Eel restaurant near Yeoksam Station for a solo Chobok dinner: Unagiwa

The end of June is only a few days away, and the weather has suddenly turned muggy. I checked the calendar and Chobok (초복, the first of the three hottest days of summer) is right around the corner! This year, 2026, it falls on July 11.

To all of you office workers battling the heat around Yeoksam Station, how are you holding up this summer? When your energy is easy to lose, you really need a hearty meal for lunch and dinner. So I want to introduce an eel rice bowl place that's perfect for Chobok lunch. Just yesterday after work I went to Unagiwa (우나기와), a favorite among Yeoksam office workers, to recharge with a whole-eel rice bowl, and I ate every bit of it. Here's my detailed review!

Where is Unagiwa near Yeoksam Station, and is there parking?

Unagiwa is on the 2nd floor at 71 Bongeunsa-ro 30-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, very close to Yeoksam Station on Line 2. Sadly, there is no parking.

First, the basic info for anyone heading there. It's close to Yeoksam Station, so it's great for a lunch-break walk! Since it's right in the middle of Gangnam, I recommend taking public transport or using a nearby public car park.

Unagiwa's atmosphere: good for team dinners and solo meals?

Unagiwa is a tidy, formal-yet-unintimidating dining space that suits group gatherings, company dinners, business meetings and dates. It's also a place where you can comfortably eat alone.

The first thing you notice when you walk into Unagiwa is the clean atmosphere. The neat interior makes you feel looked after, so it seems ideal for a group meetup in Yeoksam, a lunch or dinner with colleagues, a business meeting or a date. Even coming alone, dragging myself in tired after work, I was welcomed, and I could eat comfortably without feeling awkward. That was really nice.

If you're going at lunch or dinner peak time, or planning a group meal, booking by phone or Naver Reservation makes things much easier!

What eel does Unagiwa use in the Hitsumabushi Sang?

I ordered the Hitsumabushi Sang (a whole eel over rice) for ₩38,000. Unagiwa is an eel rice bowl specialist that brings the taste of Nagoya over in the authentic Nagoya style.

Out of all the eel restaurants, why pick Unagiwa? The owner's proud introduction made me nod along. They say they don't use cheap eel of unknown origin; they use only 100% domestic, top-grade Japonica eel raised without antibiotics, the eco-friendly way, at their own directly run farm on Ganghwado. The eel is a size of 3.5 to 4 mi, when the meat is most tender, brushed with a centuries-old Nagoya tare (glaze) sauce imported directly from Japan, and carefully grilled over a direct flame. The charcoal aroma is a work of art.

• Ordered: Hitsumabushi Sang (one whole eel over rice)
• Price: ₩38,000

Free shrimp tempura before the eel

Once you sit down at Unagiwa, before the main meal they bring out hot, crispy shrimp tempura as a free appetizer.

While I was refreshing my palate with the savory shrimp tempura, the Hitsumabushi Sang arrived, neatly laid out and visually stunning.

How to eat hitsumabushi: eel first, then mixed, then ochazuke

In the Hitsumabushi Sang, one whole antibiotic-free, flame-grilled eel covers the rice with no gaps. The faint charcoal aroma and the deep scent of the tare sauce hit your nose.

I first scooped up just the eel, and the flesh was so tender it melted in my mouth!

Next I mixed it with the rice, then poured over the green tea broth they provide and ate it ochazuke (tea-poured rice) style. The savory umami exploded, and the aftertaste was very clean.

The quality was perfect, worth every won of the ₩38,000.

A Japanese-style rice drink to finish

Surprisingly, as the meal wraps up, Unagiwa also gives you a sweet, chilled Japanese-style rice drink (an after-meal drink) for a clean finish. From the first bite to the last sip of dessert, I felt treated to a perfect course meal. Very good!

Eel rice bowl instead of samgyetang for Chobok near Yeoksam Station?

If you've gotten a little tired of the usual samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) at Chobok, I recommend the eel rice bowl at Unagiwa near Yeoksam Station. It looks great and works wonders for your energy. How about a top-grade eel rice bowl?

Unagiwa in Yeoksam is where you can really taste the quality of domestic antibiotic-free Japonica eel and the deep flavor of authentic Nagoya tare sauce!

For lunch, fill up on a neat rice bowl; for dinner, I suggest charcoal-grilled eel paired with a glass of sake or a highball, taking it slowly. Enjoy some tasty eel, everyone, and stay healthy through the sweltering midsummer!