Seonleung eel restaurant, 39,000 won bowl and free ice cream: Manmok

Enjoying a whole grilled eel with rice, thick and satisfying, at Manmok near Seonleung

I went to Manmok near Seonleung for lunch with a friend. I love eel, so I was looking for a good eel rice bowl place near Seonleung, and found this one had a menu with a generous whole eel serving — we both ordered the same thing.

It wasn't just the eel rice bowl on its own — it came with steamed egg custard, salad, soup, and various side dishes, making the table feel much more filled out than expected.

Where is Manmok and what are its hours?

• Address: 9 Seolleung-ro 82-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 1st floor
• Hours: Daily 11:00 - 22:00
• Break time: 15:00 - 17:00
• Last order: 14:20 / 21:20
• About 273m from Seonleung Station Exit 2
• Parking available / free corkage

Walking into the alley, the wood-finished exterior of Manmok catches your eye. From the entrance, it felt closer to a clean Japanese restaurant than a typical eel spot.

Manmok seating and atmosphere: is solo dining possible?

Inside, there's a calm space centered around wood tones. The lighting was soft and the tables weren't cramped, making it comfortable to eat with a friend.

Besides tables good for two, there were also seats suited for larger groups and bar-style seats facing the window. My friend and I came together, but the layout looked comfortable enough for solo diners too, so it seems like a fine option if you're looking for a place to eat eel rice bowl alone in Gangnam.

Whole eel rice bowl at 39,000 won, 78,000 won for two

What we ordered that day was the whole eel rice bowl at ₩39,000 each, ₩78,000 total. Manmok reportedly sticks to a Kanto-style preparation method for its eel rice bowl.

Both my friend and I picked the whole-eel option. It was a day I wanted to really eat eel properly, so I went with the whole serving instead of half — and it turned out to be plenty filling.

The food didn't come as just the eel rice bowl alone — it arrived as a full spread with soup, salad, chawanmushi (steamed egg custard), and sides like ginger and wasabi. Ordering just one menu item still made the table quite full.

Opening the lid, the eel was piled on so generously the rice was barely visible. It was cut into bite-sized pieces, the surface glossy with sauce and grilled to an appetizing golden brown. Because it was a whole-eel portion, there was plenty to go around, and I could enjoy a generous ratio of rice to eel from the first bite to the last.

How did the eel texture and sauce taste at Manmok?

Picking up a piece of eel, the flesh was thicker than I expected. The outside was well-grilled, and the inside was soft, letting the eel's characteristic moist texture really come through. The sauce was sweet and savory, pairing well with the rice. It wasn't so strong that it overpowered the eel's own savory flavor, so I kept going back for more.

Taking a big spoonful of rice and topping it with eel was still the best combination. The sauce on the eel naturally blended into the rice, so the seasoning felt just right without needing extra sauce. This is the kind of dish that comes to mind when you want a proper eel rice bowl near Seonleung, and ordering the whole portion made for a quite hearty lunch.

Adding a bit of ginger, wasabi, or sansho pepper here and there brought out a different flavor than eating the eel plain.

After a few bites of eel, adding some of the side dishes was a nice way to cleanse the palate.

What comes with it: salad, chawanmushi and clear matsutake soup

The salad also came alongside, good for pairing between bites of eel. The fresh taste of the vegetables added variety, so even eating a whole portion didn't feel too heavy.

The chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) that came with the meal had a soft, silky texture when scooped with a spoon.

Inside was a soft piece of shrimp, and it made a light, clean pairing between bites of the rich eel.

A clear soup also came with the meal, carrying a subtle matsutake mushroom aroma that paired well with the eel rice bowl.

Ask for the free dessert ice cream before you leave Manmok

After finishing the eel rice bowl, a small ice bar came out as dessert. We sat for a while after finishing the meal, and unlike other tables that got dessert served, we weren't given any notice at ours. I thought maybe they'd run out, but when we got up to leave, staff came over to ask if we wanted ice cream. You can choose between green tea and black tea flavors. Apparently it's included by default, so it's worth keeping in mind if you're planning to visit.

My friend and I each had one to wrap up the meal — the food was good, and getting dessert too made for a solid overall experience. Even though ordering a whole eel each made for a pretty hearty portion, we finished almost everything. Since it was a day I wanted to eat eel to my heart's content, I was glad I chose the whole-portion menu.

At Manmok, centered around a generous whole eel rice bowl, we got to enjoy chawanmushi, salad, soup, and dessert all in one spread. The grilled eel in particular was thick, soft, and golden brown, and the sauce paired well with the rice. It's a good place to visit when you want a heartier lunch near Seonleung than usual, or if you're looking for an eel rice bowl near Daechi-dong. My friend and I each properly finished a whole eel and left full and satisfied.