Jongno gyukatsu restaurant with a high chair for kids: Ichigyu

My family goes on outings to Jongno on Fridays or weekends. Now that our kid is a bit bigger, there are so many more things she can eat out. We finally took her along to a Jongno restaurant we'd been dying to try.

Where Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch is and its opening hours

Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch is at B123, B1F, Le Meilleur Jongno Town, 19 Jongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It's open Mon-Sun 11:00 - 21:30, with a break time from 15:00 to 17:00 and last order at 20:30. There are separate men's and women's restrooms, and both reservations and parking (2 hours) are available.

First of all, it's inside Le Meilleur — restaurant-hunting step one, complete. You run right into Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch as soon as you come down the escalator by the entrance. Easy to find, and you can also join the waitlist through Catch Table. We'd booked ahead, so it was even more convenient.

High chair and kids' tableware at Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch

At this Gwanghwamun lunch spot, they actually had a baby chair and kid dishes! I was touched. It's the kind of service that sounds common but really isn't. When you're out with a little one, plenty of places don't even have a fork for kids, so that alone is a relief. She's five, so she can use an adult spoon just fine, but a place that still has separate kid dishes hits different. Can't help it — that's parenting life for you, haha.

Three dishes for two: gyukatsu, steki set and yakisoba Napolitan

Today was a day our kid kept yelling for meat, so even though there were only two of us, we ordered three dishes. Ichigyu gyukatsu, steki set, and yakisoba Napolitan!

My husband and I really love Napolitan (Japanese ketchup spaghetti). We even go out of our way to find it when we travel to Japan. Izakayas are great, but Napolitan with coffee at a café is also a favorite of ours. So when I saw grilled-pan Napolitan on the menu at this Gwanghwamun gyukatsu spot, there was no way I wasn't ordering it. Went for it right away.

Ta-da! The little hearth is so cute. Our kid is past the age of grabbing at everything, so now we can bring her to a place like this — love that. And grilling everything on this cast-iron plate tasted amazing too. Ichigyu's cast-iron plate gives you that crispy-outside, juicy-inside finish! And the Isigny butter! I love Isigny butter so much — that distinct richness and aroma is wonderful, and since this Gwanghwamun gyukatsu lunch spot uses it, everything tasted even better.

How to grill the gyukatsu, and the three sauces

For both the gyukatsu and the steki, they show you how to grill it, and there are sauces to suit your taste — salt, house special sauce, chili sauce. Personally, I love salt with wasabi best, but I'd have missed the other sauces if they weren't there. When they're on the table, you end up dipping into each one at least once.

Yakisoba Napolitan: the dish our 5-year-old finished

This Gwanghwamun spot also has a 200ml mini draft beer, meat add-ons, and side dishes — simple yet varied, and really enjoyable. If we hadn't ordered the yakisoba Napolitan, would we have left without knowing this flavor? That would've been a real shame. The sausage chunks are big, and it's Napolitan made with yakisoba noodles — our kid had already eaten her gyukatsu well, and she cleaned up the Napolitan too.

Does the meat smell linger? Plus the side dishes

Another thing I liked about this Gwanghwamun spot — it's a meat restaurant, but somehow it doesn't leave that strong meat-cooked smell on you. They had fabric deodorizer ready just in case, but I appreciated that the smell wasn't overwhelmingly meaty to begin with.

They also gave us plenty of rice, a lettuce salad, and cabbage pickles that were great to snack on between bites — a clean, no-frills gyukatsu spread! It was delicious, and since our kid ate well, it turned into a really fun Jongno outing. We finished our rice and even took a walk along Cheonggyecheon Stream after. A perfect little course.

Is Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch worth it on a Jongno day out?

If you're heading out to Gwanghwamun or Jongno, how about gyukatsu, steki set, and Napolitan at this Gwanghwamun spot, then a stroll through Kyobo and Youngpoong bookstores, followed by a walk along Cheonggyecheon Stream! The weather's so nice, we've got to enjoy it before it gets cold.