Saturday dinner Set 1 at a Gwanghwamun gyukatsu restaurant: Ichigyu

Hi, this is Ice. Cool September has finally arrived. Being a heat-hating human, I suffered from a lack of content all summer haha.. so to welcome the cool September I went on a Gwanghwamun date.

We'd been to a wedding nearby and then went on our date late in the evening, and Cheonggyecheon was packed with people..! I'd genuinely never seen it that crowded before!

And now for the most important part — today's restaurant is... Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch! Honestly I'm not great at keeping up with trends, so this was my first time trying gyukatsu.. I love Japanese food and had really wanted to go, and I finally made it.

Where is Ichigyu Gwanghwamun, and how far from Gwanghwamun and Jonggak stations?

Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch is a super-accessible Gwanghwamun date spot — 4 minutes on foot from Gwanghwamun Station, 3 minutes from Jonggak Station. I'd worn heels for once that day and they were pretty uncomfortable, so I was glad we didn't have to walk far haha

Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch exterior

How long was the wait at 6:30pm on a Saturday?

When we arrived right at dinner time, 6:30 on a Saturday, the place was packed. Luckily there was no line on CatchTable, but we were first in line to wait. After about 3 minutes we were seated. Everyone who came after us also got seated without waiting.

Interior of Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch

Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch had a strong izakaya vibe. The black aprons made the atmosphere even better. The gap between tables isn't huge, but it was fine for eating a meal.

The setup was a small burner lit with a wax-fuel flame for warming the meat yourself. The flame was stronger than I expected.

Ichigyu Gwanghwamun menu and set prices

Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch menu

I genuinely agonized over the menu. First, the set menus are:

• Set 1: gyukatsu (sirloin) + gyukatsu (sirloin) + 2 drinks (cola/cider), 42,000 won
• Set 2: gyukatsu (sirloin) + hamburg omurice + 2 drinks (cola/cider), 39,500 won
• Set 3: gyukatsu (sirloin) + steki-don (sirloin rice bowl) + 2 drinks (cola/cider), 42,000 won
• Set 4: gyukatsu (sirloin) + hot-plate chop steak (sirloin) + 2 drinks (cola/cider), 40,500 won

Besides the set items, the a la carte menu had Japanese-style curry, yakisoba, and cold soba. One interesting detail — they sell a Kirin mini draft beer for 4,000 won. Great if you just want a quick 200ml!

There are various review perks, so it's worth taking part. Since we wanted to focus on the gyukatsu, we went with Set 1.

What comes with Set 1, and the Isigny salted butter

The set came out fast after ordering. It came with a sweetish soy-based sauce, chili sauce, wasabi, and salt. Hidden behind a bowl —

— was the butter. The famous Isigny salted butter! One of the premium butters haha. Nice to see them being thoughtful with the butter too.

First you melt the butter until it's nice and soft. There was so much butter I actually had leftovers. Feel free to add a lot.

How many seconds should you grill gyukatsu on the burner?

Then you lay the meat down. The menu says to leave it for 7–8 seconds... but if you only do 7–8 seconds the meat stays cold ㅠㅠ I grilled mine 30 seconds per side. Glancing around, everyone else was also leaving it on for 20+ seconds haha.. Since it comes out medium-rare already, you don't need to worry about it being undercooked!

Rice portions and the best sauce combination

And the rice they gave us.. so generous. It looked small but it was more than 2 servings of rice. Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch is really generous with portions.. even though we're good eaters, we couldn't even finish half of it..

My favorite combo was dipping it in a quick dab of the soy-based special sauce! I'd recommend Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch to anyone who loves gyukatsu! With the great atmosphere, it's perfect for a Gwanghwamun date over gyukatsu!!