Eel buffet in Cheongna, Incheon with pork skin self-bar: Jangsodam

As the weather gets a bit cooler, I've been craving hearty meals and wanting to eat all kinds of good meat in big portions. So when we went out to Cheongna over the weekend, we heard about a place where you can eat your fill of eel, beef, pork, and crab all in one spot — Jangsodam, the all-you-can-eat eel buffet in Cheongna. You can enjoy unlimited freshwater eel and cheokgalbi (short rib), plus pork, crab, special dishes, and even Han River ramyeon, so we left properly stuffed. The restaurant is also spacious and clean, and there's even a large kids' play room, so it's a good option for visiting with children. So here's my review of throwing a full-on protein party with eel, meat, and crab! 😊

Jangsodam Cheongna Main Branch: address, hours and parking

Jangsodam Cheongna Main Branch is located at 10-17 Jungbongdae-ro 612beon-gil, Units 206, 207, 208, Seo-gu, Incheon, and it's open from 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM. You can use the building's parking lot and get parking support, so it's fine to drive there too.

If you're visiting by car, you really don't have to worry much about parking. The building's parking lot is quite spacious, so it was easy to park. Even for someone like me who gets a bit nervous parking, there was plenty of room to spare. Parking support covers up to 2 hours, so we could enjoy the meal without watching the clock. On weekends, family outings can sometimes turn stressful just from parking, so this part was a plus.

What is the dining room like at this Cheongna eel buffet?

For a grilled eel restaurant, Jangsodam Cheongna Main Branch was surprisingly comfortable with almost no smoke or smell. The tables have generous spacing, and there's even a large kids' play room, making it a good fit for family dining.

The moment we walked in, the first thing I felt was: clean and spacious! You'd expect a grilled eel place to have a lot of smoke or a distinct smell from grilling, but the restaurant was really pleasant. There was barely any smoke, and the ventilation seemed to work well, so I never felt stuffy during the meal. The tables had good spacing and the restaurant itself was spacious, making it comfortable for family visits too.

Especially when dining with kids, you naturally look for a play area, and this place has a large kids' play room. The kids can eat well and then play, while the adults can eat a bit more comfortably — perfect for a family meal out. It also seemed like a good fit for company dinners or family gatherings with several people.

A, B and C Sets compared, and the B Set we ordered

At Jangsodam Cheongna Main Branch, the sets are more worthwhile than ordering à la carte, and there are three: A, B, and C. We chose the B Set, which lets you enjoy freshwater eel and cheokgalbi (short rib) together.

The sets are divided into A, B, and C, so you can pick based on what you want. To sum it up simply,

• 👉 A Set: eel + a generous variety of beef
• 👉 B Set: eel + cheokgalbi (short rib) combo
• 👉 C Set: mainly beef + yukhoe (raw beef)

We went with the B Set that day, which lets you enjoy freshwater eel and cheokgalbi together 😊

How big is the all-you-can-eat eel at Jangsodam?

The freshwater eel in Jangsodam's B Set was thick and plump even though it's unlimited. A bit after ordering, the eel and cheokgalbi came out first, so we put the eel on the grill.

With the B Set, you can request eel and cheokgalbi and keep refilling them. Honestly, I was a bit surprised when I first saw the eel. Since it's all-you-can-eat, I expected small or thin pieces, but the eel turned out to be thicker and plumper than expected. It was so substantial that I thought, 'Is this really unlimited?' — my expectations shot up right away, haha.

They put the eel on the grill first and cooked it thoroughly. They quickly cut the thick eel into bite-sized pieces and grilled it golden brown on both sides. Watching the eel sizzle away, the waiting time was the hardest part because I just wanted to eat it already, haha. The key with eel is grilling it evenly on all sides — front, back, and both edges — until crisp, not just one side!

My husband kept flipping the eel nonstop right beside me, haha. And finally, it was done! Seeing the golden-brown eel, it looked amazing just visually. The outside was crispy and the inside was plump with meat, so just looking at it made my mouth water.

Freshwater eel tastes best with plenty of ginger

Well-grilled eel is tasty on its own, but I still like it best with a generous amount of pickled ginger. Put a piece of eel with pickled ginger on top, dip it in sauce, and wrap it up for one solid bite! The savory flavor of the eel combined with the tangy, sharp taste of the ginger cuts the richness and was really delicious. It's tasty just dipped in sauce, and just as tasty wrapped up.

Since the eel was plump, it was genuinely satisfying to eat. We ended up refilling the eel once while eating. Even with all-you-can-eat, you often can't eat as much as you'd think, but that day we finished the first batch and then thoroughly ate through the refill too, haha.

What is on the salad bar at Jangsodam Cheongna?

Jangsodam Cheongna Main Branch's salad bar had tofu kimchi, sundae (Korean blood sausage), tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), and assorted fried items. I looked around while the eel was grilling, and there were more varieties than I expected, so it was fun just browsing.

Eating only meat can get a bit heavy, so it was nice to have other dishes to mix in along the way. Personally, the tofu kimchi was so good that I kept picking at it while eating the eel, haha. With so much to eat, I felt like just going through the salad bar alone could fill you up quickly.

Cheokgalbi (short rib) second: the refill and one letdown

We refilled the B Set's cheokgalbi (short rib) too, and dipping it in turmeric salt gave it a clean flavor where the meat itself really came through. That said, the B Set's beef is just the one cut, so it's worth knowing it's not a mix-and-match of different cuts.

After eating our fill of eel, we moved on to grilling the cheokgalbi. Even after eating so much eel, having beef right in front of us made us want to eat more, haha. The cheokgalbi was grilled up nicely on the grill too. Beef has a different kind of savory flavor from eel, so eating them together kept things from getting boring.

Dipped lightly in turmeric salt, it had a clean flavor where you could really taste the meat itself — delicious. That said, the B Set's beef comes as just one cut, so you can't mix and match several cuts, which was a bit of a letdown. Still, since we'd already eaten so much eel, if there had been too many beef options we probably couldn't have finished them all anyway, haha. In the end, we refilled the cheokgalbi too.

Self-serve bar pork belly and pork skin

Jangsodam's self-serve bar has a variety of meat dishes prepared separately, including pork and dak-galbi (spicy stir-fried chicken). We brought over a little pork galbi, samgyeopsal (pork belly), and pork skin to grill, and the pork skin was especially good.

You'd usually think that once you've eaten eel and beef, that's the end, right? But at Jangsodam, that wasn't the end at all, haha.

We were already pretty full, so we didn't grab a bit of everything — just small portions of what we wanted to eat. Pork galbi, samgyeopsal, and even pork skin! I especially loved the pork skin. It wasn't the flimsy, thin kind of skin — it looked thick and decent quality. Grilled golden brown on the pan, it had a chewy, savory flavor that really hit the spot. Chef, you've got extras of this, right? Between eel, beef, and pork, it really was a full-on protein party.

Order the spicy marinated crab from the table tablet

Jangsodam's B Set includes one serving of spicy marinated crab, but it's not on the self-serve bar — you have to request it separately through the table tablet. Don't forget to order it.

We ordered through the tablet too and got it brought over.

The moment I saw the spicy marinated crab, it looked delicious just from the visual. There was a good amount of crab meat, and the seasoning was sweet and spicy, perfect with rice! If you like marinated crab, you should definitely try this dish too. Even after stuffing ourselves with eel and meat, there was still room for the crab, haha.

Han River ramyeon: worth it even when you are full

Near Jangsodam's self-serve bar, there's a Han River ramyeon machine where you can pick your favorite instant noodles and cook them yourself. There are several kinds, and we went with Anseong Tangmyeon, haha.

I thought that was really the last thing, but there was one more left. My stomach felt like it was about to burst, but the smell of ramyeon made me want more anyway. We cooked it up in the Han River ramyeon machine, and as expected, ramyeon at the end after all that meat is impossible to resist, haha. Even while saying we were full, we slurped down the broth too.

Ending the meal with soft-serve ice cream

Jangsodam's B Set includes unlimited drinks, rice, and ice cream, so we could handle dessert right after the meal. When you visit with kids, just having ice cream after a meal boosts satisfaction a lot, haha. We made sure to grab some right up to the end before leaving.

Is Jangsodam worth it for a hearty meal in Cheongna?

This visit to Jangsodam Eel and Beef Buffet Cheongna Main Branch felt clearly different from a typical eel restaurant that only serves one type of dish. We could enjoy plump, thick freshwater eel all-you-can-eat, plus cheokgalbi, pork, pork skin, special dishes, spicy marinated crab, Han River ramyeon, and ice cream — a real variety of dishes in one place. The eel was especially more substantial than expected, which was the most satisfying part, and personally I also really enjoyed the pork skin and the spicy marinated crab.

The restaurant is spacious and clean, and with the large kids' play room, it was also good to visit with children. The parking area is spacious with 2 hours of parking support, so it was a low-stress choice for a family meal out. Above all, that day we really ate properly. Eel, beef, pork, crab, ramyeon, and ice cream — it truly was a full protein party, haha.

If you're looking for a place to eat hearty food as the weather cools down, or a spot for a big family meal in Cheongna, this could be worth a visit. Next time, since we were too full to eat much of the pork dishes, I'd like to try a bit more of those. If you want to enjoy eel, meat, crab, and ramyeon all at once in Cheongna, remember Jangsodam Cheongna Main Branch!