Gwangsan eel grill, 750g with Dad ends an eel-bone fear: Yuil Jangeo

Can someone with an eel-bone fear enjoy Yuil Jangeo?

Yuil Jangeo in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, is an eel restaurant where you pick freshwater eel yourself from a refrigerated display and have it grilled over charcoal. The writer, who had steered clear of eel out of fear of its bones, visited Yuil Jangeo with Dad on a rainy autumn day.

With the autumn rain it's gotten suddenly chilly lately. I went out for eel with my dad. Honestly, I don't really like eel. When I was little, a bone from eel we ate at home got badly stuck in my throat, and I've kept away from eel ever since.

But my friends kept telling me that at an eel specialty restaurant you can barely feel the bones, and that I should definitely go to a proper restaurant and try again. So, to put my long eel-avoiding days behind me (and get a little health boost too), I went to Yuil Jangeo with my dad.

Yuil Jangeo hours, parking and amenities

Yuil Jangeo is open every day from 11:00 to 21:00 (the last order is printed as 08:30 in the original). Parking is available, with disabled parking spaces and free valet, and takeout is possible.

• Parking available, disabled parking spaces, free valet
• Takeout available
• Wheelchair accessible
• Baby chairs available
• Groups welcome: rooms for 6–30 people (book via Naver); on weekends and holidays, bookings of 20 or more are possible
• Separate men's and women's restrooms

The rain was pouring, so I couldn't take detailed photos, but Yuil Jangeo has large parking lots in front of and behind the restaurant. There's also plenty of outdoor waiting space and a free valet service, so it looked easy to visit without worrying about parking.

Inside Yuil Jangeo and its private rooms

The inside of Yuil Jangeo was very spacious and pleasant. To the right of the entrance is a self-bar, and behind the self-bar there are 7 rooms in total. There's a separate waiting area indoors too, and you can also use Tabling, a remote queueing service.

Yuil Jangeo eel prices and how to order

Eel at Yuil Jangeo costs ₩29,000 per kg. That's about 600g of boneless meat after trimming, which works out to roughly ₩4,833 per 100g.

At Yuil Jangeo you choose your eel from the refrigerated display and pay for it first at the counter. The eel you paid for is partially grilled first and then brought to your table, and the table setting fee and any extra dishes are paid separately when you leave after the meal. For the takeout discount see the first photo, and for delivery see the second!

The table setting fee is ₩4,000 per adult and ₩2,000 per elementary school child. Across from the refrigerated display there was also an eel aging cooler.

The Yuil Jangeo self-service bar

The self-bar at Yuil Jangeo was neatly kept too. The wrap vegetables were fresh and good.

Ordering extra dishes by tablet at Yuil Jangeo

Extra dishes at Yuil Jangeo are ordered on the tablet at your table. The menu is varied, from set meals to eel soup, eel tteokgalbi (grilled patty) and naengmyeon (cold noodles). By the way, one eel tteokgalbi comes free if you write a Naver review.

750g of charcoal-grilled eel for two, picked with Dad

The eel set meal at Yuil Jangeo is a lunch special, so we picked eel for two and ordered that. The basic table setting comes out, and once you wait a bit, they bring in the charcoal.

The onions threw me off because there was no sauce. I thought they were pickled onions, but they were just raw onions. You sprinkle on sauce yourself at the self-bar, haha.

After a short wait, the partially grilled eel comes out. We chose one two-person pack, about 750g of eel.

Right when it came out freshly seared, a staff member came over and turned the eel on its side. They said you grill it standing like this. Anyway, the eel was grilling nicely.

Chewy, bouncy eel tteokgalbi (grilled eel patty)

Yuil Jangeo grilled the eel tteokgalbi (grilled patty) for us too. It was chewy and bouncy. I held back because I'm on a diet, but if I weren't, I think I'd have eaten 5 pieces by myself.

Yuil Jangeo eel: not boneless, yet no bones to feel

The eel at Yuil Jangeo isn't boneless eel, but I didn't feel a single bone, so I enjoyed it more than expected. It was a measly little wrap, but I usually don't like pickled radish (ssambu), and since the eel turned out richer and oilier than I expected, I ended up adding the radish too and ate until I was full.

I could see why my friends told me to try eel again at a specialty restaurant. We finished the meal properly, even with nurungji (scorched rice) as dessert.

What was disappointing at Yuil Jangeo?

One disappointment at Yuil Jangeo was the seat assignment. There were quite a lot of empty tables when we visited, yet they showed newly arrived guests to the seat right next to ours. The tables aren't spaced apart; they're pressed right up against each other, which was a bit uncomfortable.

I suppose it's because those tables had already been set in advance 😭😭 but with so many empty seats, it would have been nice if they'd seated people with a bit more room. I was meeting my dad for the first time in a while, and with tables pressed so close together, it was a little awkward to talk.

Is Yuil Jangeo a Gwangsan eel restaurant worth recommending?

Still, I enjoyed the eel at Yuil Jangeo, and with the big parking lots, free valet and private rooms, it seems good for family gatherings and group meals too. If you're looking for Korean food in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, charcoal-grilled freshwater eel at Yuil Jangeo could be a hearty way to boost your energy.

Thanks to this, I had a meal out with Dad for the first time in a while, and my long-held prejudice against eel cracked a little. Mission accomplished: eel avoidance over! Haha.

Would I return? ★★★★☆ (3.8 / 5.0)