42,000 won gyukatsu date set for two near Balsan Station: Ichigyu

I was planning a date near Balsan Station and suddenly craved Japanese food — gyukatsu it is! Here's my review of Ichigyu, a Balsan Station favorite for date-night dinners.

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

Ichigyu Balsan Station Branch is on the 2nd floor of 269-15 Gonghang-daero, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, inside the Hillstate Eco Magok building. It's open daily from 11:30 to 21:30, with a break time from 15:00 to 17:00.

Ichigyu is just a 2-minute walk from Balsan Station Exit 1! Being so close to the station, it was perfect for a Balsan Station date restaurant.

Parking support is available too, just so you know!

Ichigyu menu and prices

True to a solid Japanese restaurant, there's a wide range of Japanese dishes. The star of the menu is the sirloin gyukatsu!

• Gyukatsu basic ₩19,500
• Steak set basic ₩19,500
• Hamburg omurice ₩17,000
• Steak rice bowl ₩19,500

They also have yakisoba and draft beer, so it seems like the perfect spot to grab a beer late in the evening, haha.

What comes in the 42,000 won gyukatsu set for two?

We ordered the set menu — gyukatsu for two plus two drinks — for ₩42,000!

After ordering, they quickly set up the rice and the grill. You can enjoy steaming warm white rice with unlimited refills!

The gyukatsu set arrived quickly! It came with cabbage salad, Ichigyu's house sauce, fresh wasabi, chili sauce, and a savory soup as part of the set!

The sirloin's glossy sheen alone was mouthwatering... The gyukatsu was fried to a crisp on the outside with a thick, juicy sirloin inside — it looked absolutely delicious.

Grilling sirloin in Isigny butter at the tabletop grill

What impressed me most at Ichigyu was the Isigny butter. As someone who loves Isigny butter, I was so happy to see it on the table, haha. Melting the Isigny butter on the grill sends up that rich, nutty butter aroma, and putting the gyukatsu on top of it gave it a whole different level of flavor...!!

At Ichigyu, you grill the gyukatsu a little at a time on the small tabletop grill, cooking it exactly to your taste. Rather than piling it all on at once, there's something fun about adding just enough with the butter and sizzling it up as you eat, haha.

We kept sizzling the Isigny butter on the grill and cooking the gyukatsu to our preferred doneness!

Cook the sirloin as much as you like—

Dipped in the fresh wasabi and house sauce that came with it, it was seriously amazing!! The sirloin itself already has a nutty flavor, and adding the smooth, rich butter made it even more layered.

The sirloin's juiciness, the nutty butter, and Ichigyu's house sauce go perfectly together!! The quality of the beef sirloin itself was excellent, too — even the less-cooked parts were tender with zero toughness, absolutely delicious. Honestly, I'd say it was even better than the gyukatsu I had in Japan!!

House sauce, chili sauce or salt: which dip worked best?

Rather than sticking to one sauce, I tried switching between all of them. The house sauce had a savory, salty depth that paired perfectly with the cabbage salad. Eaten with white rice, it disappeared fast.

Dipped in the chili sauce, it matched beautifully with that sweet-and-salty chili flavor.

The sirloin's distinctive nutty flavor came through best when dipped in salt! Personally, I found it tastiest with wasabi and house sauce together! The sharp kick of fresh wasabi seemed to make the gyukatsu taste even cleaner. Grilling it at the table and pairing it with all these different sauces made every single bite satisfying!!!!

I love Japanese food and have been to plenty of restaurants, but Ichigyu is one I left completely satisfied with as a Balsan Station Japanese food favorite!! If you're looking for a date-night Japanese restaurant near Balsan Station, definitely give Ichigyu a try :)