Gwanghwamun gyukatsu restaurant with 2-hour free parking: Ichigyu

I got hooked on gyukatsu after having a really good one recently, so off I went to Ichigyu, a gyukatsu spot people rave about! It's between Gwanghwamun and Jonggak stations, so it's super accessible for a lunch spot — and there's even free parking~! Let me walk you through the hours, menu, and parking.

Where is Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch, and how does the 2-hour free parking work?

Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch is on the basement level of 24 Jongno 1(il)-ga, Jongno-gu, Seoul, and is open every day from 11:00 to 21:30. You can get 2 hours of free parking.

Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch runs long hours every day, from eleven in the morning to nine thirty at night, so it's good for both lunch and dinner. There's a break time from three to five, so avoid that window when you visit. It's on the basement level, so don't get confused — and since it's room B123, make sure to enter through Building B!

The biggest perk is the free parking! You get 2 hours, and you can register for 2-hour parking at Le Meilleur Jongno Town. If you're driving, just search for Le Meilleur Jongno Town parking lot and head there!

Inside Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch: entrance and seating

Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch is on the basement level of Building B at Le Meilleur Jongno Town, and it has quite a lot of seating. I visited on a weekday evening.

This was a weekday evening visit. It's on the basement level, and the restroom is outside the restaurant.

Reservations are possible through Catch Table! Just make sure to head down to the basement level in Building B.

Here's the overall feel once you walk in — there's quite a lot of seating!

This is the left side — plenty of seats overall.

And even though it wasn't super late in the evening, the place was extremely popular — fully booked, with customers still streaming in.

It's not just for evenings like when I went — it's also famous as a lunch spot in Gwanghwamun!! Solo dining is totally fine too~

Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch menu and prices

Signature menu

• Ichigyu Gyukatsu ₩19,500
• Hamburg Omurice ₩17,000
• Steki-don ₩19,500

Recommended menu

• Set menu ₩42,000
• Japanese-style curry ₩13,000
• Yakisoba Napolitan ₩12,000

Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch's signature dish is gyukatsu (breaded, deep-fried beef cutlet), and you can add extra meat. They also have omurice, chapsteak, steki-don, curry, Napolitan, and more, plus four different set menus to choose from. They sell beer too!

Ichigyu Gyukatsu at 19,500 won with one extra piece of meat: how it tasted

What I ate at Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch was the Ichigyu Gyukatsu, ₩19,500. My friend and I wanted to eat a lot of meat so we added an extra piece, but the default portion was already so generous that you honestly wouldn't need to add extra.

What we ate

• Ichigyu Gyukatsu ₩19,500

The color of the meat was insane — a bright, vivid red! The pieces were big and thick overall. And they give you butter — grilling it in butter was such a unique touch.

My friend and I added an extra piece because we really wanted to eat a lot of meat — a lot of gyukatsu places skimp on the meat, you know. But Ichigyu gives you so much that you probably don't even need to add extra, haha.

Sizzling away as it grills. I love that gyukatsu is grill-it-yourself — you get to cook it exactly to your preferred doneness and enjoy it! Haha.

The meat had a lot of marbling so it was super tender and soft! Compared to other gyukatsu places, this style has fat sizzling all through it, making it wonderfully soft.

This is the pot rice and soup that come as sides. Sauce, salad, and wasabi come along with it too, haha.

Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch — a tasty gyukatsu spot famous as a lunch place too~!

Receipt review event: free fried shrimp

If you post a receipt review first, you get free shrimp tempura! Leave a receipt review and grab your shrimp tempura~~

Is Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch worth a visit? Final take

• A Gwanghwamun lunch spot with parking available
• Great for solo dining
• A gyukatsu spot known for generous, thick portions