Jongno gyukatsu dinner: jumbo upgrade and yakisoba Napolitan, Ichigyu

Today I want to introduce Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch, where I had dinner after hanging out near Gwanghwamun! It had been a while since I last had gyukatsu (fried beef cutlet) in Japan, and honestly, this was better than what I had there 🤍 Let's get into the review 🤓

Location and hours of Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch

• 📍Location: B123, B1, Leumierre Jongno Town, 19 Jongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• ⏰Hours: 11:00–21:30
• 🅿️Parking: Free for 2 hours in the building's basement lot
• ✅Note: high chairs, group seating available, accessible parking, separate restrooms for men and women

Finding it from Jongno Station and the wait

For this Japanese restaurant near Jongno Station, head into the B1 building of Leumierre Jongno Town and go down to the basement level!

There's an A1 building right next to it that's easy to confuse it with, so keep that in mind~

On weekends it gets busy, so I'd strongly recommend remote waiting! Just install the Catch Table app and put your name down for Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch~

You know how your clothes end up smelling after grilling meat? Having a deodorizer right at the entrance was a nice touch 💯

What's the seating like inside?

The tables were spaced far apart, which made it really easy to talk. I get why this place has a reputation as a date spot!

With tables for 2 and 4, it's perfect for coming with family or a partner!

Disposable aprons were hanging on the wall too, so it was easy to just grab one and go haha

Menu and the jumbo upgrade

I was thinking of ordering two gyukatsu, but I was curious about the other menu items too, so I upgraded one gyukatsu to jumbo and ordered yakisoba Napolitan instead! If you want to upgrade to jumbo, it's just an extra ₩12,500 😉

Our order and the shrimp tempura event

If you write a receipt review, they say you get one shrimp tempura per review.

And the QR event on the right can be combined separately with the shrimp tempura event! Definitely try to take part in both haha

How does the double (jumbo) gyukatsu taste?

The gyukatsu came out made with striploin, crispy on the outside and moist and tender on the inside!

Placing it on the tabletop grill for a quick sear brought out a deeper, savory meaty aroma! It tasted best when lightly grilled just until the outside turned golden brown while the inside stayed moist 🤍

There were three sauces prepared — salt, chili sauce, and wasabi — and personally, I liked it best paired with either the salt or the wasabi!

And the pickled cabbage served alongside was a surprisingly nice touch ⭐️ When you're a few bites into the gyukatsu, it can start feeling a bit rich, and that's when the tangy, crunchy pickled cabbage cleans your palate right up haha

How does the yakisoba Napolitan taste?

The yakisoba Napolitan was a Napolitan-style dish made by stir-frying yakisoba noodles with various vegetables on a hot griddle!

Since it was griddle-fried, the sauce was well soaked into the noodles, and the chewy texture typical of yakisoba noodles paired nicely with the sweet, savory Napolitan sauce.

Eating the sausage together with the noodles was especially great. The salty, juicy flavor of the sausage blended perfectly with the noodles, making each bite so much tastier.

There was bacon in there too, adding an extra savory, meaty depth, and the overall seasoning was spot on!

The yakisoba Napolitan also came with a cabbage salad and a clear soup~

Final thoughts

• A Japanese restaurant near Jongno Station worth visiting
• Great atmosphere for a date
• Solid quality gyukatsu, too!
• Kept bringing back memories of Japan..☁️