Seoul eel restaurant in Sangam-dong: chewy soy-glazed eel, Ryeok

Ryeok Minmul Jangeogui Jeonmunjeom in Sangam-dong: what kind of eel place is it?

I had really good eel in Sangam-dong! 🥢 This time it was Ryeok (력), a freshwater eel place near Digital Media City Station. My husband loves eel so much that we eat our way around, and Ryeok has an especially good eel texture, so we go often.

In one phrase: seriously chewy eel! It was far springier than eel I've had elsewhere, and fun to chew. The banchan (side dishes) come out well, and they even give you pollack stew. I went for eel and was impressed all over again by the spread. 😋 It was so good that I have to introduce it!

Ryeok's interior and staff service

Ryeok felt like a comfortable place to focus on the food. When you say eel restaurant, you tend to picture an old place or a noisy one, but Ryeok wasn't like that.

Sangam-dong has lots of offices, so plenty of people must be hunting for a company dinner spot, and eel for a Digital Media City team dinner seems like a pretty good idea. And what I secretly liked about Ryeok was the staff!

They naturally take care of what you need. Personally I like this style. It never felt intrusive during the meal, but it didn't feel unfriendly at all either. Friendly at just the right distance, I'd say. 😊

From the menu, we ordered the soy-glazed grill ><

Ryeok's soy-grilled freshwater eel: what does the basic table setting look like?

Ryeok serves a fairly generous set of banchan, and pollack stew comes as standard for the soup. The eel itself matters, of course, but at an eel place the banchan lineup quietly matters too. Eel is so rich and full-flavored that you need a variety of sides to enjoy it to the very end.

Ryeok's banchan are quite good, so the table felt abundant from the start. Compared with a single main dish just sitting there, a spread like this makes you feel properly looked after.

Pollack stew at an eel restaurant?

Here comes the most unexpected dish! Dongtae-jjigae (pollack stew). 😮 Pollack stew at an eel place was a little surprising at first. Usually when you go for eel you expect eel soup or doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew), so getting pollack stew felt fresh.

But thinking about it, the combo works pretty well. After rich, nutty eel, the spicy, refreshing broth of the stew cleans your palate and makes the eel taste good again! Best of all, a soup dish comes along without ordering a separate stew.

Eel alone can sometimes feel a little light as a meal, but with a warm stew the table was much more filling. Grilled eel with pollack stew, like enjoying meat and fish dishes at once. Unexpected items like this quietly improve a restaurant's impression. Yum yum, and finally the main!!

Is Ryeok's freshwater eel texture really that chewy?

Ryeok's biggest trait is its incredible chewiness. Honestly I think eel is tasty to some degree wherever you eat it, but Ryeok clearly stood apart from other places. That's why my husband comes here more often than anywhere else, haha.

Grilled eel is generally soft and moist and melts in your mouth, but Ryeok's eel is much springier than that. That bouncy texture the moment you take a bite!

The more you chew, the more that chewy spring comes through, which made eating it special. It's not rubbery or dry at all; it has a satisfying bite with a nutty flavor. Personally, this kind of eel was totally my taste. 💛

A piece of eel, some banchan, then eel again, such fun! Especially if you're eating with several people, this kind of spread would be even more welcome. Among Sangam-dong eel restaurants, if you like places that care about the side dishes and not just the main, this setup should satisfy you.

There's ginseng too, so it feels like I'm looking after my health, haha.

Scallops and mushrooms on the side

Ryeok also served scallops and mushrooms with the eel, and they were better than I expected. 🥰 I came for eel and got scallops to go with it, a pleasant surprise.

Especially while enjoying the eel's rich soy glaze, alternating with scallops and mushrooms kept the flavor from getting monotonous. With so many ingredients rather than eel alone, the table felt much fuller! The scallops were good and so were the mushrooms, so I enjoyed the sides to the fullest.

Is the soy-glazed eel sweet or salty?

Ryeok's soy-glazed grill has a salty soy sauce that soaks nicely into the eel, giving great savory depth. Rather than a sweet-only teriyaki-sauce feel, you clearly taste the salty soy sauce flavor! When the eel's nutty richness meets the soy glaze, the combination is really good. The more you chew, the nutty yet salty taste comes up, so you keep reaching for more.

Good for a Digital Media City team dinner or family meal?

This is exactly why I thought it would work as a Digital Media City team dinner spot. Ryeok has a variety of dishes to enjoy along with the eel, so it seems good for eating with a group.

It's good for a hearty family meal out, and on a day you want something special with coworkers, Sangam-dong eel seems like a fine choice. The chewy eel texture alone made Ryeok memorable enough! It's a place I think I'll remember next time eel comes to mind. 🥰