Free bokbunja wine per table, eel refills in Dongnae, Busan

Today I wanted to feed my partner well after a rough summer…!!! So we went to Songnim Bok Jangeo, an unlimited-refill freshwater eel place !!

Location and parking at Songnim Bok Jangeo Dongnae Branch

📍 Songnim Bok Jangeo Unlimited Freshwater Eel, Busan Dongnae Branch / Address: 146 Myeongjang-ro, Dongnae-gu, Busan, South Korea / Hours: Daily 11:50–23:00, last order 22:10

No parking on-site !! So we parked at a nearby private lot! There are plenty of parking lots around, but subway and bus lines pass through here too, so if you live nearby I'd recommend taking public transit !! Because eel absolutely needs alcohol with it, haha.

Songnim Bok Jangeo Dongnae Branch sits right on the main Myeongnyun-ro street, so it's easy both for local residents and people coming from farther away.

The sign proudly announces daily fresh trimming every morning and eel sourced straight from the wholesale market, haha.

And there was a certification mark from a licensed wholesale partner of the Freshwater Eel Farming Fisheries Cooperative !! Honestly, at other eel places 1kg runs ₩70,000–100,000, so I was suspicious about eel this cheap. But between the certification mark and the owner's testimony (?), my trust shot right up >< so excited!!!

Atmosphere and seating

The restaurant was clean and spacious !!

Lots of group tables and 4-person tables, so it seemed like a great spot for a group dinner.

The eel unlimited refill was for 2 hours, which was plenty of time to enjoy with drinks.

How much is the unlimited refill?

• Unlimited refill, adult: ₩29,900
• Unlimited refill, child: ₩14,000
• Table setting fee: ₩3,000 (waived for children)

Isn't that super cheap..?! It felt unreal that two adults could stuff themselves on eel for around ₩60,000 total ㅠ!!

Eel and distilled spirits go so well together, haha. The protein and vitamins in eel combine with some oxidizing compound in distilled spirits... something something... I don't really understand the science, but alcohol is definitely required !!!

The basic spread and self-serve bar

After we sat down and ordered, they brought out eel plus chicken thigh and pork belly as the base spread! That's what you get first, and after that you can help yourself at the self-serve bar.

The side dishes were pickled perilla leaves, ginger, pickled garlic and onion, green onion kimchi, and white kimchi (baek-kimchi). Just the essentials that pair well with rich, fatty eel, so I was satisfied 😊

At the self-serve bar there were extra wrapping vegetables and various sauces.

Pork belly and chicken thigh.

The free bokbunja wine at every table

And then the fresh eel 🥹 !!! Getting to eat eel piled up like this is just the best ㅜㅜㅜ!!

They also gave every table a free bottle of bokbunja (black raspberry) wine as a service — I wonder if the owner is even breaking even...ㅠㅠㅠ!! I unfortunately drove so I couldn't drink, but according to my partner who drank in my place, it was amazing... apparently you absolutely have to eat eel with bokbunja wine, haha.

Grilling the eel — do they cook the first round for you?

The staff grilled the first round of eel for us! I asked if they always grill the first round, and they said if it's busy they can't, but if it's quieter they will! Luckily we went a bit before dinnertime so they did grill our first round for us !! But by dinnertime it got crowded and the staff seemed really busy. If you're new to grilling eel, I'd recommend going a little early, haha.

To grill eel: partway through cooking, use scissors to trim off the center of the spine, the side fins, and the head fin !! It's not hard at all — I picked it up right away just from watching, haha.

Whoa, the eel is really plump, haha. Grill it to a nice golden brown, pressing gently so it doesn't dry out~

Cut it and stand the pieces up, and that's it! Totally golden brown and looks so delicious. How is this quality even possible with unlimited refills 😭

How did the chicken thigh, pork belly, and eel taste?

We ate the chicken thigh first! It was chewy and well-seasoned with brine, a total standout !! We came just to demolish eel but the meats that came with it were so good we ended up refilling three rounds of those too, lol.

Can you see the shine on that pork belly...?!! Good ratio of fat to meat, no off smell, very tasty.

And finally, the eel !! Thick and grilled crispy, so delicious. Crispy outside, juicy inside, no fishy taste at all — the kind of bite that makes your eyes pop open the moment you taste it.

Dipped generously in the special sauce, haha. I also tried the salt sauce, but I preferred the seasoned sauce more, haha.

We inhaled the eel in no time and refilled again — they kept grilling more eel for us diligently, haha.

Wrapped in lettuce, I honestly could've eaten a hundred more pieces. The pickles cut through the richness of the eel perfectly — so good !!

I've lost count of which refill this was... probably around six rounds, lol. Never thought I'd see the day I'd eat freshwater eel until I was stuffed like this.

Free spicy ramyeon from a Naver review

While devouring eel and soju, I felt like we needed some broth, so we ordered the spicy ramyeon we got through the review event! Loaded with green onion, egg, and red pepper flakes — highly recommend !! You can get it free just by leaving a Naver review, so don't forget >< ! We refreshed ourselves with the ramyeon like that and went right back to eating eel diligently...

This is the trace of a table that finished everything, lol. We ate so well, so full and satisfied !!

Wrap-up

This felt like the only place where you can eat grilled freshwater eel at this price. The restaurant is clean and the eel had zero fishy taste, so even people sensitive to that flavor should be able to enjoy it fully. If you want to eat grilled eel to your heart's content, I really recommend this place !! 200% would revisit.