Yeoksam eel restaurant sharing two eel bowls by reservation: Unagiwa

I went for Nagoya-style hitsumabushi at an eel rice bowl restaurant in Yeoksam.

I eat grilled eel now and then for a boost of energy, so when I heard about an eel rice bowl spot in Yeoksam-dong, I made a reservation and went. The atmosphere was upscale and easy to talk in, so it was a pleasant meal.

Where is Unagiwa, and what about parking and hours?

For navigation, the address is 71 Bongeunsa-ro 30-gil, 2F, Gangnam-gu, Seoul — Unagiwa. By public transit, it's within walking distance from Exit 7 of Yeoksam Station on Line 2.

Parking is available via valet at the booth at 25 Teheran-ro 27-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, for ₩5,000 for two hours.

Unagiwa opening hours and closed days

• Fri 11:00–21:00 / break 15:00–17:00 / last order 20:00
• Sat closed (every Saturday)
• Sun closed (every Sunday)
• Mon 11:00–21:00 / break 15:00–17:00 / last order 20:00
• Tue 11:00–21:00 / break 15:00–17:00 / last order 20:00
• Wed 11:00–21:00 / break 15:00–17:00 / last order 20:00
• Thu (9/24) closed for Chuseok holiday
• Sep 24–26 Chuseok holiday, Oct 3 Gaecheonjeol, Oct 9 Hangeul Day — closed

It's a space that suits hosting a guest for lunch near Yeoksam Station or holding an evening gathering. The menu also feels healthy and refined — Unagiwa is a great place for an eel rice bowl in Gangnam.

Inside Unagiwa: interior and table spacing

I had a reservation, and as soon as I arrived I was shown to my seat right away. The atmosphere was cozy and the tables were spaced generously, making it comfortable to talk. The Japanese-style interior felt more upscale than a typical eel restaurant — almost like being on a trip.

With its convenient location near Yeoksam Station, it also suits a Yeoksam Station lunch, a Yeoksam Station dinner gathering, or a Yeoksam get-together spot. At the table, you order via the table-order screen after checking the photos and descriptions.

What we ordered at Unagiwa and what it cost

We ordered two eel rice bowls in different styles.

• Hitsumabushi Set ₩38,000
• Ichiunadon ₩38,000

Unagiwa, an eel specialty restaurant near Yeoksam Station, is convenient for a lunchtime meal or a dinner appointment after work.

The clean atmosphere at Unagiwa felt like it would suit a business meeting, a date, or a group gathering.

The location, near Yeoksam's dining alley, also makes it convenient for a date — plenty of bars nearby for a second round after the meal. Since it's an eel rice bowl, solo dining works too, so it's a place you could eat alone in Yeoksam.

What is a Nagoya-style hitsumabushi eel bowl?

The dishes are made fresh in the open kitchen visible right when you walk in. Unagiwa's signature menu, hitsumabushi, is a style of eel rice bowl famous in the Nagoya region of Japan. It's a way of eating eel and rice together, served with side dishes, so a single bowl of eel rice can be enjoyed in several different ways.

I was curious because Unagiwa bases its eel rice bowl on this authentic Nagoya cooking method, and both the visuals and the mood were great, making it a good spot for hosting guests or a date. According to their details, they use eel with tender flesh sized between 3.5 and 4, grilled with a Nagoya tare sauce imported directly from Japan.

The cooking method felt like the hitsumabushi I'd had in Japan, so it tasted just as I'd hoped.

The raw eel is 100% domestic, antibiotic-free Japonica eel, raised at their own farm on Ganghwa Island.

The sweet yet savory tare sauce distinctive to Japanese eel rice bowls, combined with the well-grilled eel and rice, brought back memories of food I'd eaten while traveling. Right by the entrance is the open kitchen, so you can watch the cooking in progress. Watching the eel being grilled and the food prepared looked so professional and clean that it made the meal even better.

How to eat hitsumabushi, step by step to ochazuke

When the hitsumabushi was served, the staff explained how to eat it. Rather than mixing everything together right away, the idea is to first taste the eel and rice on their own, then add toppings to your liking — and the ochazuke was well-seasoned and easy to enjoy.

The well-grilled eel with the tare sauce paired beautifully with the rice for a classic eel rice bowl taste, and adding scallions and wasabi was also nice. Pouring tea over the eel to eat it ochazuke-style was a perfect fit for the cooler weather.

Splitting one bowl across several eating styles gave us plenty to talk about, and even though it was the same eel rice bowl, the flavor kept changing along the way, which made the meal fun.

Hitsumabushi set vs ichiunadon: which eel bowl to pick

The Hitsumabushi Set comes with one whole eel, generously laid over the rice, so it's beautiful just to look at.

Eel works well as a light lunchtime pairing with a drink, and in the evening it's just as good as a meal alongside drinks. The ichiunadon, topped with a whole eel, is also great for photos — ordering two different menu items for a date and sharing them meant we got to enjoy both styles together, which was nice.

Who is Unagiwa in Yeoksam best for?

Personally, I found it a space well suited for hosting guests. The atmosphere is also good for a meal where conversation matters, and since there are drinking-food menus too, it works as a spot for a Yeoksam Station gathering, a Yeoksam get-together, or a Yeoksam Station evening meetup where you eat food and drinks together.