place to eat near Gwanghwamun before going, I found this gyukatsu spot!🥩

Where is Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch, and how do you find it in the underground mall?

Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch is located at B123, basement floor 1 of Le Meilleur Jongno Town near Gwanghwamun Station! Take the escalator down and it's right there. The mall is pretty wide though, so you need to look carefully🥹

Just so you know!!haha

The inside was bigger than I expected! Nice clean vibe~~

What we ordered at Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch

• Sirloin gyukatsu (double)
• Yakisoba Napolitan
• 2 Kirin draft beers

Every table comes with its own mini brazier. Getting excited already, right?haha

The food came out quickly~!

How does the yakisoba Napolitan taste?

Yakisoba Napolitan🍝 It had that familiar ketchup-based flavor, so it was easy to eat without any pressure. Ordering it alongside the gyukatsu was great because the flavors didn't overlap and we got to enjoy a variety of tastes!!

The noodles were evenly coated in sauce, so the first bite already had a rich flavor, and it wasn't too intense — more like a Napolitan anyone could enjoy comfortably. Especially with that slightly sweet ketchup flavor, once you start eating it you just keep reaching for morehahaha

There's a whole sausage in it. Overall it's sweet and tangy with a soft texture💛

Grilling the double sirloin gyukatsu yourself on the tabletop brazier

🥩 Sirloin gyukatsu (double) — the main reason I came to Ichigyu! I ordered sirloin and went with the double size. As soon as the gyukatsu arrived, the outside was golden and crispy while the inside still had a bit of pink, so it looked delicious right from the start.

What I really liked was that I could put each piece of meat on the little brazier at the table and grill it to exactly the doneness I wanted. Grilled lightly, the sirloin's signature tender texture really comes through, and the more you chew the more you taste that savory meaty flavor. The outside is crispy and the inside is juicy, so the contrast between the crunchy batter and the soft beef is great!! And honestly, the batter here was really, really good✨✨

Personally, I found that grilling it just a little rather than for too long was the best way to enjoy the sirloin's tender flavor. Eating it with different sauces and sides changed the taste each time, so it was fun trying each piece a different way. And since we ordered the double, the portion was quite generous — good for two people to share.

Since the meat keeps cooking the longer it sits, don't grill it all at once — just put on the brazier as much as you're about to eat right away!!😊

Kirin draft beer in 200ml: an easy size before the palace

Eating all that meat, we couldn't help ourselves and ordered two Kirin drafts! They have 200ml and 420ml sizes, and we went with 200mlhaha Having a smaller size meant we could enjoy it without feeling too heavy — really loved that!!

Cleaned our plates ^^

Why Ichigyu works for dinner in Gwanghwamun before the Gyeongbokgung night tour

I came for the gyukatsu, but ordering the Napolitan alongside it made for a more filling dinner than I expected! Most of all, grilling the sirloin gyukatsu myself on the little brazier made the whole meal more fun to enjoy.

Delicious, crispy batter with tender sirloin beef, plus being able to grill it to your preferred doneness right at the table — that's the real charm of gyukatsu~~! If you're craving gyukatsu in Gwanghwamun, or want to enjoy a variety of Japanese dishes with friends or a partner, definitely visit Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch🤎