Sinnonhyeon gyukatsu restaurant at peak lunch, 5-minute wait: Ichigyu

It's been a while since I visited a gyukatsu (beef cutlet) restaurant I love, haha! This is Ichigyu, famous as a Sinnonhyeon restaurant. I went during weekday lunch and arrived around 12:25pm — being right at peak lunch hour, there were quite a lot of customers.

Thankfully I didn't have to wait long! After about a 5-minute wait, I got seated right away :)

What I ordered was two Ichigyu gyukatsu, karaage & shrimp tempura, and I also added one fried egg. The gyukatsu was delicious, and eating the side dishes alongside made for a really filling lunch. Let's get into the real review~

Where Ichigyu Gangnam Sinnonhyeon Branch is and how long the weekday lunch wait runs

Ichigyu, a Sinnonhyeon restaurant, sits in a spot that's an easy walk from Sinnonhyeon Station. I visited during weekday lunch hour and arrived around 12:25pm. Since it was exactly lunchtime, there were indeed quite a few customers.

Thankfully the wait wasn't too long. I waited about 5 minutes and got seated right away! If you're planning a lunchtime visit, it's worth keeping in mind you might wait a bit. But interestingly, once it passed 12:35pm, the crowd really thinned out.

I think a lot of people time their visit exactly to lunch hour, which causes that crowding. If you'd like a more relaxed meal, visiting after 12:35pm might be a good idea :)

What we ordered at Ichigyu Sinnonhyeon

We ordered two Ichigyu gyukatsu. Since gyukatsu is definitely Ichigyu's signature dish, we ordered two to really enjoy it, haha. We also added karaage & shrimp tempura as a side.

On top of that, we added one fried egg! Gyukatsu alone might feel slightly lacking, but ordering sides alongside made the table look quite generous. Especially for lunch, it was a great filling meal :)

How does Ichigyu's gyukatsu taste? Grilling each slice to your liking

The gyukatsu we ordered arrived. Visually it looked exactly as delicious as gyukatsu should, with the meat looking mouthwatering. Gyukatsu is lightly seared on the outside, and it's fun grilling it to your own preference!

You use the grill plate on the table to cook it to whatever doneness you like. I prefer not to overcook it, cooking it just enough, haha. With the outside lightly seared and the inside kept soft, the texture of the meat was really great.

Grilling it piece by piece and dipping it in sauce is a flavor you keep going back for. If you like gyukatsu, I think you'll understand why Ichigyu comes up so often as a Sinnonhyeon restaurant :)

Adding karaage and shrimp tempura to the Ichigyu order

It felt like a waste to order only gyukatsu, so we also got karaage & shrimp tempura. Even as a side dish, the presentation was generous.

The karaage had a crispy outside with a moist inside, making it great to eat alongside the gyukatsu.

The shrimp tempura also comes along, so if you like fried food, it's worth ordering together! Since gyukatsu is a meat dish, having fried food in between added variety, which I liked, haha.

Why we added a fried egg at Ichigyu

We also added a fried egg. Putting one fried egg on top and eating it together gave a different kind of feel.

Egg really does taste good on top of anything, haha. Ordering gyukatsu with sides and adding a fried egg made it feel like a properly satisfying lunch :)

Is lunch at Ichigyu in Sinnonhyeon worth it?

This was my weekday lunch visit to Ichigyu, a Sinnonhyeon restaurant! I arrived at 12:25pm, waited about 5 minutes, and got seated.

Since it was lunch hour, the crowd felt like it piled up around 12:30pm, but once it passed 12:35pm, it thinned out noticeably. If you're visiting during lunch, it's worth keeping this in mind :)

That wraps up my review of Ichigyu, a Sinnonhyeon restaurant~ Hope this helps for your visit :)