Eel restaurant in Yeoksam for a date: mushroom chawanmushi, Unagiwa

Today my husband and I went on a date to Yeoksam Station. We both love hitsumabushi (Nagoya-style eel rice) and Japanese eel rice bowls, and there's a place near Yeoksam Station I really want to recommend: Unagiwa. Okay, let's start the honest review~

Where is Unagiwa, and what are the hours and parking?

Unagiwa is an eel rice bowl restaurant on the 2nd floor of the building right in front of GS Tower and GS Art Center, a 3-minute walk from Yeoksam Station. It's open Mon–Fri 11:00–21:00 and closed on weekends. Corkage is available for a fee, and there's no parking.

• Address: 71 Bongeunsa-ro 30-gil, 2nd floor, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
• Hours: Mon–Fri 11:00–21:00 / closed on weekends
• Corkage available (paid)
• No parking

Unagiwa, a famous eel rice bowl spot in Yeoksam, is only a 3-minute walk from Yeoksam Station, so it's super easy to get to. GS Tower and GS Art Center are right in front of the shop, which makes it easy to find~ The location is so good that I think it would be great for company dinners or lunch for Yeoksam office workers.

The whole 2nd floor is the restaurant. Walk through the yard and head forward, and you'll reach an entrance with a classy feel! Let's head in~

What's the atmosphere like at Unagiwa for dates, meetings and family meals?

Inside, Unagiwa uses white and wood as interior accents, so it feels bright and upscale. I think it works well for a date or an important meeting.

The space is very large, and the kitchen and dining area are completely separate, so it felt private and I could focus on the meal~ There are also blinds between tables, and if you ask, they can close the blinds on both sides for an even more private meal! High chairs are available too, so I highly recommend it for family meals!

I heard the owner also runs an eel farm on Ganghwa Island himself and uses only carefully selected top-quality eel, so I could eat with confidence~

Unagiwa menu and what we ordered: Hitsumabushi (Sang) and Unadon (Sang)

Unagiwa's menu has hitsumabushi and unadon (eel rice bowl), plus dinner menu items like grilled eel and eel bento, a really wide range of eel dishes. Everything on the menu looked so good that I agonized for ages over what to order~

Hitsumabushi (Sang) - Unadon (Sang)

We ordered hitsumabushi and unadon. Hitsumabushi is a Nagoya-style eel rice bowl, and I heard Unagiwa's unadon is cooked a little differently, so we ordered both to compare~

How to enjoy Unagiwa's hitsumabushi

Reading the guide on how to eat it while you wait for the food is the golden rule, right? haha First move some to your small plate and try it plain, then with scallion and wasabi, then pour in ochazuke (green tea) broth, and try Unagiwa's special plum sauce too. Just eat it however tastes best to you haha

Our food came out~ The one with the whole eel topped with pickled ginger is the unadon, and the one with everything cut up is the hitsumabushi. Both looked so pretty that I got carried away taking photos for ages~

Unagiwa's chawanmushi and the free chili shrimp

At Unagiwa, a salad and chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) come out before the meal to settle your stomach. Unagiwa's chawanmushi is steamed with mushrooms inside, which adds a chewy texture, and it tasted better than other chawanmushi I've had~

Maybe because we had reserved ahead, they also gave us crispy chili shrimp as a free extra, one each~ Unagiwa is so generous!!

Unadon vs hitsumabushi: what's the difference in taste?

Whole-eel unadon: crispy and concentrated

First, the unadon. Unagiwa's unadon comes with the eel whole, and it felt a little crispier and more concentrated than regular hitsumabushi~ Eat it with the pickled ginger on top and it's a total rice thief! Catch that rice thief~~~

Hitsumabushi: soft and fluffy

Maybe because the eel is steamed and grilled repeatedly, the hitsumabushi felt a bit softer and fluffier. The eel itself is thick and delicious, and it's well seasoned with the special tare sauce, so eating it with a little wasabi on top was really good~

What do Unagiwa's sansho pepper and special plum sauce taste like?

Unagiwa puts sansho (Japanese pepper) powder and a special plum sauce on every table. The sansho tastes less like that distinctive sansho flavor and more like a premium black pepper, so I had no problem with it at all~ The plum sauce was a little spicy, and it cuts the richness completely, so eating with the plum sauce is a real treat!

Finish with ochazuke

I like eating about three-quarters of it as eel and rice together, and I always like to finish with ochazuke (rice with tea). Pouring in warm green tea softens the flavor and warms my stomach. Unagiwa's eel and special tea go really well together, so please try it as ochazuke!

If you usually like eel rice bowls or hitsumabushi, I think you should visit Unagiwa near Yeoksam Station, which has a nice atmosphere and does eel rice bowls well~