Gwanghwamun Japanese restaurant, Set 2 for two at 57,500 won: Ichigyu

On a day I'd decided to eat in Gwanghwamun, I was craving something a bit different from plain tonkatsu, so I headed to Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch. What sets this place apart is that the fried gyukatsu doesn't arrive ready to eat right away — you grill it further to your liking on a little tabletop hearth. There's fun in cooking it yourself, and I liked that you get to eat the gyukatsu piping hot.

What I ordered that day was Set 2: sirloin gyukatsu, hamburg omurice, and two drinks. I also added cold soba & fried shrimp and the side dish karaage & fried shrimp.

Where is Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch, and is there parking?

Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch is on the basement level of Le Meilleur Jongno Town. Once inside the building and down to the basement, the storefront looks like something out of a Japanese eatery, so it wasn't hard to find.

It's an easy walk from Gwanghwamun Station Exit 4, the exit toward Kyobo Book Centre, or Jonggak Station Exit 1. Per store signage, you can register your car in the building's basement lot for 2 hours free, though it can't be combined with registration at other stores. Parking policies can change, so it's worth confirming before you visit.

They're open daily from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., with a break time from 3 to 5 p.m. Last order is listed as 8:30 p.m. There's a Tabling kiosk out front for registering a walk-in wait. Given lunchtime office crowds and weekend traffic in Gwanghwamun, it's worth avoiding peak hours or checking ahead about reservations and waits.

Inside Ichigyu: a Japanese-style room with tabletop grills

The interior is done up mostly in wood tones, giving it an overall warm feel. Rather than flashy, it felt calm and comfortable, like a Japanese restaurant.

What caught my eye most was the small hearth on every table.

Being able to grill your own gyukatsu warm from start to finish is Ichigyu's clear signature. The process of grilling the meat yourself made for good conversation over a slow meal, and I thought this place suits a Gwanghwamun date more than an ordinary lunch.

What comes in Set 2, and what two people paid

The set menus are built around gyukatsu. Here's what Set 2, the one we chose, includes.

Sirloin gyukatsu Hamburg omurice 2 cola or cider ₩39,500

On top of that, we added cold soba & fried shrimp for ₩11,000 and karaage & fried shrimp for ₩7,000, bringing the total to ₩57,500. À la carte, sirloin gyukatsu is ₩19,500, hamburg omurice ₩17,000, steki-don ₩19,500, and hot-plate chapsteak ₩18,000.

Choosing Set 2 with drinks included is a decent deal compared with ordering gyukatsu and omurice separately. But adding cold soba and a fried side on top made for a genuinely huge amount of food for two. For a normal appetite, adding just one side to Set 2 would probably be plenty.

Sirloin gyukatsu you grill in butter at the table

The sirloin gyukatsu arrived fried crisp on the outside and medium-rare, still reddish, on the inside. Looking at the cross-section, it was thicker than expected with clearly visible grain.

Since it doesn't come fully cooked from the start, you finish grilling it to your preferred doneness on the tabletop hearth.

First, we spread a bit of butter across the heated plate at a time. The menu noted that splitting the provided butter into about three portions lets the buttery aroma last longer.

As the butter melts and starts sizzling on the plate, the fragrant smell begins to spread.

It's better to grill the gyukatsu one or two pieces at a time rather than piling on a lot at once. The staff recommend around 7–8 seconds per side, but you can adjust slightly depending on the plate's heat and your preferred doneness. Eating the gyukatsu right off the butter-grilled plate made it noticeably warmer than when it first arrived, and the contrast between the crisp coating and the tender meat inside was clear.

What I liked most was that the meat wasn't tough or dry — it was tender. The butter brought out a nice savory flavor too. Wasabi, chili sauce, and salt were all on offer to season it to taste. Personally, my favorite combo was tasting the meat with just a touch of salt first, then adding wasabi. Best of all, there was no gamey smell from the meat, so I could eat it cleanly right to the last bite.

Hamburg omurice: how big is the portion?

The hamburg omurice included in Set 2 came out looking quite large.

With soft egg draped over fried rice, it looked like a standard omurice at first glance.

But when I gently opened up the egg, there was a thick hamburg steak patty tucked inside.

The rice and egg alone would've been a generous serving, but with a hamburg steak added too, this was filling enough as a single plate. I'd assumed a set-menu dish would come in a smaller portion, but it was actually plenty for two people to share. The hamburg steak was clean with no meaty odor, and the soft egg complemented it well in texture.

What I especially liked was the sauce. Omurice sauce is usually heavy and rich enough to feel greasy after a while, but this one had a subtle tanginess. That acidity kept my appetite going, so eating the hamburg steak and fried rice together never felt heavy, and I could finish it without getting sick of it. If gyukatsu is the restaurant's signature dish, the hamburg omurice was surprisingly satisfying in its own right.

Cold soba & fried shrimp (₩11,000)

Since both the gyukatsu and hamburg omurice were pretty heavy, we also ordered cold soba for something lighter in between.

The chilled buckwheat noodles and broth cleared the palate nicely, working well between bites of butter-grilled gyukatsu. If you're visiting on a hot day, pairing gyukatsu with cold soba sounds like it would work well. Fried shrimp comes alongside the cold soba. Since leaving the noodles in the broth too long can soften their texture, I'd recommend eating them soon after they arrive.

Karaage & fried shrimp (₩7,000)

The karaage & fried shrimp side we ordered was well fried across the board. The karaage's coating wasn't soggy and stayed crisp, while the meat inside was moist rather than dry. There was no gamey chicken smell either. The fried shrimp was also nicely crisp and good as a simple side.

That said, ordering Set 2 plus cold soba together adds up to a substantial amount of food. It's great if you want to sample a variety of dishes, but for two people, adding just cold soba or just one side to Set 2 seems like plenty.

Good to know before you go to Ichigyu

• The gyukatsu comes medium-rare, so grill one or two pieces at a time on the hearth for about 7–8 seconds.
• Splitting the butter into roughly three portions helps the aroma last longer.
• Adding cold soba to Set 2 makes for a lot of food for two, so just one extra side should be enough.
• Waits can build up at lunch and on weekends, so it's worth timing your visit around that.

Who Ichigyu Gwanghwamun suits

Good for anyone looking for something different in Japanese food around Gwanghwamun or Jonggak, anyone who enjoys grilling their own food at the table, anyone wanting a slow, conversation-friendly date restaurant, or anyone trying gyukatsu for the first time.

Overall verdict on Ichigyu Gwanghwamun

Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch left an impression with the process of grilling gyukatsu yourself over the tabletop hearth. Cooked piece by piece on the butter-melted plate, the gyukatsu was warm and tender, with the crisp coating and juicy meat both coming through well. It was also nice to eat it cleanly with no gamey smell.

The hamburg omurice, with a thick hamburg steak tucked under the egg, was far more filling than expected, and the slightly tangy sauce kept it from feeling greasy. Personally, it was just as memorable as the gyukatsu. The cold soba refreshed the palate in between bites, and both the karaage and fried shrimp were well fried, so everything we ordered was satisfying with little to complain about. If you're looking for something different in Japanese food around Gwanghwamun or Jonggak, or a Gwanghwamun date spot with the fun of grilling your own food, this is worth a visit.

Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch: hours, address and visit info

• Name: Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch
• Address: B123, B1F, Le Meilleur Jongno Town, 19 Jongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 11:00–21:30
• Break time: 15:00–17:00 / Last order: 20:30
• Parking: 2 hours free with registration in the building's basement lot per store signage
• Ordered: Set 2, cold soba & fried shrimp, karaage & fried shrimp
• Total paid: ₩57,500

※ Hours, parking conditions, and menu prices may vary by the time of your visit, so please check the latest information before going.