Yeoksam eel rice bowl restaurant with no-reservation walk-in: Unagiwa

After work, my boyfriend and I went on a date to Unagiwa, an eel rice bowl spot near Yeoksam Station! There are tons of eel rice bowl places out there, but this one had a lot of good reviews, so we picked it haha.

The exterior has such a strong Japanese vibe, it really does feel like a good date spot.

Unagiwa hours, parking and free corkage

• ⏰ Hours: 11:00-21:00 (break 15:00-17:00 / closed weekends)
• 📌 Location: 6-minute walk from Exit 7, Yeoksam Station
• 🅿 Parking: available, valet ₩5,000 (2 hours)
• ✅ Free corkage

Inside Unagiwa: is there a wait on a Thursday evening?

What I liked about Unagiwa was how spotless the inside was. Even the bathroom itself was really clean, which I loved.

Right when you walk in there's a spot to sit while you wait, and overall the Japanese-style interior was so pretty.

When we visited at 7pm on a weekday Thursday, about 3-4 tables were occupied and there was plenty of room, so I don't think you necessarily need a reservation. Since it's probably in an office district, lunchtime is likely packed!

The interior was so clean and tidy, and the tables weren't cramped at all, so it's great for talking with company. There were also about 4 tables for 6 people, so it'd work fine for coworkers or a group of friends. Looking around, though, most tables seemed to be couples on dates haha.

Unagiwa's menu and the four ways to eat hitsumabushi

The menu is organized into hitsumabushi (eel and rice served with different toppings), unadon (grilled eel over rice), grilled eel, and single dishes. It seems the hitsumabushi (large) comes with a whole freshwater eel, steamed egg custard, a pickled side dish, salad, and soup. They also had salt-grilled eel, an assorted tempura platter, and umaki (eel rolled in a sweet omelet).

It looks like they give you matcha pudding if you write a review, and apparently they give one per person at the table!! Highly recommend for anyone who loves matcha.

And here's the guide to the four ways of eating Unagiwa's hitsumabushi.

• Way 1 is just eating the rice and eel plain
• Way 2 is eating it with scallion + wasabi
• Way 3 is pouring on ocha (tea) to make ochazuke
• Way 4 is dipping it in plum sauce!

That's apparently how you're meant to eat it~!

Two hitsumabushi (large) at 38,000 won: how big is the portion?

What we ordered was two orders of hitsumabushi (large) at ₩38,000 each.

We ordered the same two dishes, and isn't it so neat and pretty? Haha. It was so pretty I jumped up to take a photo.

Ta-da, here's my hitsumabushi (large). Eating it, I found the portion isn't small even for a woman, so I left a lot of rice. If you don't eat much, ordering a size smaller than the large should be plenty! But if you really want lots of eel, I'd recommend the large. I finished all the eel myself and only left the rice haha.

Look at that glistening eel haha. This eel rice bowl is something I crave about once a quarter. Just looking at it, all glossy, gets me excited.

The side dishes, chawanmushi, salad and clear soup at Unagiwa

These are the side dishes that come with the eel rice bowl. Pickled gungchae (a leafy vegetable) and ginger, plum sauce, roasted seaweed flakes, perilla leaf, scallion, and wasabi, haha. I love the texture of gungchae, so it paired perfectly with the rice bowl.

And the chawanmushi! I really love steamed egg custard. The warm, pudding-textured chawanmushi topped with a piece of shiitake mushroom was great for warming up the stomach before eating.

And the salad! I like to eat salad before a meal for the sake of my conscience, and paired with the refreshing dressing, it really got my appetite going.

They also serve soup on the side, perfect for when things get a bit stuck in your throat.

On the left is way 1, just eel over plain rice, and on the right is way 2, topped with roasted seaweed flakes, perilla leaf, scallion, and wasabi! Eating it with the seaweed flakes and perilla leaf gave it such a nice fragrant flavor!! Way 2 was my absolute favorite.

This one's way 3, the ochazuke style!! After eating it plain, switching to ochazuke felt like a fun change of pace!!

Verdict: is Unagiwa good for a date or a blind date?

Unagiwa, the eel rice bowl spot in Yeoksam, has a pretty and clean interior that makes it a great place to go on a date. If you're looking for a restaurant for a date or a first meeting, I'd definitely recommend visiting Unagiwa near Yeoksam Station!!