Yeoksam eel restaurant better than Fukuoka's eel bowl: Unagiwa

With the weather turning chilly and craving something restorative, I headed to Unagiwa, an eel rice bowl spot in Yeoksam. I already love a good eel rice bowl, but this place serves it hitsumabushi-style, a bit different from the usual — and get this, they put a whole eel on top! 🙀

Honestly, I enjoyed it more than the eel rice bowl I once had in Fukuoka, so I wanted to share it with you all right away 🤍 Let's get into my honest review of Unagiwa, a great restaurant in Yeoksam!

Where is Unagiwa, and what are its hours and parking?

Unagiwa is located at 71 Bongeunsa-ro 30-gil, 2nd floor, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, about a 3-minute walk from Exit 7 of Yeoksam Station. It's open Mon–Fri 11:00–21:00, with a break time from 15:00–17:00, last order at 20:00, and closed on weekends.

• 📍 Unagiwa / 71 Bongeunsa-ro 30-gil, 2nd floor, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea (3-minute walk from Exit 7 of Yeoksam Station)
• 🕖 Hours: Mon–Fri 11:00–21:00 · Break time 15:00–17:00 · Last order 20:00 (closed weekends)
• 🚗 Parking: available — valet at 25 Teheran-ro 27-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, ₩5,000 for 2 hours
• ✔️ Reservations, group-friendly, corkage allowed, private rooms available

Unagiwa from the street 🏡

Here's the exterior of Unagiwa! It's an easy walk from Yeoksam Station, so we just walked over from the station haha. Great accessibility! Unagiwa is on the 2nd floor of the building, so first-timers should find the building and head up to the second floor.

What is the atmosphere like inside Unagiwa?

Inside, Unagiwa has table seating, and overall it feels clean, calm, and a bit upscale ✨ We visited on a weekday at 7pm after booking through Naver reservations, waited briefly in the waiting area, then were shown to our table. If you're planning to visit, I'd recommend booking ahead!

Total Japanese vibes ..🫧 There are Japanese-style decor pieces and lighting throughout, giving it a more atmospheric feel than your average eel restaurant. We came for the eel but the whole place felt like a little trip to Japan, you know what I mean haha.

I took some shots near closing time once the other customers had cleared out. The seating is all tables, and the overall wood-tone interior gave it a warm, cozy feeling ˃̵͈̑ᴗ˂̵͈̑

I also tend to pay attention to how clean the restroom is when I go to restaurants, and this one was nicely kept too!

Unagiwa menu and prices 📖

Here's the full menu~ Unagiwa serves a variety of eel dishes, including hitsumabushi, unadon (eel rice bowl), grilled eel, eel soup, tempura, and eel omelet.

They also have a wide range of sake, plus highballs, Japanese shochu, and draft beer — plenty of good options to pair with the eel.

As a review event, they gave us either an ade or a matcha pudding. Don't forget to grab a delicious dessert too~ haha

What we ordered: two Hitsumabushi Sang sets

We ordered two hitsumabushi sets (whole eel rice bowl). Neither of us hesitated — we both went straight for the signature hitsumabushi set!

Hitsumabushi comes with a whole antibiotic-free charcoal-grilled eel, and you can enjoy the smoky char flavor all the way through to the ochazuke at the end. Since it came with a whole eel, we figured we might as well go all in haha.

Hitsumabushi Sang with a whole charcoal-grilled eel 🍽️

You can order easily using the kiosk at the table~

Here's the hitsumabushi set we ordered 🤤 Even at a glance, the eel was piled on generously — it looked so appetizing from the start.

The glossy, glistening eel covering the rice was so photogenic I couldn't stop taking pictures !!!

The eel was cut into bite-sized pieces so it was easy to eat with the rice haha. One bite in, and I could taste that subtle char from the charcoal grilling — loved it ´͈ ᵕ `͈ ♡°◌̊ The sauce wasn't overly sweet or strong either, just the right balance with the eel and rice ❕

Here's the salad and chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) that came with it 🥗 Soft yet bouncy texture, love it ..ෆ

How to eat hitsumabushi at Unagiwa

Unagiwa's hitsumabushi isn't meant to be eaten all at once — the whole point is to enjoy it in several different ways 𖤐 We went in this order: eel plain → with scallion, wasabi, and perilla leaf → with plum sauce → finally ochazuke.

First, divide the eel rice bowl into quarters and portion them onto a side plate. I did this before eating! (Turns out the ochazuke is supposed to be made in the main bowl — did it backwards, a bit awkward haha.)

Next, we ate it with scallion, wasabi, and perilla leaf. I nearly passed out from how good it was 🤣 The kind of bite that makes you go 'wait, what was that?!' Eating it together with these toppings made the eel taste even cleaner, plus that subtle charcoal aroma came through nicely.

This time we tried it with the plum sauce provided! The sweet-and-sour plum sauce added a whole new flavor 🤤 Especially right when things start to feel a bit rich, dipping it in the plum sauce keeps you going endlessly...haha

Finishing with ochazuke

And here's the other highlight of hitsumabushi! Ochazuke ㆅㆅ We added seaweed flakes to the portioned bowl and poured over the tea. Everyone !!!! This was seriously the best part ⭐️

With the warm tea added, it felt completely different from the eel rice bowl we started with! The rich flavor of the eel softened, and with the seaweed flakes mixed in, it went down much more cleanly overall. Personally, the plain eel rice bowl was already delicious, but I think the ochazuke at the end was the best part haha. Actually wait, thinking about it again, the plain rice bowl was so good too... honestly can't pick between the two, they're both that good.

Everyone, just look at the visuals. Visuals: pass 💯 Taste: speechless 💯

Is Unagiwa's eel bowl worth it? Final verdict 📔

If you're looking for a great eel rice bowl restaurant in Yeoksam, Gangnam, or Seoul, I highly recommend Unagiwa! Big recommendation ‼️ Honestly, I enjoyed it more than the eel rice bowl I had in Fukuoka, Japan haha. The portions were generous, and that subtle charcoal aroma from the direct-fire grilling made it so satisfying. I honestly lost count of how many times I said 'this is so good' while eating, haha.

What made hitsumabushi especially fun was being able to enjoy it so many ways — plain, with scallion, wasabi, and perilla leaf, and finally as ochazuke! The restaurant was clean with a nice Japanese atmosphere, so it'd also be a good spot for a date, family meal, or special occasion. I'm planning to come back next time for the unadon ✔️ Chance of returning: 1,000,000,000%