Yeoksam eel restaurant open past 8pm for solo diners: Chisot
In short
Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch is an authentic Nagoya-style eel rice bowl restaurant between Yeoksam Station and Eonju Station in Gangnam, Seoul. After a lash perm appointment, the writer arrived alone after 8pm and ordered hitsumabushi sang (grilled eel over rice, 37,000 won) with a croquette (8,000 won), eating it the three-step way: plain, with yakumi condiments, then as ochazuke with broth. Solo diners kept arriving past 8pm, so Chisot works well for a late dinner alone in Yeoksam-dong.
Good to know
- Hours
- 11:00–21:30 (closed Sundays)
- Break time
- 15:00–17:00
- Last order
- 14:30 / 21:00
- Location
- Between Yeoksam Station and Eonju Station, a 10-minute walk from Yeoksam Station exits 7 and 8
- Parking
- Not available
- Hitsumabushi sang
- 37,000 won
- Croquette
- 8,000 won
- Seating
- Mostly bar seats, plus regular tables for 1–2 and 3–4 people
as written by the visitor on Sep 24, 2026
[Closed Sundays] Hours 11:00–21:30 Break time 15:00–17:00 Last order 14:30 / 21:00
Hi everyone~ Today I'm introducing 'Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch,' an authentic Nagoya-style eel rice bowl restaurant located in Yeoksam.
I got a lash perm nearby and it was too late to head home, so I went looking for a place to eat alone nearby and found this — I think I'll be coming back often :)
Where is Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch, and is there parking?
It's located between Yeoksam Station and Eonju Station. If you're coming from Yeoksam Station, it's a 10-minute walk from exits 7 or 8! * No parking available
Bar seats at Chisot made for solo dining
The restaurant is cozy and clean, centered around bar tables. If you sit at the bar, you can watch the chef grill the eel directly over an open flame.
There are also regular tables for 1–2 or 3–4 people, so it's good for solo dining, dates, or gatherings. There are a lot of companies around, so it'd also be great for office workers doing a lunch get-together. When I went, there were quite a lot of solo diners. Even past 8pm, solo diners kept coming in. Last order is fairly late too, which explains the popularity~
Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch menu and prices
Since I was dining alone, I considered the single-serving eel set but ended up going with the signature menu, hitsumabushi sang (37,000 won) — an eel rice bowl you can enjoy three different ways in one dish. As a side, I also ordered the croquette (8,000 won)~ I picked potato, but there were only 2 potatoes left so they mixed in some vegetables (which actually worked out great).
There are also other rice bowl menus like salmon don, half-and-half shrimp don, and char siu don, plus plenty of drinking snacks if you're having alcohol — salmon sashimi, whole fried eel, oden nabe, chicken nanban, spicy-hot nabe, mentaiko butter grill, assorted croquettes, and more.
They use grade-1 domestic Japonica freshwater eel, aged for 72 hours, then grilled over charcoal.
What comes with hitsumabushi sang and how to eat it in three steps
The hitsumabushi sang menu comes with chawanmushi (Japanese steamed egg custard), pickled side dishes, broth, and yakumi (garnishes to change the flavor). Every hitsumabushi comes with the same components — only the bowl size changes depending on the size you order. I chose a size bigger than mini but smaller than the deluxe.
There are three ways to enjoy it deliciously!
- Step 1: eat it plain to enjoy the base flavor. You taste the seasoned eel and rice's basic flavor (personally, this is my favorite)
- Step 2: eat it topped with wasabi, chopped scallions, and dried seaweed flakes
- Step 3: pour broth over the rice and eel and eat it as ochazuke!
First, I dug into the Japanese-style steamed egg custard, chawanmushi. Pudding-smooth egg custard plus plump shrimp — perfection.
Then before digging into the rice bowl, I tried the eel by itself, and it was so tender — good. It melts in your mouth. The seasoning wasn't too sweet either, just right!
Hitsumabushi is a representative regional dish from Nagoya, Japan — charcoal-grilled eel rice bowl served in a wooden bowl — but you don't need to go to Nagoya for it. I'd just gotten back from a trip and was a bit tired, but eating this restored my energy, haha.
Thick slices of freshwater eel brushed with tare sauce, laid over fluffy rice. And on top, red ginger to cut through the richness! Who wouldn't like this?
How was the croquette side at Chisot?
Oh right, the freshly fried croquettes were seriously the best... they go really well with the chili sauce served alongside. The size is huge too, right? Not a mini croquette, hahaha.
Crispiness is everything for this dish, so I ate it right as it came out.
This is it..!!!! Packed, plump potato mousse with artfully crispy fried coating~ a side that paired really well with the rice bowl.
Finally, I gathered the leftover eel pieces into the bowl and poured in broth for ochazuke! Finishing with something warm was really nice.
'Chisot' — the definitive Yeoksam-dong Nagoya-style hitsumabushi that neatly captures the flavor of 72-hour-aged charcoal-grilled eel.
If you're looking for a great Japanese restaurant near Yeoksam Station or a solo-dining spot in Yeoksam-dong, visit Chisot, which stays open late!
Where it is
59 Bongeunsa-ro 30-gil, 1st floor unit 102, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea서울특별시 강남구 봉은사로30길 59 지상1층 102호
