Gangnam eel restaurant comparing hitsumabushi vs unadon sets: Unagiwa

Today's record is from a visit to Unagiwa, a Yeoksam Station eel rice bowl spot famous for its hitsumabushi set and unadon 😊

Hours Weekdays 11:00–21:00 Break time 15:00–17:00 Last order 20:00 Closed weekends

Location and parking near Yeoksam Station

It's a 3-minute walk from Exit 7 of Yeoksam Station! If you're driving, search '서울 강남구 테헤란로27길 25' and valet parking is available too — ₩5,000 for 2 hours.

We booked through Naver Reservations. They check your reservation at the entrance and show you to your seat.

What's the vibe inside?

The interior has an overall cozy feel! Warm wood tones give it the atmosphere of a Japanese home. The liquor bottles used as decor are so nice,,, sansho pepper powder and tissues are also set out at every table!

You can order easily from the kiosk set up at each table!

The menu shown here is from Naver. There's also a bunch of other menu items like alcohol and highballs, so keep that in mind.

⚠️ Salt-grilled eel and sauce-grilled eel require an order of 2 or more portions ⚠️ We ordered the hitsumabushi set and the unadon set.

4 steps to eating hitsumabushi

The food finally arrived!! The owner asked if it was our first visit, then kindly explained how to eat hitsumabushi. Divide the eel rice bowl into quarters and try:

• Eating it plain
• Eating it with chives and wasabi
• Pouring seaweed flakes and tea over it for ochazuke
• Eating it with bainiku (plum sauce)

They explained that eating it this way lets you enjoy it in different ways! And if you forget, it's all shown right there on the kiosk!!!

What's in the hitsumabushi (large) and unadon (large) sets

The hitsumabushi (large) set (+₩38,000) comes with 1 eel, jawanmushi (steamed egg), 3 pickled side dishes, salad, a small side dish, seaweed flakes, fresh wasabi, chives, bainiku, miso soup (Japanese-style broth), and ochazuke.

The unadon (large) set (+₩38,000) comes with 1 eel, jawanmushi (steamed egg), 3 pickled side dishes, salad, a small side dish, fresh wasabi, bainiku, and miso soup (Japanese-style broth)!

The eel in hitsumabushi

Here's the eel from the hitsumabushi!! Grilled with tare sauce, it's perfectly seasoned, and being able to eat it with chives, wasabi, or as ochazuke depending on your taste was so nice.

The eel in unadon

The eel on top of the unadon is steamed one more time, making it even softer and moister!! For pure eel flavor, unadon personally suited my taste more. It's mostly just a bit more moist, so there's no huge difference!! If you're torn between hitsumabushi and unadon, I'd say decide based on whether you want ochazuke or not.

Being able to eat a full eel rice bowl spread like this for ₩38,000 near Yeoksam Station makes me so happy,,, the composition is so solid and the service is top notch!!

Extra tare sauce and jawanmushi

They'll give you extra tare sauce on request too, so if you want a stronger flavor, I'd recommend asking for it!!

And this jawanmushi is seriously seriously delicious ㅠㅠㅠㅠ The shiitake mushroom on top pairs perfectly with it, and it's jiggly like pudding but warm and just so good!!!

Finishing off with ochazuke — personally, out of the four ways to eat it, ochazuke was my favorite!! Topped with fresh wasabi, it's pure bliss.

Which one should you choose? Selection tip

⭐TIP⭐ If you love ochazuke, go for hitsumabushi without a doubt!! If you don't like ochazuke, go for unadon!! For pure eel flavor, unadon was tastier ❤️

Hall seating (2, 3–4, 5+) and private rooms (6+) are available by reservation, and they also offer a free Ebisu draft beer coupon, so if you're heading to Unagiwa, the Yeoksam eel rice bowl spot where hitsumabushi is amazing, I'd recommend booking through Naver Reservations before you go!!