Hitsumabushi restaurant in Yeoksam: eel bowl & lemon sherbet, Chisot

Healthy eats: Chisot

Where is Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch, and what does the name mean?

Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch is an eel rice bowl restaurant a 9-minute walk from Yeoksam Station Exit 7, and also a 9-minute walk from Eonju Station Exit 6. I went to check out this Yeoksam favorite, Chisot!

I hear the name Chisot (치솟) means "a bite that lifts your energy, over soaring charcoal fire." I'd seen lots of reviews calling it a place with a wait, so I was excited before I even went!

Inside the expanded Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch

The current location of Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch is where it moved to on October 13, with more space. It was my first visit, and you can feel the intention to offer a better space and service and rise even higher 🙂

The inside was definitely clean and comfortable! The mood is good for conversation, so it's perfect for a blind date, a first meeting or a date, and since freshwater eel is a stamina food, it also seems good for work or team dinners at lunch or in the evening!

I especially recommend the weekday lunch bento set, where you get salmon sashimi, chashu (braised pork) and chicken nanban (fried chicken with sauce) along with eel at a reasonable price!

Is Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch okay for solo dining?

Thoughtfully, Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch also has a separate area for solo diners. It's a place where eating alone feels no pressure at all!

Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch menu and the hitsumabushi spread

Chisot sells hitsumabushi in three sizes (Mini, Sang and Teuksang), plus sake-don (salmon rice bowl), salmon sashimi, mentaiko rice bowl, assorted oden hot pot, mentai-tamago hot pot and more!

When you order hitsumabushi, you get a full spread including salad, chawanmushi (steamed egg custard), soup and more!

It came out generous and neatly arranged, and I loved that!

Lemon sherbet is served as a dessert, and you order it at the kiosk after your meal, haha

Sang-size hitsumabushi: portion and how to eat it

Today I ordered the Sang size hitsumabushi at Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch, and I was amazed at how generous the portion was!! Hitsumabushi combines hitsu (a wooden tub) and mabushi (to sprinkle or mix), meaning Nagoya-style eel rice served in a wooden bowl and mixed up as you eat.

The way to eat it is kindly explained on a sheet of paper, and I ate it in the three ways listed, in order. I love that one bowl gives you so many different flavors!

• First: enjoy the rice and eel just as they are
• Second: mix with shredded seaweed, scallions and wasabi
• Third: pour ochazuke (tea broth) over it

First I enjoyed the plain flavor of the rice and eel, then I mixed in the shredded seaweed, scallions and wasabi! The flavor comes alive even more and it's even tastier. Maybe because it's domestic first-grade Japonica freshwater eel, the eel was bigger and way thicker than elsewhere. JMTGR (insanely delicious)

Chisot's eel sauce, charcoal flavor and ochazuke finish

What brings out the taste of Chisot's hitsumabushi is its special sauce, made with various vegetables and healthy ingredients and aged for 72 hours. It boosts the savory depth, so every bite was so good! I also caught a subtle charcoal aroma, and they say the eel is grilled three times over top-grade binchotan charcoal!

Personally, pouring on the ochazuke was the best, so I finished with it along with ginger. Ochazuke can be refilled without limit, so if you want more, feel free to have it!

If you're looking for Japanese food near GS Art Center, a Yeoksam office-worker favorite, or a Japanese restaurant near Yeoksam Station, I highly recommend Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch 😎

Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch opening hours

• Weekdays 11:00 - 21:30
• Saturday 11:00 - 15:00
• Break time 15:00 - 17:00
• Last order 14:30, 21:00
• Closed Sundays