Suwon eel buffet with green onion kimchi sides: Songnim Bok Jangeo

A new eel all-you-can-eat restaurant just opened in front of the agricultural and fisheries market in Gwonseon-dong, Suwon, so I went to check it out. Eel prices tend to make you hesitate before eating your fill, but here you can eat unlimited eel for ₩29,900 per person. If you've been searching for a good eel restaurant in Suwon, the price alone might catch your eye. This is Songnim Bok Jangeo Freshwater Eel All-You-Can-Eat Suwon Main Branch.

Songnim Bok Jangeo Suwon Main Branch: hours and parking

Hours Daily 10:50–22:00 Parking On-site lot & underground parking

Songnim Bok Jangeo Freshwater Eel All-You-Can-Eat Suwon Main Branch has its own dedicated parking lot as well as underground parking, which made driving there convenient. Eel restaurants often see groups visiting together, so having separate parking space is a nice perk!

The tables range from basic 4-person seating to group tables for larger parties. When I visited, some seats were already set up for reservations.

With generous seating and available parking, this could be a good option for anyone looking for a group dinner spot in Suwon.

I visited on a weekday during an early time slot, but plenty of people were already eating. I expected it to be fairly quiet since it just opened, but I was a little surprised by how many customers there were. It seems like word is already spreading about it as a good eel restaurant in Suwon.

How much does the eel all-you-can-eat cost?

The all-you-can-eat price is ₩29,900 for adults, ₩14,000 for elementary school students, plus a ₩3,000 table setting fee. Given today's dining prices, being able to eat unlimited eel for around ₩30,000 per person was definitely the biggest draw for me.

The time limit for dining in is 2 hours. There's also a guide on the wall showing how to grill eel deliciously, so if it's your first time grilling it yourself, you can just follow the steps.

Besides eating in, they also sell takeout at ₩35,000 per 1kg. If you'd rather grill it at home yourself, that takeout price is worth keeping in mind.

What's on the self-serve bar: eel, chicken neck meat, pork belly

The self-serve bar is split into two sections rather than one, which looked convenient even when the restaurant gets busy. Various vegetables, side dishes to pair with the eel, and sauces are all set up there, so you just take as much as you need.

Eel. Today's main event! Eel is also available at the self-serve bar — you take what you want and grill it yourself.

Chicken neck meat. It's not just eel — chicken neck meat is also included in the all-you-can-eat spread.

Pork belly. Pork belly is also there too.

Once seated, the basic side dishes are set out first, and they even bring out the charcoal for you.

At first, a staff member brought out a plate with a combination of eel, chicken neck meat, and pork belly.

The eel was prepared frozen and labeled as domestic eel. Looking at it up close, it was cleanly trimmed too.

Starting with chicken neck meat, then grilling the eel over charcoal

To get ready for the eel, they first put the chicken neck meat and pork belly on the grill. The main event was eel, but I started off light with the meat first.

I grilled it golden brown on both sides and tried it, even though my mind was already full of thoughts of eel! Surprisingly, I really liked the chicken neck meat. It had a soft yet chewy texture that was addictive — I kept reaching for more.

And finally, it was eel's turn!

Since it's all-you-can-eat, you have to grill the eel yourself.

The charcoal fire was fairly strong, so it didn't take as long as I expected. Flipping it back and forth, it slowly started turning golden brown!

A perfectly grilled piece of eel. Maybe because I grilled it myself, the moment I could finally eat it felt even more rewarding, haha.

Ginger shred sauce, green onion kimchi and mountain garlic leaves

I mixed plenty of ginger shreds into the eel sauce and took a bite.

Properly golden brown. Eel really needs to reach this color before it feels ready to eat.

This time I tried the eel together with the green onion kimchi (pajimchi) served alongside it. After eating eel plain for a while, adding the kimchi in between changes up the combination.

A piece of eel on top of mountain garlic leaves (myeongi-namul) for one more bite. Switching between the sauce and ginger shreds, then the green onion kimchi and mountain garlic leaves, let me enjoy the same eel in several different ways.

Above all, the biggest strength of Songnim Bok Jangeo is being able to take as much eel as you want. If you're looking to eat your fill of eel in Gwonseon-dong or want an eel all-you-can-eat in Suwon that eases the price burden, this place is worth checking out. That was my visit to Songnim Bok Jangeo Freshwater Eel All-You-Can-Eat Suwon Main Branch, a good eel restaurant near Suwon City Hall.