Seolleung eel restaurant: seasoned eel dinner with my daughter, Manmok

I was in Seoul, and my daughter had just finished work. I wanted to have dinner near her office and give her a bit of a health boost, so I searched for good places near Seolleung Station and picked an eel specialist, "Manmok" (만목).

The atmosphere was lovely too, and the seasoned grilled eel was so good.

Manmok hours and parking near Seolleung Station

Manmok is open every day from 11:00 to 22:00, with a break from 15:00 to 17:00. The address is 9 Seolleung-ro 82-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (1st floor), close to Exit 2 of Seolleung Station.

There's parking for 2 cars in front of the restaurant, but it's best to call ahead. I've also listed nearby lots below.

• WeWork Seolleung 3 parking lot (428 Seolleung-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul): a large lot
• Samjeong Building parking lot (7 Seolleung-ro 86-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul): mechanical lot
• Areumville parking lot (11 Seolleung-ro 86-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul): mechanical lot
• Nice Park, Wondongbang Building (20 Teheran-ro 64-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul): mechanical lot

There were also Naver coupon perks.

• Free corkage (1 bottle for parties of 4 or fewer)
• A draft beer per person for group dinners
• Celebratory champagne for wedding-invitation gatherings
• A mini cake for birthdays

What are the atmosphere and seating like at Manmok?

Manmok has dark wood tones and soft lighting, so it feels calm and cozy. One wall is transparent, so you can see the eel being grilled inside even from outside, and I enjoyed watching while I waited for my daughter.

The wood-grain walls go well with the dark gray tables, and framed pictures on the walls add accents, so it feels tidy yet warm.

Seating ranges from bar seats along the window to table seats with bench-style seating for four, and each spot had a slightly different mood. Overall it's neat and comfortable but upscale, so I figured a meal here would be relaxing.

The place is big and spacious, so it would be good for group gatherings, and I liked that there are seats suited to eating an eel rice bowl solo.

There were plants here and there as accents, and a coat storage area built in as part of the interior. I loved it, and they even had wooden hangers, so you can tell they put thought into it. I couldn't pass up a spot like that, so I hung up my coat, haha.

Manmok's table setting and side dishes

The basic table setting at Manmok comes with four seasonings neatly arranged on a small plate: salt, fresh wasabi, shiitake wasabi, and round pickled sansho berries (a peppery Asian spice), all good for dipping.

The side dishes at Manmok were really tidy. You tend to get tired of eel if you eat a lot, but the clean-tasting sides that suit eel were great. The seasoned radish strips (mu saengchae) and pickled wild garlic leaves (myeongi namul) went surprisingly well with the eel, and the seasoning on the windproof herb (bangpung namul) was so good.

The acorn jelly salad (dotori muk muchim) was more sour than sweet-and-sour, and it was good for whetting the appetite before the eel arrived.

Manmok menu and our seasoned eel dinner order

Manmok's menu is divided mainly into grilled eel, nabe (hot pot), and rice bowls. At lunch I'd have had the eel rice bowl, but since it was dinner, the grilled eel or the eel nabe looked good.

I was curious about the eel nabe, but I'd never had it, so it felt a bit hard to take on. The grilled eel comes salted or seasoned, in half or whole portions, so we ordered 1.5 eels of the seasoned grilled eel.

• Premium grilled eel (seasoned), 1.5 eels
• Koshihikari (rice), 2 bowls

How does Manmok's seasoned grilled eel taste?

Manmok's rice is Koshihikari, glossy and fluffy, with a sweetness that comes out as you chew, so it was a perfect match for the eel.

Gochang freshwater eel, slowly grilled over charcoal to bring out its natural flavor: that's Manmok's grilled eel.

The sweet seasoning on Manmok's grilled eel wasn't overdone, so I didn't get tired of it and enjoyed it to the last bite. Dipped in salt it was clean and crisp, and fresh wasabi is my number one pick, so of course it couldn't be bad.

Eating it with the shiitake wasabi was slightly spicy, which made it different again.

The little round pickled sansho berries (not pepper, mind you!) went really well with the seasoned eel. So did the pickled wild garlic leaves.

Manmok's homemade matcha and black tea ice cream

For dessert, Manmok serves homemade ice cream, and you can choose between matcha and black tea. Our tastes differ, so we ordered both and each picked one, and it was a perfect finish.

Is Manmok near Seolleung Station good for team dinners and dates?

I loved how clean and upscale "Manmok" feels, and I think it would work for both a team dinner and a date. The grilled eel was plump and the sauce wasn't overpowering, so I was very, very satisfied with this Seolleung Station gem, "Manmok".