Seoul Station Japanese restaurant for buttery steak bowls: Ichigyu

I love tonkatsu too, and I love grilling meat—gyukatsu is basically those two things combined, right?

I’d been craving gyukatsu lately, so I looked around and visited Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch over the weekend -

Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch location and hours

Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch - B116, B1, 98 Huam-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul A 12-minute walk from Namdaemun Market 11:00 - 21:30 Break time: 15:00 - 17:00 (Last order: 14:00, 20:30)

Inside, there was cozy lighting and lots of tables. There were plenty of Japanese-themed little props too, so it really had that local feel.

Tables with grills and a varied menu

Every table comes set with a tabletop grill! There are à la carte dishes and sets. Beyond gyukatsu, the menu has lots of options, including hamburger steak omurice, curry, and Napolitan.

Set 3 with gyukatsu and steki-don

Order slip - Set 3 / gyukatsu + steki-don + 2 drinks

The gyukatsu was good too, but the steki-don that practically melted in my mouth was amazing,, It gave me that, “Ah, so this is what quality meat is like,” feeling.

Tender, juicy steki-don grilled in butter

The steki-don came out first. Thick-cut striploin was piled up so appetizingly, and it even came with an egg yolk—such a nice touch!

Sizzle—grilling each piece on the butter-melted griddle with that lovely sound made it even juicier and more tender. I also liked that each dish came with its own portion of Isigny butter -

How to enjoy gyukatsu

The gyukatsu came out too. Just flipping one piece so you can see the cut side makes it look so good and appetizing, doesn’t it?

• Dip it generously in the house special sauce.
• Enjoy different flavors with the house special sauce plus 3 other sauces.
• Divide the premium French Isigny butter into 3 portions and put it on the grill so you can enjoy its aroma for longer.
• Because the gyukatsu arrives medium-rare, grill it to your preference.
• About 7–8 seconds on the grill is best!

Gyukatsu is so good because it has a crisp fried coating and tender steak inside, giving you all kinds of textures in one bite. The buttery juiciness is the point too,,

Can you see how juicy it is from all those meat juices? It was tender to chew without a single tough bit, and even with just salt, it was delicious with no gamey flavor. If you had to choose only one for beef, salt or wasabi, what would you pick? I’m salt all the way.

Putting it on the crunchy cabbage salad cut through the richness completely, and it also went well with the house special sauce, which has garlicky and tangy notes.

The steki-don I remembered even more than the gyukatsu

I liked the gyukatsu too, but this steki-don was seriously delicious, you know? An adorable little child at the next table was happily having a bite of meat, a bite of rice, and a sip of soup. It seems like the kind of meat everyone from kids to adults would enjoy, so it would be great for eating out too.

It was delicious mixed with the egg yolk and moist rice that came with it, or placed over fluffy plain white rice too.

The meat was really different,, The outside was lightly cooked so the juices came out, while the inside was truly tender.

Recommended for a Seoul Station lunch or date

It is close to Seoul Station and Namdaemun Market, so it is easy to get to, and the varied menu makes it a good place to visit without worrying about differing tastes. There are lots of tables, so I recommend it for a solo meal too. Both the steki-don and gyukatsu used quality meat, making every bite tender.

Come here for a Seoul Station date course. I had such a delicious meal!