Seoul Station gyukatsu with a homemade gyukatsu sushi finish: Ichigyu

A recommendation for a Seoul Station lunch spot — solo-friendly gyukatsu at Ichigyu — plus a note on nearby waitlists.

Ichigyu, chosen for my last meal in Seoul

Hi! It's Happy Sunny =) My little Friday-to-Monday trip to Seoul wrapped up today. I'd booked a KTX from Seoul Station to Taehwagang Station, and while looking for somewhere to have my last meal in Seoul, a neighbor's post came to mind — yes, I really do read your posts carefully ^^

Anyway, today turned out to be the fateful day where my departure from Seoul Station overlapped with that neighbor's Seoul Station lunch post. Here's my review after checking it out.

Today's Seoul Station lunch spot is a gyukatsu restaurant called Ichigyu. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes gyukatsu, or anyone looking for a simple solo meal or a place to eat near Seoul Station, like I was =)

Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch — location and directions

It's in the basement of the LG Seoul Station Building, right across from Seoul Station. From Exit 10, you can head to the LG Seoul Station Building and take the outdoor stairs, or enter the building on the 1st floor and take the escalator on the right down to B1 =)

I took the escalator inside the LG Seoul Station Building. We came for Ichigyu specifically, but there were plenty of other restaurants in the same building too — Seoul Station really has range!

Was there a wait?

Turn the corner on B1 and you'll spot Ichigyu's gyukatsu restaurant right away. We visited a bit after the lunch rush, so it was pretty relaxed — no wait, straight in!

That said, this is prime lunch territory for office workers near Seoul Station, so peak hours will definitely have a wait. Ichigyu takes reservations through Naver Reservation and Catch Table, so book ahead and skip the line!

You can browse the menu from outside too. It's broadly split into gyukatsu, steki (seared steak), hambagu omurice, curry, and noodles.

Inside and seating

The interior has 2-seat and 4-seat tables, so it looked solo-dining-friendly too. Two-seat tables have one gyukatsu brazier, four-seat tables have two. There were two of us, so we sat at a 2-seater~~

The menu board and review event

As mentioned, the menu covers steak, gyukatsu, omurice hambagu, curry, and noodles. The back pages had detailed info on set menus and how to eat gyukatsu.

The Naver receipt review event gives you 1 crispy fried shrimp! There was also a separate giveaway of cheese and rice cake, great grilled on the brazier — and apparently you can join both events at once! I only did the shrimp one haha.

Ordering Gyukatsu Basic + Steki Basic for two

Haenee ordered the Steki Basic, I ordered the Gyukatsu Basic, and the rice for two came served together like this. Nice, since it meant we could each take as little or as much as we wanted!

Right after ordering, they put a candle in the brazier for grilling the steki and gyukatsu, and lit it immediately. So by the time the steki and gyukatsu arrived, we could start grilling right away. The plate seemed to have high heat conductivity — it heated up fast.

Steki Basic — no breading

This is the Steki Basic that Haenee ordered. Unlike fried gyukatsu, steki is striploin seared only on the surface. If you're not a big fan of fried food, I'd recommend this un-breaded steki option!

Haenee was thrilled she'd chosen this one. I tried a few bites too, and it was seriously, seriously tender and full of flavor?

Sirloin Gyukatsu Basic

This is the Ichigyu gyukatsu I ordered! Like the steki, it's also striploin, breaded on the surface and fried just until the crust and outer surface are lightly cooked, then sliced and served.

The inside stayed such a fresh pink that it looked soft enough to eat straight away!

The Isigny butter — we actually had leftovers

Both the steki and the gyukatsu come with one portion of butter — served in an Isigny butter cup, with an extra portion for ₩1,000 if you need more. But Haenee and I actually had butter left over! The portion was pretty generous~~

When we stirred the butter around on the heated plate, it melted right away since the plate was preheated. The buttery aroma hit instantly — already delicious!

My first bite was actually a piece of steki I stole from Haenee's plate >,< Without breadcrumbs like the gyukatsu, you could taste nothing but pure striploin flavor. The meat quality was so good it practically melted without chewing..

Next I put the sirloin gyukatsu on the plate, and it sizzled and cooked through in no time! After cooking both sides evenly, I added a bit of the wasabi that came on the side.

The house sauce, salt and chili, and gyukatsu sushi

Dipping into Ichigyu's house sauce is pure bliss? The seasoning on this sauce is seriously spot on — not salty, not bland, just right..

The other condiments were chili and salt, and the salt really pairs well with the gyukatsu too? The chili as well, mm-hm.

The clear soup served alongside had just the right amount of ingredients, and a spoonful whenever the rice and gyukatsu got a bit much was an insanely good combo.. Is this Tokyo or Seoul~

And my own personal move — homemade gyukatsu sushi? I made some, and being meat, it really goes well with rice..

The review event perk at Ichigyu, this Seoul Station lunch spot — I was told this was a must-try, so I said I'd do the receipt review the moment I ordered. And the size instantly explained why they pushed it so hard.. A giant fried shrimp comes with alsaewoo chips too, and that sauce is unreal? Doing the review event is a must.

Overall thoughts

If you're looking for a Seoul Station lunch spot, I'd recommend Ichigyu, a gyukatsu restaurant right across from the station. It's great for solo dining, and since reservations are possible, there's less to worry about with waits. A solid recommendation for a place to eat near Seoul Station - ! ❤️🔥