Pyeongdong Station eel restaurant for a family gathering: Yuil Jangeo

Yuil Jangeo in Gwangsan, Gwangju: back at the farm-direct eel restaurant for a family meal

My dad loves eel, so we keep coming back to Yuil Jangeo whenever we have a family gathering in Gwangju! It's run directly by an eel farm, so cutting out labor and middleman costs means you get freshwater eel at a really fair price. But it's not just the taste — the service is great too, and there's plenty of parking right beside and behind the building, so not just us but lots of other groups come here too.

How ordering works: picking pre-trimmed eel by headcount and gram weight

Right when you walk in, to the right of the counter, you'll find eel already prepared and sorted by headcount and gram weight. Being able to pick it yourself like this is one of the biggest perks of this place, I think. And for side menu, they've got not just eel soup but naengmyeon (cold noodles) and tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patties) too, so if you want variety, I'd recommend trying those too~ Every time we come, the tables around us always seem to be eating tteokgalbi, and I keep thinking 'next time we'll try it too!' — but we always end up too full. I'm really curious about it though.

Takeout and courier delivery from Yuil Jangeo — free shipping over 100,000 won

Besides eating in for a gathering like this, we sometimes get takeout too, and apparently you can also order it delivered by courier, so keep that in mind! Might be a nice Chuseok gift too — and if you order over ₩100,000, shipping is free.

Inside Yuil Jangeo: the hall, the private rooms, and two self-serve bars

The interior is clean and really spacious. If you head in toward the left, there are private rooms too, so if you want a private setting, I'd recommend booking ahead before you visit.

There are two self-serve bars, one on each side, so they're less crowded since people spread out, and they're always kept clean! My favorite side dish is the green onion kimchi! The green onions aren't too big, so it's easy to eat and goes really well with everything.

Banchan, charcoal, and pre-seared eel the staff grill for you

Most of the basic banchan come from the self-serve bar — cold cucumber soup, bean sprouts, pickled sesame leaves, pickled radish for wraps, wrap vegetables, and much more, so you can eat all kinds of ways.

Here comes the charcoal! Eel really does taste so much better grilled over charcoal, and charcoal grill places aren't that common these days haha. Gwangsan-gu restaurant, confirmed!

There are even helpful tips shown on the kiosk screen, but honestly the staff set everything up and grill it all for you, so there's nothing left for you to do haha. Just flip it once at the end and that's it! Thanks to that, we got to eat comfortably and enjoy the sight of it grilling too haha.

That color is insane! The eel you picked yourself comes out pre-seared once, and then the staff grill it over charcoal one more time! Even though the place is huge, there are plenty of staff too, so I've never once felt like it took especially long.

I think the reason this place became known as the eel restaurant in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju is the great atmosphere and, above all, the fair prices that make it good for group gatherings. Maybe that's why, every time we come, we see not just us but lots of families bringing their elderly parents for a gathering too.

Maybe because it's charcoal, it grilled up really fast and delicious. Even after being seared and then grilled like this, it's still thick and has zero fishy smell, so even someone like me who doesn't usually love eel could smell how good it was and wanted to eat it right away~ So, shall we dig in for real now!

Is Yuil Jangeo near Pyeongdong Station good for a family gathering?

It's fresh, and thicker and bigger than expected, so it's really got that chewy bite. Thanks to that, even though it's not usually my kind of food, I ended up wrapping it up in all sorts of ways and eating it happily with the green onion kimchi too, which has a strong fermented seafood flavor that pairs really well with it haha. And every time we go, we make good use of the self-serve corner, and not once have I seen a food container empty or the area left messy. It seems to stay well managed and clean the whole time — very satisfying on that front too!

Yuil Jangeo near Pyeongdong Station in Gwangju is satisfying every single time! I've heard there's sometimes a wait on weekends, but from my visits so far, I've never once had to wait, and all the staff are kind, so I recommend it for a family gathering!