Seoul Station gyukatsu solo lunch via exit 10 outdoor stairs: Ichigyu

I found Ichigyu while looking for something quick to eat at Seoul Station before catching my KTX! It had been a while since I had gyukatsu (breaded beef cutlet), and it turned out to be easy to eat and perfect for eating alone haha. The food comes out fast and you can eat quickly, so it's great for a worker's lunch too. The gyukatsu was tender with no chewy parts, exactly what I wanted.

Where is Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch, and what are its hours?

• Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch
• 98 Huam-ro, B1 B116, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: 11:00 - 21:30
• Break time 15:00 - 17:00
• Basement 1 of the LG Building
• No wait on weekday lunch

How to get to Ichigyu from Seoul Station exit 10

Find the LG Seoul Station Building and go down the outdoor stairs — it's right there! Easy to find if you come out of exit 10 of Seoul Station.

Walk facing this way, then look to the right and you'll see the stairs

Go down this way and the restaurant is right there, so there's no need to wander around the basement

If you go down a different staircase you have to walk a bit more, but it's still not hard to find

Can you eat alone? Inside Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch

The interior isn't huge, but there were quite a lot of tables. I visited right at weekday lunchtime and there were plenty of people, but I didn't have to wait! There were a lot of solo diners, and it seemed like office workers came in for lunch a lot too — quite a few people were eating before or after their KTX rides.

Inside, seating is split into 2-top and 4-top tables. If you visit alone, they immediately split a 4-top into a 2-top for you, so no need to worry! There was one gyukatsu grilling brazier provided per two people.

If you need an apron, disposable ones are available — help yourself

Review events at Ichigyu: shrimp tempura, mochi and cheese

Each table has the events written down, so check them out and join in if you'd like

You can get shrimp tempura with a receipt review! With another review you can also get mochi & cheese, and apparently it can stack with the receipt review — free shrimp tempura + mochi + cheese, go for it. If you want to do the receipt review, just tell staff in advance and ask for the receipt.

What comes with the gyukatsu basic set at Ichigyu

There's a wide range on the menu — gyukatsu, omurice, steki-don, curry and more — so no worries even if you go with a group, everyone can order what they like. They also sell a single small draft beer, perfect for when you just want one sip haha. There's even a mini curry, nice. I ordered the gyukatsu basic! Once ordered, the food came out really quickly.

The basic order comes with one piece — just the right amount for one meal. If you eat a lot, I'd recommend ordering the "double"! The gyukatsu meat is sirloin, and the basic set comes with gyukatsu, rice, soup, sauces, cabbage salad, and butter.

The basic sauces are salt, sweet chili sauce, wasabi, and itame sauce! Dip according to your taste — personally, salt + wasabi was the best combo for me!

Butter, the brazier and how to grill gyukatsu at the table

Before grilling the meat, melt the butter first. The butter is the famous Isigny butter!

Since it was my first time, I melted half the butter, but I think melting only about a quarter and grilling is better. I'd recommend melting a little, grilling with that, and melting more later if you need it! Melting a lot makes it a bit too greasy since the meat itself is already fatty.

If you grill two pieces at once, you have to eat too fast, so I'd recommend grilling one piece at a time... grilling one while eating one keeps the pace just right.

Grill it to whatever doneness you like and dip it in sauce, yum — even piling on a lot of wasabi wasn't that spicy, which was nice! The meat was tender with no chewy bits, easy to eat. Gyukatsu after a long time — so good. Dipping in the itame sauce was also delicious! It balances out the richness of the gyukatsu — I'd heard somewhere that grilling with wasabi on top together is delicious, so I tried it, but it wasn't that big of a revelation.

If the flame goes out, just ask staff to relight it. If you eat slowly, it seems to go out around when you're halfway through! It's tasty, and the food comes out fast too, so it's perfect for when you need to eat quickly and leave. Recommended if you want to treat yourself to something rich after a while! Being right in front of Seoul Station also made it perfect to eat before catching a train.