Monday lunch for 3 at Sinnonhyeon steak restaurant Ichigyu: steki-don

Today's post is a review of Ichigyu, a gyukatsu spot near Sinnonhyeon Station, visited on the most-dreaded-to-go-to-work Monday with my dining mates from the Tuesday Foodie Club, Noah and Jane.

We were originally supposed to eat together last week but couldn't make it, so we'd been waiting to meet this Monday instead. There are a few gyukatsu places around Sinnonhyeon and Gangnam Station, and I think this was my third visit or so to Ichigyu.

We ordered both the gyukatsu set and the steki set, and personally I'd recommend the steki set — here's a short and honest review!

Where Ichigyu Gangnam Sinnonhyeon Branch is and how to get there

Ichigyu Gangnam Sinnonhyeon Branch is on the 2nd floor of 19 Bongeunsa-ro 4-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. It's a 3-minute walk from exit 5 or 6 of Sinnonhyeon Station. Just head up to the 2nd floor!

Seating at Ichigyu and how long the lunch wait is

Ichigyu has both 2-top and 4-top tables, and there are quite a lot of seats — it seems like a good spot for a date or for coming during the company lunch rush!

We visited around 12:10pm on a Monday lunch hour, and luckily we were seated right away with no wait, and our dishes came out fast too, in about 5 minutes, so we ate without any waiting at all! I had a meeting to rush back to today, so I was so glad the food came out quickly and we could scarf it down. Phew, lucky haha.

What's on the Ichigyu menu

True to a gyukatsu restaurant, the main menu had quite a variety: gyukatsu (breaded fried beef cutlet) and steki (beef steak) sets, hamburg omurice, teppan chapsteak, steki-don (steak rice bowl), Japanese-style curry, yakisoba, cold soba, and shrimp tempura. There are also set menus, so you can get a discounted price if you add a drink.

What we ordered: steki set meal (sirloin) for two + steki-don for one.

They bring the rice out like this first — Jane, who's successfully lost weight, neatly scooped it out for us.

Steki-don with sirloin, 19,500 won

First up, the "steki-don (sirloin), ₩19,500" that Huni ordered. What stood out was the tender steak and the sweet yet deep steki sauce. First time trying it, and it was delicious!

Steki set meal, 19,500 won: grilling the beef with butter on a tabletop brazier

Jane and Noah ordered the "steki set meal (₩19,500)". They were originally going to order the gyukatsu set, but I talked them into steki since I thought it was tastier, haha.

You just melt the butter and grill it yourself. Beef sizzling away and turning golden brown, so good! Gotta eat it hot straight off the brazier for the real flavor, haha.

Gyukatsu or steki at Ichigyu: which tasted better?

Steki-don was a first for me, and the combo of well-seasoned rice, nicely grilled steak, plus the wasabi on top was genuinely delicious. Personally, I think steki-don and the steki set are tastier than the gyukatsu!

Beef can get greasy after a while, but that wasabi and the red side dish cut through the richness perfectly — good stuff. The steki-don's rice is pre-seasoned, and the seasoning was just right, not too salty or too bland.

• ✔ Recommended if you're looking for a gyukatsu restaurant near Sinnonhyeon Station
• ✔ Personally, the steki dishes were way tastier than the gyukatsu (go for the steki set or steki-don)
• ✔ There are set menus with a drink included, which is nice

Would I go back to Ichigyu?

There are a few gyukatsu places around Sinnonhyeon Station, and I've been to Ichigyu a handful of times during company lunch hours since it's close to work. I order something a little different each time, and this time's steki-don was really good.

If you want a beef meal but aren't in the mood for a loud, smoky BBQ place, and prefer a clean, quiet atmosphere instead, I'd recommend gyukatsu. The interior is fairly spacious and the staff are friendly, so it's a comfortable place to eat. That's my review of Ichigyu, a gyukatsu spot near Sinnonhyeon Station.