Open-kitchen eel restaurant with solo seats in Magok, Seoul: Kikukawa

Today I'm introducing Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa One Grove Branch, an eel rice bowl restaurant in Magok One Grove, Seoul. Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa is a chain with locations beyond One Grove too — Yeouido, Express Bus Terminal, and Busan. I heard the nearby One Grove branch serves authentic Nagoya-style eel dishes along with course meals, so I went to check it out.

What does Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa mean?

Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa apparently means "the eel restaurant carried on for four generations, Kikukawa" (a family surname). A four-generation eel specialist — that alone got me curious and excited.

The atmosphere, the private room, and group gatherings

The restaurant was really spacious. The clean, upscale interior gave it a genuine fine-dining feel. This Magok One Grove eel restaurant has not only large hall tables but also a separate private room, where some diners were quietly having their meal. Thanks to the upscale atmosphere, it seemed like a great spot near Magok Station for wedding invitation gatherings, group meetups, business meetings, or family gatherings.

Solo counter seats and the floor-to-ceiling glass open kitchen

There were also counter seats that seemed made for solo diners. This area had a structure where the kitchen was fully visible through floor-to-ceiling glass, so I could watch how the eel got grilled. Staff were busy trimming and grilling eel, and it was genuinely fun to watch. Having a kitchen this visibly open also felt reassuring for hygiene, and it made me think they must be proud of their eel dishes to show it off like that.

This Magok One Grove eel restaurant was reportedly selected for the 2019 Michelin Guide. Getting to try a Michelin-recognized eel restaurant right in Magok — Magok really is a food paradise 🥹

The menu: hitsumabushi and the kaiseki course

This Magok One Grove eel restaurant offers not just hitsumabushi eel rice bowls but also upscale course meals — there's a separate kaiseki menu. We just ordered the basic hitsumabushi, but for important gatherings like business meetings, family get-togethers, or a meeting-the-parents dinner, the upscale course could be a great option. Now I'm really curious about the eel course meal here in Magok...

We ordered the basic eel rice bowl, hitsumabushi. There was a separate lunch menu too, but we just wanted the basics, so we went with hitsumabushi. There was a version with whole eel pieces and one with finely chopped eel, but we went simple and chose the original!!

How was the original hitsumabushi?

The main dish at this Magok Station eel gathering spot, hitsumabushi, had thick, melt-in-your-mouth eel. The rice seasoning was spot-on, and the eel was grilled evenly with no overly burnt spots. There was tare sauce and something like shichimi pepper on the side for anyone who wanted extra seasoning. The soup was mild on purpose, apparently — the idea being that if you sprinkle too much spice and your mouth gets too spicy, you can sip the soup like a rinse. Just looking at the photos, you can tell how polished the eel dish is 🥹 It really made me think — no wonder it's a four-generation eel specialist.

Wasabi, chives, and seaweed instead of ochazuke

There was a suggested way to eat it like ochazuke, but the eel's seasoning was already so perfectly balanced that we skipped pouring it over rice with broth. We just topped it with chives, seaweed, and wasabi and enjoyed it that way. Eating it with wasabi really brought out the eel's flavor even more — delicious.

I ate so well, and the atmosphere was so upscale, that this Magok One Grove restaurant, Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa, is somewhere I'm definitely bringing family and friends back to. I hope everyone knows about this Magok eel restaurant! It's a bit of a pricier meal, but I didn't feel like the money was wasted at all — I felt like I'd treated myself to some proper restorative food, which felt great. My stomach genuinely felt full in a satisfying, healthy way.

On the way out after paying, there was also a business card raffle event. Everyone, drop your card in and enter haha. They even had mouthwash ready. I officially declare this the ultimate Magok restaurant. If I get to come back soon, I'll post about it again.