Eel and salmon rice bowls for two near Yeoksam Station: Chisot

Why Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch for dinner before a Gangnam escape room?

Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch is a Nagoya-style hitsumabushi specialist on Bongeunsa-ro 30-gil near Yeoksam Station, where you can choose eel rice bowl or salmon rice bowl in one place. We had to eat dinner before an escape room in Gangnam (I'll post that review later too, haha 🤭), and since I hadn't been exercising lately my body was worn out and my digestion wasn't great, so while thinking about where to go for a little recovery meal, I decided on this place since it had both eel and salmon bowls!!

Chisot

📍Hours Mon–Fri 11:00 - 21:30 *Break time 15:00 - 17:00 ** Last order 14:30, 21:00 Sat 11:00 - 15:00 * Last order 14:30 ** Closed every Sunday 📍Prices Hitsumabushi (eel) Mini 25,000 | Sake-don (salmon) 16,500 📍Parking Use nearby public parking lots

We'd been at Yongsan I'Park Mall so we took the subway, and it was a cool evening so we walked from Eonju Station — after one last big hill, we finally saw the 'Chisot' sign far ahead. I comforted my exhausted sister as we climbed up, haha

Weekday evening wait at Chisot and when the salmon sells out

We visited Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch around 6:30 pm on a weekday and got seated with no wait at all, but after 7 pm on weekdays it's full, and that night the salmon had already sold out by 7. They seem to post a notice at the door when there's usually a wait. Having both eel and salmon on the menu was a real advantage. Something delicious plus something delicious equals love.. ❤️

I said no wait.. I didn't say no people.. We got lucky with a table, but it was full after 7 pm on weekdays !! (and salmon was already sold out by 7 that day too,,)

There's a nicely laid-out menu board right at the entrance too. Photos and prices, all clear ✨ The lunch sets looked like great value, with two combo options.

Table setting at Chisot: roasted tea and sansho pepper

At Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch, each table has sansho pepper, ochazuke furikake, and toothpicks, and they serve warm savory tea instead of plain water. There was also a Naver receipt review event explained at each table! If you like salmon, go grab it right away~~ (my sister doesn't even know what salmon tastes like, silly..) One great thing here is the water isn't plain — it's savory tea. So nice.. I was a bit worn out from walking so I drank a ton, haha

I already saw it at the entrance, but once seated I had to read the menu again carefully~~ I love freshwater eel.. 🤎 I'm a freshwater eel person since sea eel has too many bones!

How Chisot grills its eel: the restaurant's flavor secrets

Chisot's secret to flavor?

• Chisot uses only domestic Grade 1 Japonica freshwater eel
• Coated with Chisot's signature tare sauce, aged 72 hours with various vegetables and healthy ingredients,
• Grilled three times over top-grade binchotan charcoal for a deep, rich flavor

There's a lot of detailed info on the walls like this. Good thing + good thing + good thing + good thing !! Maybe that's why the taste really hits.. there's a reason it's this crowded.

Self-serve ochazuke bar and tare sauce at Chisot

The hitsumabushi set at Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch already comes with ochazuke tea, but there's also a self-serve bar for anyone who wants more. It's really convenient with the self-serve bar, so if you want extra, go help yourself~~ (though the portions weren't small, so what we already had was plenty!) We didn't refill so we didn't notice at the time, but the tare sauce was here too. Seems good for adjusting the seasoning to your taste while eating the rice bowl?!

Inside Chisot Yeoksam: interior and bar seats

The interior does a great job capturing a cute, cozy Japanese restaurant atmosphere. There are aprons of course, and apparently you can pick your own sake glass when ordering sake. Getting to choose the cup you drink from.. so romantic.. (˶♡ ᵕ ♡˶)

At the bar seats (counter table) you can watch the cooking happen right in front of you. Even from the table you could see them grilling so diligently. The charcoal must be so hot — thank you for the meal 🙇‍♀️

How the Hitsumabushi Mini and Superior Sake-don taste

We ordered two things at Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch: the Hitsumabushi Mini and the Superior Sake-don. Here's the full shot of the food, ta-da ✨ Such a neatly arranged table.

After soothing our stomachs with the soft chawanmushi, on to the eel rice bowl first! The eel was tender and the sauce was clean and light, so it was delicious. Is this the authentic Nagoya-style taste?! Even as a mini portion it was plenty (my sister usually likes bold seasoning, but she enjoyed how clean and light this was too). Took a big bite with the scallions, wasabi, and seaweed that came with it.

My beloved salmon rice bowl. Popping the yolk right open 💥 The salmon was thick with no fishy taste, so it was really clean! Put some onion on the salmon and that's basically heaven~~ So plump and springy.

Finished it off cleanly with ochazuke! This too wasn't heavily seasoned, so even when full it went down easily.

I only saw the recommended way to enjoy it after finishing the meal.. but somehow I ended up eating in that exact order anyway, haha, guess I've built up some experience with good restaurants 🤭

Why Chisot Yeoksam is better with two people

Since you can have both eel and salmon at one table at Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch, it's best visited with two or more people. By the time we finished eating, it had gotten dark out. It was so delicious that I watched the shop's promo video again afterward — even the way they lay the eel on looked so careful..!

Since it's in Yeoksam, right near Gangnam, this is a must-visit if you're craving eel while in the Gangnam area!! It's a place where you can enjoy both delicious eel and delicious salmon, so it's even better with a group — I'd recommend going with two or more. Maybe because the ingredients are so fresh, the eel has this gentle charcoal aroma and the salmon is fresh and soft, melting in your mouth — each has its own distinct charm, so whichever you're craving that day, you can't go wrong (˶•̀ᴗ•́˶)و