Seoul Station Japanese restaurant for a post-train lunch: Ichigyu

A Seoul Station lunch spot known for great gyukatsu, and a nice Japanese restaurant for a date too: Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch.

Where is Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch, and is there parking?

Ichigyu Seoul Station 98 Huam-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul, basement 1F of LG Building

Ichigyu, a Seoul Station lunch spot, is a gyukatsu restaurant located in the basement 1F food court of the LG Seoul Station Building near Exit 10 of Seoul Station. A friend visiting from out of town arrived at Seoul Station and we decided to grab lunch nearby right away, so I went looking for a good Seoul Station lunch spot and ended up here. Parking is available (paid) in the building's parking lot — ₩6,000 per hour.

Daily 11:00–21:30 (break time 15:00–17:00)

What the dining room at Ichigyu feels like

Inside Ichigyu, this Seoul Station restaurant, the space is overall clean and decorated in a warm wood tone. It really has that Japanese-restaurant feel, almost like you've stepped abroad for a moment. It also seemed like a nice spot for couples to visit on a weekend date.

Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch menu and prices

Here's the menu at Ichigyu, this Seoul Station Japanese restaurant. Gyukatsu and steak (suteki) are the mains, alongside various Japanese dishes like omurice and curry.

• Gyukatsu (19,500 won)
• Yakisoba Napolitan (12,000 won)
• Karaage & fried shrimp (7,000 won)

We came as a pair for lunch and went all out, ordering gyukatsu, yakisoba Napolitan, and a side too.

A table full of Japanese dishes — doesn't it look delicious?!

Grilling the 19,500-won gyukatsu on a mini tabletop brazier

At Ichigyu, every table has its own mini brazier, so you can grill your gyukatsu to your own liking. Once it arrived, a staff member came and lit the brazier for us.

The gyukatsu came as a full set with rice and soup, which gave it a neat, upscale feel. The outside was fried crisp, but you could still see the pink sirloin inside, which had us anticipating a soft, juicy bite before we even started.

You place it on the mini brazier with butter and grill it to your taste — we went for a golden-browned outside and a juicy inside. Being able to cook it exactly how you like made it a different kind of fun from regular donkatsu, and it melted in our mouths just like a real steak.

Grilling it piece by piece meant every bite stayed warm right up to the end, and cooking it ourselves at the table made for a nice, slow meal while chatting with a friend — I think it'd work well for a date too.

How does the yakisoba Napolitan taste?

The yakisoba Napolitan is a griddle-fried Napolitan made with yakisoba noodles, loaded with bacon and with that familiar, sweet ketchup-based flavor that kids would probably love too. A whole sausage sitting on top made it look especially appetizing.

Karaage & fried shrimp, the 7,000-won side

The fried shrimp came in a size all its own, paired with crispy-yet-juicy karaage — a great side to split between two people. It tasted like it belonged with a beer, but it also worked perfectly as a side with rice.

Why Ichigyu works for lunch right by Seoul Station

Above all, its location close to Seoul Station makes it a great choice if you're grabbing lunch with family or friends right after arriving, or looking for somewhere to eat before or after catching the KTX. With gyukatsu grilled on your own mini brazier and a range of Japanese dishes, Ichigyu is a solid Japanese restaurant near Seoul Station — worth a visit if you're stuck on what to eat for a Seoul Station date lunch :)