Friday freshwater eel restaurant in Gwangju: 658g at Yuil Jangeo

I went to Yuil Jangeo, a freshwater eel restaurant in Gwangju that people say is both genuinely delicious and great value, haha. My expectations were sky-high going in, and it really was that good ><. It's super close to Gwangju Songjeong Station and also close to Naju, so the access was great, the staff were kind, and both the eel and the eel soup were completely delicious. Highly, highly recommend — here's my honest review of Yuil Jangeo!

Where is Yuil Jangeo, and what are its hours?

Yuil Jangeo is on the 1st floor of 343 Donggok-ro, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, open daily 11:00–21:00. It's just 5 minutes by car from Gwangju Songjeong Station! Close to Naju too, haha. Rooms can be reserved through Naver Reservations.

This is Yuil Jangeo! The building is seriously huge, haha.

Friday at 6pm: wait time and booking a private room

I arrived right at 6pm on a Friday and there was no wait yet, haha!! By around 7pm the place was packed with people ~~ Rooms can be reserved on Naver, so for family gatherings or work dinners I'd recommend booking ahead, haha.

There's a wide parking lot in front of and behind the building, so it was super convenient, haha.

The restaurant itself was really spacious! The hall had wide spacing between tables so you could eat comfortably ~~ >< There are also several rooms! Room bookings fill up fast, so reserve ahead, haha.

Choosing your eel at the counter and the table setting fee

At Yuil Jangeo, you pick your eel at the fish counter, pay, and then eat at your table, haha.

Since the eel is priced at wholesale, there's a separate table setting fee: ₩4,000 for adults, ₩2,000 for elementary schoolers. Both raw and pre-grilled eel can be packed to go, and courier delivery is also available.

The eel is sorted into portions by number of people, haha. The eel is seriously huge!! Big ones taste better ~~ the condition looked really good ><.

What we ordered at Yuil Jangeo

• Freshwater eel 658g
• Table setting for 2 adults
• Eel soup for dessert (rice included)

Side dishes and the self-serve bar

Picked the biggest eel, paid, then headed to the table! Here's how the table was set up, haha: scallion kimchi, perilla leaf and lettuce wraps, pickled onion, radish pickle, kimchi, cold cucumber soup, garlic, ginger, and more!

You can grab more side dishes at the self-serve bar, haha. There's more lettuce and perilla leaf, and tons of sauces too ~~

There are also disposable aprons, plus cups and tableware set up at the table, haha.

You can order extra dishes via kiosk! There's a wide range — eel soup, eel tteokgalbi (grilled eel patties), naengmyeon (cold noodles), nurungji (scorched rice), and more. Plenty of alcohol options too, and eel soup, wild garlic leaves, and sauces can also be packed to go, haha. They're running a Naver receipt review event too ~~

Grilling the pre-cooked eel: still plump when done

The eel at Yuil Jangeo comes pre-grilled once already. It's set up ready for grilling, haha. Because it's pre-grilled, even though the eel is thick it cooks fast!

Usually eel shrinks a lot once grilled, but here — maybe because it's aged and pre-grilled in advance — the eel stayed completely plump even after fully cooking, haha.

Is the 5,900 won dessert eel soup worth it?

I also ordered the dessert eel soup! It comes with rice, and they gave more side dishes for the meal too.

The dessert eel soup is ₩5,900, but the portion and quality are amazing... you have to try this!! It's loaded with eel and the broth is rich and savory, so delicious, haha.

How the freshwater eel tasted

Once the eel was fully grilled, we started eating ><

There were many sauces and things to pair it with — wraps, ginger, radish pickle, wild garlic leaves and more — so you could eat different flavors according to your taste ><. It's freshwater eel but not greasy at all, genuinely delicious, haha. Even eaten plain, the eel was savory, clean, and full of flavor!!

Wrapped some in lettuce too, haha. And the portion was really huge ~~! The eel was big so the texture was great too ㅠㅠ this is a genuinely good restaurant.

Final verdict on Yuil Jangeo

If you're looking for a great eel restaurant in Gwangju, definitely check out Yuil Jangeo, haha. Highly recommend! The condition of the eel is genuinely great ~~ and the price for the portion size is really affordable, haha. This is a place I definitely want to visit again!!