Seoul Station gyukatsu restaurant, 20-minute late-lunch wait: Ichigyu

After Ilsan ComicWorld 336 wrapped up, I got off at Seoul Station to transfer to the GTX and I was starving. While debating where to go, I decided on Ichigyu, a place a lot of people go to near Seoul Station! Ichigyu serves gyukatsu and steki, and it was great to be able to enjoy it right near the station.

How long is the late-lunch wait at Ichigyu Seoul Station?

There was actually a wait even during late lunch hours at Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch. Honestly I hadn't expected to wait at all (since it was a bit of a late lunch), but seeing a wait made me think — that's what makes a good restaurant good — and I decided to wait it out with a positive attitude!

There were 3 parties ahead of me, about 20 minutes, so it wasn't that long a wait, and since last order is at 2pm, way more customers were finishing up and leaving than coming in, so the line moved through pretty quickly.

Inside Ichigyu, on basement level 1 of the LG Seoul Station Building

Walking inside, this was the vibe. Being in the basement of the LG Seoul Station Building, it felt clean overall, and the restroom was tidy too, which made waiting more pleasant. There's also a GS25 convenience store right next door.

I got seated at the table right in the center and took some shots while waiting for the menu to come out — the place isn't huge or tiny, just a comfortable in-between size! More tables fit in than I expected, so it can handle a good number of customers during meal times.

At Ichigyu you get to grill your own gyukatsu and steki at a personal brazier, which adds some fun to the meal. If you're someone who values convenience above all, a place that grills the meat for you might be more your style, but I like getting my hands dirty and doing things myself, so this grill-it-yourself setup really worked for me.

What comes with Ichigyu's signature gyukatsu set

First up, the gyukatsu! The signature menu item at Ichigyu, and arguably its most famous dish, arrived.

Origin — Gyukatsu is a beef cutlet coated in breadcrumbs and fried, part of the katsu (cutlet) family alongside dishes like pork tonkatsu. The now-common style of frying it rare and then cooking it to your own preference at a personal brazier or hot stone is a relatively recent, more widely popularized way of serving it.

It comes with salt, chili sauce, cabbage salad, doenjang soup, rice, and Isigny butter for grilling the gyukatsu. Rice is refillable, so if you're really hungry, go ahead and get a refill.

The gyukatsu comes lightly fried on the outside and raw inside, so you need to finish cooking it further on the personal brazier.

Gyukatsu vs. steki: what is the difference?

This is the steki menu, and it was completely different from the gyukatsu in both look and taste. There's no breadcrumb coating, so it seemed like a dish where you can fully enjoy the natural flavor of the meat!

It seems to come lightly seared on the outside, but with no breadcrumbs on it. If you love that savory, fried tonkatsu-style feel, go for the gyukatsu; if you want the natural, clean taste of the meat, go for the steki.

This one also comes with cabbage salad, wasabi, soup, rice, chili sauce, and salt. And Isigny butter too! The overall components are basically the same for both menus — the main difference is really just the type and taste of the meat itself :)

Free rice refills and what to do with the Isigny butter

This is roughly how much rice came out for two people — plenty to fill you up, and since it's refillable, there's no need to worry too much. If you're a party of 3–4, just ask for a refill.

The staff light the brazier for you, and once you lay a piece of meat on it, it sizzles away deliciously. They give one Isigny butter per dish, so there was plenty to spread on generously. Thanks to that, the meat didn't stick to the grill much and tasted even richer and more savory haha.

Both the gyukatsu and steki come pre-cut into bite-sized pieces, so they cook faster than you'd think. The heat is strong, but in summer it can go out quickly because of the air conditioning! Not something to worry about though — staff keep circling around and relight it right away if it goes out.

Last order is 2pm: when should you arrive?

Last order at Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch is 2pm. Maybe because word has spread about it being a great Seoul Station lunch spot, I saw a lot of people coming in a bit after typical lunch hours — but since last order is 2pm, the waitlist sometimes closes around 1:45pm. So it's better to come a bit earlier. Even while I was eating, staff let us know last order was coming up soon, so we could get in any final orders we needed!

Salt or sweet sauce: which dip suits which dish?

Steki lets the natural flavor of the meat shine through more, so it tasted best dipped in plain salt.

Gyukatsu was best dipped in the sweet sauce!

Ichigyu, a great Seoul Station lunch spot — I think I'll end up coming back here for lunch or dinner next time I head to or from Ilsan ComicWorld and transfer at Seoul Station for the GTX. If you're craving a filling meal, give it a try too.