Eel restaurant near Balsan Station: weekday 4pm for two, Jangsuchon

The weather has been so, so, so hot lately that I get worn out easily and feel my energy draining... 😭 This week my husband and I went for an early weekday dinner to recharge at Jangsuchon Pungcheon Eel (장수촌 풍천장어), an eel restaurant near Balsan Station.

Jangsuchon Pungcheon Eel serves domestic freshwater eel (pungcheon jangeo) shipped directly from a farm in Gochang, so the two of us really treated ourselves: 1kg of grilled eel + jangchu-tang (eel and vegetable soup) + noodles.

Where is Jangsuchon Pungcheon Eel and what are its hours?

Jangsuchon Pungcheon Eel is on the 2nd floor of a building at 27 Gangseo-ro 54-gil, Gangseo-gu, Seoul. It is open daily 11:00–21:50, with last order at 20:50.

It's about a 3-minute walk from Exits 3 and 4 of Balsan Station, so it's easy to reach, and being on the 2nd floor of the building, it wasn't hard to find.

We went by public transport this time, but you can park if you drive, which makes visiting even easier.

Jangsuchon Pungcheon Eel at 4pm on a weekday: the atmosphere

Since we were going at 4pm on a weekday, I booked ahead by text message. It was a bit earlier than the dinner rush, so there weren't many customers and the place was quiet.

It was nice to eat peacefully, just the two of us, and the restaurant uses the entire 2nd floor, so it's really spacious. It seemed fine for a company dinner, and with table seating it would also work for a family gathering.

The big windows kept it from feeling stuffy, and with air conditioning plus a circulator running at every seat, we didn't get too hot while eating.

Is 1kg of grilled eel at Balsan Station enough for two?

The 1kg of grilled eel at Jangsuchon Pungcheon Eel is ₩59,000, and for the two of us it was plenty to leave us full. We ordered 1kg of grilled eel.

The eel came out first, cleanly trimmed and not pre-grilled, and it looked in really good condition the moment I saw it. It's described as grade-1 domestic freshwater eel shipped directly from a Gochang farm. Gochang eel is famous anyway, but seeing it in person, the shine and color looked noticeably fresh. ❣️

Apparently 1kg of eel doesn't mean 1kg on the plate: after trimming, the actual amount to eat is around 550–600g. That's said to suit 2–3 people, and the two of us ate until we were comfortably full. At ₩59,000 per kg the price felt reasonable compared with other eel specialists, and there's a separate table setting fee of ₩3,000 per person.

Staff grill the eel to the end and even change the charcoal

Grilling eel is surprisingly hard, but

at Jangsuchon Pungcheon Eel, a staff member grilled everything for us from start to finish. From the timing of the flips to cutting it into bite-size pieces, they did it all, so we just waited comfortably and enjoyed eating.

I especially liked that once the eel was fully cooked, they replaced the strong, hot charcoal with milder charcoal, so we could keep eating slowly to the end.

The grilled eel was sizzling with oil and really delicious, with a texture that was chewy yet tender. Some places have a fishy smell when the eel isn't in good shape, but Jangsuchon Pungcheon Eel had almost none, and the eel's natural nutty flavor really came through.

The sauce served alongside wasn't too sweet either, which made it just right with rice. 🫶

While eating I thought I'd love to try an eel rice bowl too, and it turns out they do sell one, as I saw on the wall. Next time I'd like to come back for the eel rice bowl. 🫶

What comes with the table setting and self-serve bar?

The basic table setting at Jangsuchon Pungcheon Eel was quite generous: seasoned garlic chives, lotus root, cabbage salad, various sauces, garlic, ginger and more. The pickled shredded ginger was especially delicious.

I always like eating ginger with eel, and the fragrant ginger cut through the richness of the eel, which I loved,

and there's a self-serve bar too, so you can freely help yourself to more.

They had red lettuce and dangui leaves (angelica leaves) too, so I grabbed some, and the slightly bitter, distinctive aroma of dangui went so well with the eel,

that I made wrap after wrap with shredded ginger, leafy greens and grilled eel.

Free jangchu-tang (eel soup) and kimchi janchi-guksu noodles

When you order eel at Jangsuchon Pungcheon Eel, jangchu-tang comes free, and the broth was rich and savory. It was so good that I ended up adding a bowl of rice and eating it with the rice mixed in.

I'd been really run down from the heat lately, so getting a solid dose of protein felt like proper restorative food. Satisfaction: top marks 💙

To finish the meal, we even had the free noodles. They were kimchi-style noodles topped with thinly sliced kimchi, which was a nice palate cleanser after the eel. If someone who can't eat eel comes along, they can order other meals like noodles or the eel rice bowl separately, so I thought it would also be fine for a company dinner or group gathering.

Verdict: a Balsan Station eel restaurant for a summer energy boost

Since Jangsuchon Pungcheon Eel near Balsan Station says it uses grade-1 domestic freshwater eel shipped directly from a Gochang farm, the eel was in really great shape ❣️

Having it grilled for us from start to finish let us eat comfortably, and with the free jangchu-tang on top, the meal was truly filling. It's a 3-minute walk from Balsan Station, so access is good, and the spacious restaurant seems great for family meals or company dinners. If you're a couple like us who needs a summer energy boost, or you're looking for a restorative dish, it's an eel restaurant worth a visit ❣️