Charcoal-grilled eel dinner near Seonleung Station, 55,000 won: Manmok

Hi everyone :) Good evening! With the weather getting hotter lately I've been feeling a bit drained, so I went out to properly restore my energy haha. This time I visited a place called Manmok, an eel specialty restaurant near Seonleung Station.

At lunch, Manmok is famous for its eel rice bowl, so a lot of people looking for a Gangnam eel rice bowl solo-dining spot come by. In the evening, you can enjoy grilled eel and other dishes.

I visited in the evening this time and tried the grilled eel — the food was clean and the interior felt upscale, so I thought it would suit a date, a family meal, or an important occasion.

Manmok, Seonleung Station

Manmok location, hours and parking near Seonleung Station

Manmok is located at 9 Seonleung-ro 82-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 1st floor. Since it's in Daechi-dong, it's also a convenient spot for office workers looking for a Daechi-dong lunch restaurant.

Manmok is open daily from 11:00 to 22:00, with a break time from 15:00 to 17:00.

Parking is available. There's space for about 2 cars in front of the restaurant. That said, the parking space itself isn't very generous haha.

What the dinner-only special grilled eel costs at Manmok

That day, we ordered from the [Dinner only] Special Grilled Eel ₩55,000 menu like this:

• Seasoned-grilled eel, 1 whole — ₩55,000
• Salt-grilled eel, half — ₩29,000
• Rice — ₩1,500

The special grilled eel apparently uses freshwater eel from Gochang, slow-grilled over charcoal to bring out the eel's natural flavor.

Eel tastes quite different depending on whether it's seasoned or salt-grilled, so I wanted to try both. To cut to the conclusion, both were delicious, but I liked enjoying the salt-grilled eel for its clean, plain eel flavor, and the seasoned-grilled eel for its savory richness.

The side dishes also came out really neat and clean, right??

Manmok's wood-tone dining room doesn't feel like an eel joint

One thing I really liked about Manmok was the atmosphere. When you think of an eel restaurant, you might picture a somewhat rustic place filled with charcoal smoke smell, but this place felt totally different! Overall it was clean and calm, and with the wood-tone interior added, it felt warm yet upscale.

The tables weren't cramped, which made dining comfortable, and it was generally quiet, which was nice for conversation over the meal. So honestly, it felt less like I'd come for eel and more like I'd come to a slightly upscale Japanese dining spot haha.

The atmosphere seemed good for a date, and it also felt suitable for taking your parents or hosting someone important. I especially felt that office workers near Seonleung Station looking for a Seonleung Station team dinner spot would prefer a clean atmosphere like this.

How does the 29,000 won half salt-grilled eel taste?

Manmok's salt-grilled eel let me properly taste the eel itself! Maybe because it was slow-grilled over charcoal, the outside had a subtle charcoal aroma while the flesh inside was moist and tender ♥️ Eel can sometimes feel too greasy after a few bites, but the salt-grilled version was relatively clean-tasting, so I kept eating more.

Dipping it into the accompanying sauce gave it a whole different flavor too.

Personally, I liked adding a little sauce better than eating the salt-grilled eel plain. It kept the eel's nutty flavor while adding the sauce's savory depth, which also went well with rice haha.

Seasoned grilled eel with wasabi and ginger on top

And what I personally found really delicious was the seasoned-grilled eel. The glossy eel, well coated in sauce, looked so good it made you think of rice just from the visual! Taking a bite, the seasoning wasn't overly sweet or sharp — it blended nicely with the eel's nutty flavor.

I ate this topped with wasabi and ginger together, and this combination was genuinely great. The wasabi's sharpness cut through the eel's richness, and the ginger's distinct aroma made it taste even cleaner. I think anyone who likes eel will probably love this combo :)

A piece of seasoned eel with a bit of ginger and a bit of wasabi on top, followed by a spoonful of rice... it just keeps going in lol.

Is Manmok good for a solo lunch or a team dinner?

At lunch, office workers can enjoy the eel rice bowl for something simple yet filling, and at dinner, you can have a more relaxed meal with grilled eel. If you're near Seonleung Station and tired of the same old lunch menus, the eel rice bowl could make for a pretty special lunch.

The interior is clean enough that solo dining doesn't feel awkward. On the flip side, the calm atmosphere and neat food at dinner also seemed well suited for a date, a family meal out, or a Seonleung Station team dinner spot.

This time I tried the grilled eel, but next time I want to visit for lunch and try the eel rice bowl too. In particular, I keep thinking about that combination of seasoned eel topped with wasabi and ginger haha.

Dessert to finish was matcha and black tea ice cream, hehe ❣️❣️ Eel can be a pricier dish if you want to eat it properly, but on this visit, not just the food but the restaurant's clean, upscale atmosphere made me think it'd be a great place to visit when you want to treat someone or have a special meal. If you're looking for an eel restaurant with a bit of atmosphere near Seonleung Station, Manmok is worth a visit :)