Siheung eel restaurant for families: Songrim Bok Jangeo

A restorative unlimited eel meal in Jeongwang-dong, Siheung

Even if you love eel, it can be so expensive that you end up eating just a few pieces and somehow feeling self-conscious about it. Here, though, you can eat without that worry.

Lately, I have been feeling strangely sluggish and low on energy... When that happens, you automatically start thinking about nourishing food, right? Samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) is great, and Korean beef is great too, but eel is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of building myself back up. Eel is not exactly cheap, though, so it feels a little burdensome to eat often just because I want it. So this time, I decided to go all in on unlimited eel and eat until I was full.

Parking and the spacious restaurant atmosphere

This is Songrim Bok Jangeo Freshwater Eel Unlimited Refill Jeongwang Direct Branch (송림복장어 민물장어 무한리필 정왕직영점), right in Jeongwang-dong, Siheung. There was plenty of parking out front, plus an underground parking lot, so it was a convenient place to visit by car. When parking is complicated from the start, it somehow makes you tired already, you know?

Parking is especially important when visiting with family or going out for a group dinner, and it was easy on that front. Once we went inside, the restaurant was quite a bit larger than I expected.

I expected the place to be full of that distinctive grilling smell, but the ventilation was good, so the smoke did not feel especially uncomfortable while we ate. The tables were not cramped together either, so it looked like a good spot for a meal with a group.

Unlimited-refill prices and dining with a child

• Adult unlimited refill: ₩29,900
• Elementary school student: ₩14,000
• Table-setting fee: ₩3,000

Our child is 30 months old, so there was no separate charge. But... they ate so well it felt like we should have been paying for them... Kids secretly seem to love eel, right...? This was our fourth visit to Songrim Bok Jangeo Jeongwang Direct Branch, and our child has eaten well every single time, which makes me so happy... They eat so well that I start wondering whether they should be paying too.

How the 2-hour self-service bar works

The unlimited-refill time limit is 2 hours. At first, I wondered whether 2 hours would be enough, but once we started eating, it was more than enough time to get really full. What I liked most was that you do not order from the staff; you simply get what you want yourself from the self-service bar.

If you run out of eel while eating, you do not have to keep calling a staff member and saying, “Could we have a little more eel, please!” Just go to the self-service bar and take as much as you will eat. It was more convenient than I expected.

Not only eel, but pork belly and chicken neck meat too

When you first sit down, eel comes out as the basic set along with pork belly and chicken neck meat. It is unlimited eel, but you can eat meat too, so I thought it would be nice for anyone who finds it a bit much to eat only eel the whole time. We went in intending to focus properly on the eel, but once we grilled the pork belly, we kept reaching for it too. Haha.

The self-service bar has side dishes as well as eel and meat, so you can take as much as you need. Eel is naturally rich and oily, so the side dishes you eat with it are really important. Eating it with ginger or jangajji (pickled vegetables) definitely felt like it refreshed my mouth, making it easier to keep eating.

Tips for grilling eel until golden

Rather than flipping it too often from the beginning, cook both sides to a certain point, cut it into bite-size pieces, and stand the pieces up so the edges can brown too. As I grilled, I picked up a few tricks of my own. There is also a small bit of fun in lining the pieces up and flipping them all at once. Hahaha.

As the fat sizzles out while it cooks, seeing the eel turn golden honestly makes me think of a drink before I think of rice. 😂 I am trying not to drink much, so I had a beverage instead.

Pre-grilled eel is available for takeout too

Songrim Bok Jangeo Jeongwang Direct Branch also sells takeout. If you want to eat at home, you can take pre-grilled eel with you, so I thought it would be nice to bring along on a trip or camping.

It is much easier to bring pre-grilled eel than to clean and grill fresh eel at home. It would be pretty perfect grilled over charcoal at a campsite, especially. What a day of properly filling up. There is pork belly, chicken neck meat, and side dishes too! Such variety~ It also looked like a good place for a family meal, a gathering with friends, or a company dinner with a group. Before I knew it, I was completely stuffed. 😂 It felt like I had properly restored my energy. We ate until we could burst, haha.