Seolleung eel restaurant: Hanwoo nabe & Cheongyang pepper tip, Manmok

Manmok (만목) near Seolleung Station is famous as a company dinner spot! You've probably heard of it, right? I went for a group dinner last winter to eat the eel rice bowl and it was so good. Now I got another chance, so I went back!

Manmok in Seolleung is an eel specialist. The atmosphere is great and the staff are super kind, so it's good for dates too. If you're looking for a company dinner spot near Seolleung Station, I'm recommending this one~

Do you need a reservation at Manmok in Seolleung?

If you're going to Manmok for a company dinner, a reservation is a must! I booked ahead too, and every single seat was reserved.

Manmok exterior and interior

Even from the outside, Manmok feels like a bar in a small Japanese town.

The exterior is so cool. It has that vibe of a small Japanese town where you'd sip a really good glass of sake... haha

Inside, the tables are big and each feels set apart from the others. It's good for a date, and there's a long table in the middle, so a group company dinner works perfectly too!

Manmok menu: eel and the new Hanwoo nabe

Eel dishes are the main event at Manmok: grilled eel, eel rice bowl and so on, and Hanwoo nabe was recently added as a new menu item. For anyone who felt eel alone would be a bit much, the Hanwoo nabe is a great addition!

The prices are on the high side, but considering the atmosphere, the freshness of the ingredients and the taste, I think you'll be very satisfied when you come for an eel rice bowl in Seolleung. Even more so as a company dinner spot near Seolleung Station, haha

What I ordered: half eel rice bowl + Hanwoo nabe

Manmok side dishes

I can't not talk about the side dishes first. Acorn jelly (dotorimuk), shredded radish (musaengchae), pickled chili peppers... every one of them is full of savory depth. Just these are delicious.. ahh 🥹

How is the half eel rice bowl?

The half eel rice bowl at Manmok comes as a set tray.

When you order the rice bowl it comes like this on a tray. The eel has its bones well removed, and I loved the texture, tender yet chewy. The rice is seasoned just right too.

You can top it with the pickled radish, wasabi, shredded ginger and so on to taste, and the pickled sansho (Korean pepper berries) freshens up your mouth, so it's nice to add a bit now and then. I totally recommend this combo!

What about the Hanwoo nabe?

The Hanwoo quality in Manmok's Hanwoo nabe is no joke. The vegetables are fresh too, with their own natural sweetness. As it bubbles away, the broth gets deeper and richer and thicker.

The nabe broth gets better the longer it boils, so I recommend savoring it slowly. If the broth from the Hanwoo starts to feel a little greasy, adding a few pieces of Cheongyang pepper (spicy green chili) is a great tip!

Hanwoo nabe sauces: yuzu ponzu vs chili

The nabe comes with two sauces, yuzu ponzu sauce and chili sauce. I liked the chili sauce more, and my wife's pick was the yuzu ponzu, haha. You dip the vegetables and meat in each sauce.

Dessert: matcha and black tea ice cream

At the end, Manmok gives you matcha and black tea ice cream as dessert, and it's a real treat.. I loved the matcha so much. I honestly wanted to ask which brand it was. I should have asked... not very blogger of me.. A good finish lifts the overall satisfaction!

Is Manmok in Seolleung good for company dinners and dates?

Manmok specializes in grilled eel, so it's a good place to treat people formally when you need to spend good time with good people! The food is so delicious that it works as a date spot, and since the staff are kind and the service is good, I recommend it as a company dinner spot near Seolleung Station too!

As the number one eel rice bowl in Seolleung, you can feel the care they put into everything from the side dishes to the dessert, which made it even better, haha