Seoul Station gyukatsu double, 2 cutlets with a cold soba set: Ichigyu

Where is Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch?

Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch is a gyukatsu specialty Japanese restaurant on the basement 1st floor of Seoul City Tower, right across from Seoul Station. I was looking for a hearty lunch near Seoul Station and ended up at this #SeoulStationRestaurant — a place where you grill thick-cut gyukatsu yourself on a tabletop brazier, just the way you like it! The gyukatsu quality was great and the double portion was so generous I left completely full, so let me introduce this Seoul Station restaurant (๑❛ڡ❛๑)

• Walk: 3 minutes from Seoul Station Exit 10
• Parking: paid parking on B2 of the building (₩1,000 per 10 min / ₩6,000 per hour)
• Hours: daily 11:00-21:30, break time 15:00-17:00, last order 14:00 / 20:30
• Catch Table waitlist available

After entering Seoul City Tower, take the escalator down to the basement 1st floor!

Turn right here! Follow the corridor lined with a GS25 convenience store and several restaurants ~

You'll spot Ichigyu with its white sign and a cute cow illustration 🐮🤍 It's about a 5-minute walk from Seoul Station, so it's a good spot for a meal before or after catching a train, and also convenient to stop by for lunch or dinner while enjoying a Seoul Station date ( ¤̴̶̷̤́ ‧̫̮ ¤̴̶̷̤̀ )

How long is the lunchtime wait at Ichigyu?

There's a Catch Table kiosk outside #SeoulStationRestaurant Ichigyu — if there's a wait, just enter your phone number to register! There were so many diners when I visited that I'd recommend arriving with some buffer time for a Seoul Station lunch ( •̀ᴗ•́ )و ̑̑

Inside Ichigyu: atmosphere and seating

The interior is done in warm wood tones overall, giving it a cozy Japanese restaurant feel! The wooden tables paired with soft lighting felt clean yet comfortable ₊˚⊹♡

There are tables suited for groups of 2 to 4, so it's nice for a lunch with friends or a Seoul Station date ˃ᴗ˂ There were a ton of diners when I visited — true to its reputation as a Seoul Station lunch hotspot, the place was bustling 😲

For the restroom, exit the restaurant and head straight to the other side to use the shared mall restroom :)

Ichigyu Seoul Station menu and prices

• Gyukatsu set 19.5
• Gyukatsu double 32.0
• Steak set 19.5
• Steak double 32.0
• Hamburg omurice 17.0
• Steak-don 19.5
• Griddle hamburg steak 18.0
• Hamburg steak curry 13.0
• Fried soba Napolitan 12.0
• Cold soba & fried shrimp 11.0
• Fried egg 1.0
• Karaage & fried shrimp 7.0
• Mini curry 5.0
• Kirin draft beer 200ml 4.0 / 420ml 8.0

Besides the signature gyukatsu, there's a wide variety on the menu including steak-don, hamburg steak, omurice, and cold soba 🥩🍘🍜🍛

Don't miss the generous review event that gets you fried shrimp or cheese and mochi 🥹✨

What we ordered 💸

• Gyukatsu double 32.0
• Cold soba & fried shrimp 11.0
• Kirin draft beer 8.0

We wanted plenty of gyukatsu, so we went with the double, and paired it with the refreshing cold soba set :)

Kirin draft beer with gyukatsu

First things first, a cold sip of draft beer 🍺 You can't have crispy fried food and meat without a cold beer! A bite of golden-grilled gyukatsu followed by a sip of cold draft beer was pure happiness ˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

How much beef is in the gyukatsu double's two cutlets?

The moment the gyukatsu double arrived, I was surprised by how packed the plate was 😆 Thickly sliced gyukatsu came out along with rice, soup, salad, pickled sides, and various sauces — the whole spread felt really hearty!

The regular gyukatsu is one row, while the double is two rows!!! 🫧

The cross-section of the meat was a vivid pink, evenly thick with visible grain — it looked high quality just from the sight of it! The outside was coated in a thin, crispy breading while the meat inside held juicy moisture 🤤

How to grill gyukatsu in melted butter on the tabletop brazier

You grill the gyukatsu yourself, as much as you like, on the tabletop griddle brazier! First, we placed the butter that came with it onto the griddle to melt, and as the nutty aroma spread, my appetite immediately spiked ꃼ.̫ ꃼ

Placing a piece of gyukatsu onto the melted butter, the outside starts sizzling golden and delicious 🔥

Lightly searing just the outside keeps the inside soft and moist, while grilling it a bit longer intensifies the crispy breading and the savory meaty aroma 😲 Being able to eat each piece warm, cooked exactly to your preferred doneness, is a huge perk unique to gyukatsu ෆ

Salt, wasabi and sauce: which pairing works best?

It was clean and nutty even plain, but dipping it lightly in salt brought out the meat's natural flavor clearly, and adding wasabi made it sharp yet refreshing 🤤

Golden-grilled gyukatsu + salt + wasabi = 💚

Eating it with the sauce added a sweet-salty umami note! Gyukatsu grilled golden in butter had a much deeper flavor, and I couldn't stop reaching for more ( •̀ᴗ•́ )و ̑̑

Even fully cooked, the meat wasn't dry — the more you chewed, the more savory juiciness came through, seriously delicious.. 🥹💚 Above all, the gyukatsu double is such a generous portion that if two of you go, I'd recommend ordering this and trying other menu items alongside it :)

Does the cold soba and fried shrimp set suit the gyukatsu?

The cold soba comes as a set with ice floating in a cool broth, buckwheat noodles, and a generous topping of seaweed flakes 🍜🍤

The noodles were chewy yet went down smoothly, and the broth was salty-savory yet clean and refreshing ✨ Taking a bite of cold soba after the butter-grilled gyukatsu cleansed the palate nicely — the two dishes made a perfect pairing (⁎⁍̴̀﹃ ⁍̴́⁎)♡

Ichigyu's fried shrimp was amazing too!!!! 🍤🔥 This is the fried shrimp I got from writing a review — crispy on the outside with plump, springy shrimp meat inside, perfect alongside the cold soba ˆ̑՝̮ˆ̑♥

Is Ichigyu Seoul Station worth it? Final verdict

The gyukatsu quality was great, and the double was so generous I ate a truly hearty meal at Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch 💚🥩💚 There's real fun in grilling each piece yourself on the butter-melted brazier, and rounding it out with cold soba and fried shrimp made the meal well-balanced! If you're looking for a Seoul Station lunch spot or need a different idea for a Seoul Station date, I recommend Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch (๑❛ڡ❛๑)ෆ