Seoul Station gyukatsu date dinner, review mochi sold out: Ichigyu

Where is Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch? B1 of the LG Building

Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch is a gyukatsu restaurant tucked in the basement of the LG Building at Seoul Station. Every once in a while I need a meat transfusion, and gyukatsu was all I could think about, so off I went to Ichigyu.

Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch sits right in the LG Building basement, which means it'd be perfect for office workers on a weekday lunch — and honestly, I think it's the perfect Seoul Station date restaurant too, haha.

Is there a wait on a weekend evening at Ichigyu?

Since it's inside an office building and it was a weekend evening, I figured it'd be quieter than usual, but it was almost completely full, and there was even a line by the time we left. Weekday lunches probably have a crazy wait too, so if you're planning to visit Ichigyu, keep that in mind!

The Ichigyu Seoul Station menu and what we ordered

Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch has everything from à la carte dishes to steki-don, omurice, Japanese curry, and set menus, so the upside is you can pick according to your mood and taste.

• Gyukatsu (sirloin) base — ₩19,500
• Steki set (sirloin) base — ₩19,500

4 tips for eating gyukatsu at its best

While waiting for the food, I read through the guide on how to enjoy gyukatsu the best way.

• Pair it with Ichigyu's special sauce for extra depth of flavor.
• Along with the special sauce, there are 3 more sauces so you can enjoy a variety of flavors.
• The high-quality French Isigny butter is best eaten in 3 portions, so you can enjoy its aroma longer.
• Gyukatsu comes out medium rare, so grill it to your taste — the tip is to grill it for about 7–8 seconds for the best result, so let's try grilling it that way, haha.

Shrimp tempura for a receipt review, but the mochi was sold out

Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch gives you shrimp tempura for a receipt review posted in advance, and sliced mochi (rice cake) & grillable cheese for a star rating review — and you can actually do both at once. We wanted the mochi, but it was sold out, so we couldn't get it, darn. If you're visiting Ichigyu, be sure to grab both the shrimp tempura and the mochi!

Grilling gyukatsu on your own brazier, with free rice refills

There's a tabletop brazier set up so you can grill the gyukatsu exactly to your taste — can you imagine how good that must taste? Hahaha.

This is the rice, and it's refillable, which I loved, haha.

Gyukatsu (sirloin), 19,500 won

Gyukatsu with genuinely delicious Isigny butter included. The breading looked crispy and the meat inside looked so good, I couldn't even imagine how amazing it'd be grilled in that Isigny butter.

Even the base portion was generous, and it was truly the best. The salad and variety of sauces that come with it let you eat exactly how you like — seriously the best, haha.

Steki set (sirloin), 19,500 won

If gyukatsu was the crispy fried type, the steki set is a set made entirely of tender sirloin meat. Steak meat grilled in butter is always great to begin with, so this one was guaranteed to be delicious without even tasting it!

Grilling it lightly on the burner, topping it with wasabi and dipping it in sauce — that sounds amazing.

How to grill with Isigny butter, and how it tasted

Now let's drizzle butter on the burner and grill each piece one by one. That sizzling, crackling sound as it grills up crispy — I was practically drooling. The key is grilling it just right without burning it. Chat too long and it could go from perfectly done to burnt, so watch out.

I tried the well-grilled steki and gyukatsu, and both melted in my mouth. The steki was tender and the gyukatsu had crispy breading with meat that still melted away. The first bite dipped in salt had a wonderfully clean flavor, and the steki dipped in the accompanying sauce was a perfect match, haha. It can get a bit rich after a while, but eating it together with the salad balances it out perfectly.

Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch as a Seoul Station date course

If you're on a date near Seoul Station, or just want lunch there, trying the gyukatsu at Ichigyu will make for the perfect finish to a Seoul Station date. Just one thing to note: since it's inside an office building, watch out for waits at weekday lunch, and on weekends too. As long as you keep that in mind, the food is delicious and the meat is fresh, making Ichigyu perfect for a Seoul Station date or a Seoul Station lunch, haha. My top recommendation is the gyukatsu, but next time I want to try the omurice too!