Weekday lunch sirloin gyukatsu and hamburg omurice for two: Ichigyu

• Great value sirloin gyukatsu
• Hamburg omurice, good job
• Nice Gangnam date course, good for Sinnonhyeon office workers' lunch
• Solo dining is no problem here

How close is Ichigyu Gangnam Sinnonhyeon Branch to Sinnonhyeon Station?

🚩 Location: 3-minute walk from Sinnonhyeon Station ⏰ Hours: Daily 11:00 ~ 21:30 Break: 3pm ~ 5pm

Ichigyu is very close to Sinnonhyeon Station. It's fairly famous for gyukatsu (Japanese-style breaded beef cutlet), so there's some waiting if you go during lunch peak. I arrived at 11:40am on a weekday and there were still plenty of seats, but by past noon it was nearly full. If you're visiting during lunch peak, I'd recommend remote waitlisting through Catch Table~

The menu and ordering at Ichigyu, a Sinnonhyeon restaurant

What we ordered (receipt for two) 1. Gyukatsu (sirloin/basic) 19,500 won 2. Hamburg omurice 17,000 won

I actually came here once before, paying out of my own pocket, eating solo, and ordered tantanmen instead of a signature dish — I regretted it quite a bit. I hadn't been back since, but a friend suggested coming for gyukatsu, so I revisited after a long while, and it looks like they've cut the unnecessary items. Tantanmen is gone. Good! A restaurant really should focus on what it does well.

There's a receipt event worth checking out. Also, ordering is done via QR code, but it looks like they'll take orders in person if you don't have a phone.

The atmosphere and whether solo dining works

The place isn't huge, but it isn't cramped either. It's a clean wood-and-white interior. There's no separate bar seating, but it's not an atmosphere where solo dining feels awkward. I actually ate alone at a two-person table before.

The photo above was taken at 11:40am when I walked in, and the one below was taken at 12:30pm when I finished and was leaving — full of customers since it was peak time.

Hamburg omurice, 17,000 won — is it worth it?

This was the first time I ever bought omurice with my own money. Even with the hamburg steak (Japanese-style beef patty) included, the price felt steep for the menu category, so I ordered it worriedly. Wow, but it was really delicious, so I didn't feel bad about the money at all — as a professional solo diner, I think I'll be coming to Ichigyu often now.

The egg was soft and fluffy in a way that's hard to convey through photos, which is a shame. The egg was light yet tasty, and above all the hamburg steak didn't taste cheap, which I loved. Just the right meaty flavor with just the right savoriness 👍

Omurice really is better with sauce. It's not ketchup but some kind of tangy-sweet tomato-based sauce. Mix it with the rice and you'll polish off the whole bowl. I worried the fried rice might be greasy, but that worry was unnecessary too. This seems like a menu elementary school kids and children would love a lot~

Sirloin gyukatsu (basic): portion size and how to grill it

The rice came a bit unusually — served in a stone pot so you can scoop it out yourself, and the portion was genuinely huge, enough that even a big eater might not finish it? (Or maybe not — a real big eater probably would finish it 😁) The sirloin gyukatsu comes in basic and double (jumbo) sizes, but even just the basic looked like plenty. Above all, there was so much rice I felt like I'd burst.

The grill here is a two-person size, so it was really large. If you put the meat on first it sticks easily, so I'd recommend buttering the grill first before cooking~ I used to cook it almost medium, but these days my digestion isn't as good so I tend to go medium well. Grilled until crispy and dipped lightly in salt, it was excellent. And surprisingly, the chili sauce was a nice kick.

Overall verdict

Satisfaction ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Would return ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

If you're looking for a good Japanese restaurant in Sinnonhyeon, I think Ichigyu is a pretty solid choice. The hamburg omurice especially is an uncommon menu item, so I highly recommend it! Next time I'll have to try the steki-don (steak rice bowl) solo.