Wonju gyukatsu restaurant, two jumbo sets with in-laws: Ichigyu

We went on a family trip to Wonju with my in-laws this time! Turns out Wonju has quite a few good restaurants — but most of them are Korean food... 🥲 I love Korean food, but since my in-laws probably eat it every day at home, I wanted to show them something a bit special, so we went to 'Ichigyu'!

Where is Ichigyu Wonju, and what are the hours?

Ichigyu Wonju is at 51 Neungna-dong-gil, unit 135, Wonju, Gangwon. It's on the first floor of Lotte Cinema in Musil-dong, open daily from 11:00 to 21:30, with parking available.

Both my in-laws absolutely love beef. Wonju is actually famous for Chiaksan beef, so I debated whether to take them there — but since they'd never had gyukatsu before, I decided to bring them straight to Ichigyu instead haha.

Is Ichigyu Wonju a good place to take your in-laws?

The inside of Ichigyu Wonju was really upscale. I'd already eaten at the Seoul location so I knew it was good... but would the Wonju branch be just as great?! (fingers crossed) My in-laws also said they loved the vibe here, so I felt pretty proud of myself for picking a good spot.

There's even a country-of-origin board, so I read it all out loud~~ Turns out Ichigyu is a brand created by an owner whose parents run a butcher shop? So they're both extremely knowledgeable and genuinely passionate about meat...

Ichigyu Wonju menu: why the sets cost less

Looking at the Ichigyu menu, the prices aren't exactly low. But given how expensive the ingredients themselves are, I guess that's unavoidable... 🥲 That said, after eating it, the price felt totally worth it! Going for a set menu gets you a better deal, so it's worth checking those out too.

Once you order, you get your own personal brazier! It felt like stepping into a tiny Japanese village, so I was already excited *_*

And guess what, everyone — the rice here is unlimited refills. Foodies already know, but rice eaten with meat is the best thing in the world. Knowing it's bottomless made me feel so reassured, seriously...

We arrived right at the last order cutoff so I was a little anxious, but the food came out really quickly.

Gyukatsu jumbo, 32,500 won: grilling the beef on your own brazier

Gyukatsu jumbo (₩32,500) is Ichigyu's main signature dish! It's made with striploin, so it's really tender and full of flavor.

The gyukatsu comes evenly sliced on a tray... the color is just gorgeous.

The outside is coated in crispy breading, and the bright red beef underneath looks so good.

You're supposed to grill them one at a time on the brazier, but since there were a lot of us, we grilled five at once haha.

Even the sizzle sounds delicious, seriously... The heat was just right, so the meat didn't burn and I could grill it exactly to my preferred doneness!!

You get one portion of butter each, and extra costs more, so ration your butter carefully lol.

Cold soba with fried shrimp, 11,000 won

Cold soba with fried shrimp is ₩11,000. Mornings and afternoons are still a bit warm around this time of year, right? So having cold soba on hand~~ plus fried shrimp on the side makes it a great dish to come order on its own too haha.

The buckwheat noodles look plump and chewy at a glance. Piled high with seaweed flakes, it's so good~~ They gave a generous amount of radish and scallion, so I made sure not to leave a single bit.

This would go so well with a Kirin draft beer... but with my in-laws there, I held back, seriously... 🥲 It was great to eat alongside the gyukatsu when things started to feel a bit greasy!!

Oh, and if you sign up for store alerts, you also get a mini curry, which was great for mixing into the rice... so good.

Steki jeongsik jumbo, 32,200 won: wasabi and the house sauce

Steki jeongsik jumbo is ₩32,200, the same price as the gyukatsu! Just as generous a portion..!!! The striploin looks so fresh at a glance... gyukatsu is delicious too, but the steak is a bit lighter and cleaner, which personally suited my taste more haha.

So fresh, seriously... it looks like you could eat it just like this... but I'm a civilized person, so let's grill it ^^ Add a bit of wasabi and it's really clean, with the beef's natural flavor coming through so much...

Add the special sauce on top and it gets exactly twice as good!

Hamburg omurice, 17,000 won: the dish the baby ate happily

Hamburg omurice is ₩17,000. I thought it was a bit pricey for omurice, honestly? But the second I saw it, that thought disappeared completely.

A whole hamburg steak plopped right on top of vegetable fried rice — now the price makes total sense!

The visuals are just so cute and lovely... 🥲 You come for this omurice for the view alone... probably the prettiest egg view I've seen in a while ^^

We came with our baby, so we fed a little to them too, and they ate it up so well haha.

We finished up with a crispy fried shrimp we each got from a review event!!!

Who should eat at Ichigyu Wonju?

If you want a proper gyukatsu experience in Wonju, or you're looking for a good spot for an atmospheric date, I really recommend Ichigyu Wonju!!