Eel restaurant in Gwangju with pick-your-own eel: Deokeun Jangeo

I visited Deokeun Jangeo Main Branch because I was craving eel. It operates a little differently from a typical eel restaurant, so I think it would be helpful for first-timers to know the system before they go.

I'm not sure why, but it seems to use both the names Pungcheon Eel and Deokeun Jangeo, so head for the Pungcheon Eel building. Even though the building says Pungcheon Eel, the signs from the entrance onward say The Deokeun Jangeo.

How to choose your eel on the first floor

When we arrived, we went into the first floor first. This is where you choose from the packaged eel yourself. After choosing it, you pay right there on the first floor and head up to the second-floor dining area. The price varies according to the weight of the eel you choose, so it seems best to consider your party size and how much you will eat.

Grilling eel over charcoal upstairs

After paying for the eel on the first floor, we moved up to the second-floor restaurant. It is set up for grilling the eel yourself, and because you grill it over charcoal, you can really get that smoky aroma.

There were quite a lot of people, so the atmosphere was lively overall. Rather than somewhere for a quiet meal, it felt like a good place for a family or several people to come and eat eel together.

This is the eel we bought!! We chose 774g of eel, and it came to ₩37,380.

These are the basic side dishes that come with the meal.

For ssam vegetables (wrap vegetables), you can help yourself at the salad bar.

We looked over the eel-grilling tips~

Then we got grilling in earnest! I accidentally put the eel on the grill the wrong way, but the women on staff kept making the rounds between tables and kindly showed us how to grill it. ❤️👍

The eel skin got a little burnt.. 😂😂

With eel, it is easy to burn just the outside or miss the right time to flip it. But even if you are not used to grilling it yourself, the staff will show you what to do, so I do not think it would be too difficult.

As the eel cooked over the charcoal, fat dripped down and the smoky aroma rose up. Eel really does have its own appeal when it is grilled over charcoal.

Table setting fees and extras beyond the eel price

We also ordered a few extra items with our meal.

• Eel soup ₩4,000
• Rice ₩1,000
• Drink ₩2,000

It was a little disappointing that there was no sansho pepper.. ㅠㅠ Also, there were three of us—two adults and one elementary-school child—and the table setting fee was calculated at the adult rate, coming to ₩12,000. With those extras, our total for the second-floor restaurant was ₩19,000.

When you go out for eel, the actual payment can differ if you only think about the eel price, so I think it is best to factor in the table setting fee and additional food too. You pay for the eel first on the first floor, then pay separately on the second floor when leaving for the table setting and extras you had in the restaurant.

There was a view of rice fields outside, which made it feel a little different from a typical eel restaurant in the city. Looking outside while eating felt open and not at all stifling, and I thought it would be nice for a family meal. That said, there were quite a lot of people when I visited, so rather than going expecting a quiet atmosphere, it seems more fitting to visit with the goal of enjoying delicious eel grilled over charcoal.

Free coffee and hot chocolate after the meal

And one little service I really liked at the end: after finishing your meal, you can have free coffee and hot chocolate on the first floor. It was nice to be able to grab a cup of coffee or warm hot chocolate instead of heading straight home after eating!

Anyway, it is helpful to know the order: choose and prepay for the eel on the first floor → charcoal-grill it on the second floor → pay the additional charges on the first floor after the meal → enjoy free coffee or hot chocolate on the first floor! I recommend Deokeun Jangeo Main Branch for eel in Buk-gu, Gwangju. 👍👍