Seoul Station Japanese restaurant for steak and gyukatsu: Ichigyu

If you want both gyukatsu and steak near Seoul Station

I found this place while looking for somewhere filling to eat near Seoul Station, whether for lunch or before or after catching a train! This time, I visited Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch (이치규 서울역점). Since it serves both gyukatsu (Japanese breaded beef cutlet) and steak, two things I already love, I had to try it. What was especially fun was that every table has its own little brazier, so you can grill the meat yourself to exactly the doneness you want, haha.

Close to Seoul Station Exit 10, with helpful hours

Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch is at B116, B1, 98 Huam-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul. It is about 100 m from Seoul Station Exit 10, so it is really close to the station! Finding a restaurant can unexpectedly take a while when you are walking around Seoul Station, but this one was easy to get to. It is a handy spot for nearby office workers looking for a Seoul Station lunch, or for a meal before a train ride or after finishing a trip.

• Daily 11:00–21:30
• Break time 15:00–17:00
• Last order 14:00 / 20:30

There is a break time, so be sure to check the break-time and last-order times!

Saturday lunch wait and the restaurant atmosphere

We arrived around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and waited about 20 minutes. Catch Table offers remote waitlisting, so I recommend joining the queue before you arrive! (We did not think of remote waitlisting, sob sob.) Since last orders are at 2:00, they only took waitlisted parties up through us, then stopped accepting any more, sob sob! If you want weekend lunch, I would play it safe and arrive by 1:30 p.m.!

Once inside, the restaurant had that neat, warm atmosphere typical of a Japanese-style eatery. The wood-toned interior felt relaxed enough for dining alone, but also nice for visiting with friends or a date! Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch is indeed presented as a place suited to everything from solo meals and lunch to dates.

Set your preferred doneness on a personal brazier

Above all, the personal brazier at every table is Ichigyu's key feature. Rather than receiving gyukatsu cooked all the way through, you put the served meat on your own brazier and cook it to your preferred level. It makes for a different kind of meal, and it is nice for chatting while grilling meat when you visit with someone.

Ichigyu's menu and what we ordered

Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch offers a range of Japanese dishes, including its signature gyukatsu and steak.

• Gyukatsu
• Steak set meal
• Steak donburi (rice bowl)
• Hamburg steak omurice
• Teppan chopped steak
• Napolitan yakisoba
• Cold soba & shrimp tempura
• Japanese curry
• Karaage & shrimp tempura

There are plenty of options to choose from depending on your taste.

That day, I ordered one each of the two most representative dishes: gyukatsu and steak.

• Ichigyu Gyukatsu (sirloin) ₩19,500
• Steak set meal ₩19,500

First, we ordered a cola to have with the gyukatsu, haha. Fizzy drinks really do go with meat!!

Then the rice arrived. Instead of individual portions, they bring rice for the table, so you can serve as much as you want into your own bowl, which I liked! And of course, rice refills are available 😊

Trying sirloin gyukatsu grilled in butter

First up was the gyukatsu I had been looking forward to. Made with sirloin, it had a lovely rich beef flavor. The gyukatsu comes in easy-to-eat pieces, and because you can grill one piece at a time on the personal brazier, you can cook it exactly how you like.

The set meal also comes with butter—and it was delicious Isigny butter! I melted a little on the hot plate, then grilled the meat on top. As the butter melted, it added a rich flavor that made it much tastier than grilling the meat plain. Grilling the meat in sizzling melted butter gave it a subtly buttery flavor and an even deeper richness!

At first, I barely cooked it, and the crisp outer coating and tender meat inside both came through beautifully.

Adding the wasabi that came with it and just a touch of salt cut through the richness while bringing out more savoriness. It suited the gyukatsu so well. 👍🏼

The steak set meal, enjoyed without breading

The next dish was the steak set meal! It uses the same sirloin as the gyukatsu, but you grill the meat itself without any breading, so it definitely had a different appeal.

You simply put the meat on the brazier and cook it as much as you like. The rich aroma rose from the sizzling meat, and each bite had tender texture and juiciness. Gyukatsu is appealing for its combination of crispy coating and moist beef, while the steak lets you enjoy the sirloin's rich flavor in a cleaner, more straightforward way!

The steak also paired especially well with Ichigyu's house sauce. Its garlicky flavor and slight tang kept the beef's richness intact while leaving the palate clean. Ordering both dishes made it fun to compare: even though they use the same sirloin, the fried gyukatsu and grill-it-yourself steak were distinctly different.

Why it suited a Seoul Station lunch or date

If you want something a little different near Seoul Station, Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch was such a good choice! Grilling the meat yourself on a personal brazier made it more fun than a simple meal, and I loved being able to control the doneness. Its proximity to Seoul Station also makes it a convenient visit for an office-worker lunch or a meal before or after travelling!

The gyukatsu was crisp outside and moist inside, while the steak offered the sirloin's rich flavor in a lighter way, so meat lovers may want to order both. Being able to grill the meat yourselves and eat slowly also made for an atmosphere that suits a Seoul Station date. If you are looking for Japanese food near Seoul Station that is a little different, enjoy gyukatsu and steak at Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch. I recommend it :)