Wonju gyukatsu restaurant: stamina steki and 3 sauces, Ichigyu

Where is Ichigyu Wonju, and do you need a reservation?

Ichigyu Wonju is a gyukatsu and steki restaurant on the first floor of the Lotte Cinema building in Musil-dong, Wonju. It was dinnertime, so I booked on Naver just in case, and the waiting board was full. It was a proper popular spot!! It's a chain that I thought only existed in Seoul, so how did it end up right here in Wonju~ There's also a mini curry coupon if you book through Naver, so I recommend reserving.

• Address: 51 Neungnadong-gil, Wonju-si, Gangwon, units 135 and 136
• Hours: daily 11:00–21:30 (break time 15:00–17:00)
• Group seating, reservations, high chairs, parking lot
• 2 hours of free parking

Ichigyu Wonju exterior and parking

Ichigyu Wonju is in the shops of the Lotte Cinema building, the kind of place everyone in the know already knows. The building parking lot gives you 2 hours, bbb. The tidy exterior, like a small Japanese eatery, really stood out among the Musil-dong restaurants.

The signature dishes are drawn on the signboard, so it feels stylish, very much a gyukatsu specialist, and it made me hungry right away!

Inside Ichigyu Wonju: is it good for solo dining?

Ichigyu Wonju has the kind of atmosphere that works for coming alone, with solo diners sitting at the two-person tables. There were three of us, so I booked on Naver just in case and we walked straight in, and the two-seaters were mostly occupied by solo diners...! (It was peak time and crowded, so I took these photos on the way out.) It seems like a perfect space to eat quietly by yourself.

As a gyukatsu place, each seat has a small charcoal grill~ Tissues and wet wipes only come if you ask, which was a little inconvenient, but I liked the neat interior, with no sauce bottles or cutlery cluttering the table.

Ichigyu Wonju menu and what we ordered

The tenderloin was sold out that day, so the three of us each ordered one dish from the main categories.

The nice thing about gyukatsu is that you can cook it to your own taste, but the sign says sirloin is best grilled for about 7–8 seconds.

• One free shrimp tempura per receipt review
• Free rice refills

How do you grill sirloin gyukatsu at Ichigyu?

For Ichigyu's sirloin gyukatsu, you heat the grill with Isigny butter and then sear the cutlet briefly. First up, the breaded gyukatsu!!! The golden coating was gorgeous~ I heated the grill with Isigny butter and put the meat on.

I could have taken my time with the rice and curry first, haha, like, did you have to put it on so fast? haha

When the moist, pink meat was just cooked, the crunch of the coating was great and the juices burst out. Ichigyu's gyukatsu nails that crispy-outside, juicy-inside balance!

Sirloin steki vs. sirloin gyukatsu: what's the difference?

Ichigyu's sirloin steki is plain lean beef grilled without any breading, and the set is the same as the gyukatsu: 3 signature sauces, rice, soup, salad and pickled cabbage.

Clean, lean meat with no tonkatsu-style coating.

Isigny butter on the grill, then 7–8 seconds.

Plenty of wasabi.

What does Ichigyu's stamina steki taste like?

Ichigyu's stamina steki has a rich, deep sauce, so it tasted hearty and filling. If the sirloin steki was a light, clean style that let the flavor of the meat shine, the stamina steki is the exact opposite!

It's saltier and sweeter, so of course the stamina steki is a bit tastier? Then again, they're so different in character that comparing them may be pointless.

How to eat Ichigyu's 3 signature sauces

At Ichigyu Wonju, I recommend alternating between the 3 signature sauces. Even the same meat felt like a completely different dish when I switched sauces. We each ordered something different, and with 3 sauces on top of that, getting several flavors out of one piece of meat is Ichigyu's hidden charm...! Don't stick to one sauce the whole time, mix it up..!..

I used the Naver reservation coupon for a mini curry, got a rice refill, and happily polished off a stamina-boosting meal. They say it's the only gyukatsu restaurant in Wonju, and it was much better than I expected. All three dishes were consistently good, and I ate fast and really enjoyed it haha

Verdict: who is Ichigyu Wonju for?

• If you're looking for a satisfying meal near Musil-dong
• If you love gyukatsu but don't know where to go in Wonju

Ichigyu Wonju, said to be the only gyukatsu specialist in Wonju, is a place you won't regret taking someone for a date or a family meal. Please add Ichigyu to your Musil-dong restaurant list ~_~