Gangnam eel restaurant for a hearty lunch bowl: Unagiwa

My Seoul day trip started again this week! I was up from 6:30 a.m., zoomed off to catch the train, stopped by the dentist for treatment, then headed to this great Yeoksam eel rice bowl spot for lunch with Soyeon. I do have grilled eel now and then, but places that really do eel rice bowls well are so rare, right? This place says it brings its own antibiotic-free farm-raised eel straight to the table. Yeoksam’s Unagiwa has no choice but to be proud of its eel—and its flavor! Totally, totally satisfied, and it has officially made my revisit list ♥

Unagiwa near Yeoksam Station: location and parking

It’s a three-minute walk from Yeoksam Station, on the building’s second floor. If you’re driving, search “25 Teheran-ro 27-gil” in your navigation app for valet parking. The valet fee is ₩5,000 for two hours :)

Head up the stairs and the counter is on the left, while the tables open up immediately on the right. Everything was so neat, and the little decorative touches made me feel as if I’d flown straight to Japan—whoosh. The owner and staff were incredibly kind, too, and we ordered right away through the table kiosk.

Hitsumabushi and unadon menu

The menu is divided into hitsumabushi (grilled eel over rice, served to enjoy in stages) and unadon (eel rice bowl). Each comes in three sizes depending on the eel portion: whole eel, special, and mini. We honestly already knew the answer! We wanted to finish with ochazuke (rice with green tea broth), so we each chose the whole-eel hitsumabushi bowl >_< With so many places still waiting on our travel list, we had to recharge properly with a hearty meal!

Along with plainly grilled salted eel without sauce, you can also find assorted tempura and umaki, an eel omelet—this is clearly a place that is serious about eel ♥ There was plenty of sake ready to pair with a satisfying eel meal, too, so it would be lovely for a pairing :)

Whole-eel hitsumabushi set: ₩38,000

As they served it, they kindly explained everything, too. At Unagiwa, the antibiotic-free eel they raise themselves is grilled for a long time, making an eel rice bowl that brings out both smoky fire flavor and deep richness. Eat half as it is, then pour in the broth and enjoy it almost like rice soaked in soup :)

The sides were salad and steamed egg custard, and when the eel starts to feel a little rich, you can have it with the spicy bainiku sauce blended with ume plum.

You can also add scallions, wasabi, perilla leaves, and gim (roasted seaweed) to your taste, while the side dish was gungchae, a crisp stem vegetable. The miso soup was refreshingly cool and great for cleansing the palate!

The salad was that familiar flavor we all know! I think it had an Oriental-style dressing. It really whetted my appetite as a light starter >_< The super-soft, pudding-like Japanese steamed egg custard went down easily and lightly, with the flavor of finely chopped mushrooms fitting right in.

Eel rice bowl as-is, then ochazuke

Now for the main event, hitsumabushi! I used the rice paddle they provided to serve out one quarter and taste it in the most basic way first. The eel truly melts, melts ♥ From the first bite, the subtle charcoal aroma of the irresistibly good eel, the well-balanced sauce, and the perfectly fluffy, separate grains of rice made for an amazing three-part harmony.

Then you can deepen the flavor with perilla leaves, gim, and wasabi however you like. Personally, the wasabi-plus-perilla-leaf combination was so delicious that I ate every single perilla leaf they gave us.

Once you’ve eaten half, pour the green tea broth from the tokkuri flask straight over the eel rice bowl, scatter on whatever toppings you like again, then pile on a generous spoonful of eel and eat it all together.

Personally, ochazuke was completely my style ♥ Along with the basic sauce pairing, the warmth, charcoal fragrance of the eel, and soft texture struck the perfect balance—ding~

The plum sauce they recommended for when things felt rich had a little Sriracha-like spice to it, but it was more so-so than I expected?! The eel itself was so tasty that I honestly don’t think it ever felt rich >_<

Matcha pudding dessert with a receipt review

Matcha pudding, given one per person when you leave a Naver receipt review! Seriously, you’d be silly to leave without trying this~

The intensely thick, wonderfully chewy matcha layer on top of the milk pudding had me thinking I was headed to Boseong… but no? It was like hopping on a plane straight to Japan…

Truly, truly one of the best puddings I’ve ever had. The portion was exactly right for dessert, so I scraped it clean ♥ This matcha pudding is seriously Jang Wonyoung-level pudding—I agree! Unagiwa recharged me for my Seoul day trip! It is filling enough for lunch and the flavor was satisfying too, so I highly, highly recommend this place~