Group eel dinner room with two hitsumabushi bowls: Kikukawa, Magok

Kikukawa near Magok Station: the basics

• 📍 Location: 165 Gonghang-daero, Building A, 1F, E101/102, Gangseo-gu, Seoul
• ⏰ Hours: 10:30–22:00
• 🚗 Parking: 1 hour free with ₩20,000–30,000 spend / 2 hours free with ₩30,000–50,000 / 3 hours free with ₩50,000–100,000 / 5 hours free with over ₩100,000

Today's post is about a great spot for a Magok Station meetup or date — a Magok One Grove eel rice bowl restaurant. Here's the story of Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa One Grove Branch, serving traditional Nagoya-style eel dishes that tasted just like the real thing.

Storefront photo

Interior and private room seating

Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa One Grove Branch has its own entrance outside Building A's ground floor, marked simply KIKUKAWA. The exterior really gives off that authentic Japan vibe.

Inside, there are waiting chairs, and a clean, upscale interior greets you.

There were even display models perfect for takeout gifts. Made me want to gift myself some eel too — pure eel greed, haha.

The place is huge with plenty of seating, and the layout is varied. And that's not even all the seating.

It's also a room-style restaurant, with rooms sized differently for different group counts. So many options prepared! This is exactly the place to look for when you need an eel restaurant near Magok Station for a group gathering.

Tissues, toothpicks, a call bell, soy sauce (I forget what else), and sansho pepper. Having the call bell placed so neatly gave the whole table a tidy feel.

The menu is varied enough to suit everyone's taste. You can add mentaiko (seasoned pollock roe) for +₩10,000, so you can enjoy both eel and mentaiko to your heart's content.

Ilpum hitsumabushi, ₩60,000

Ilpum hitsumabushi

Ilpum hitsumabushi, ₩60,000. You get to enjoy everything from the pure flavor of the eel to a clean finishing ochazuke, step by step — if you love eel, this is the dish I'd recommend first 🥢💛

Toppings: chopped scallion, wasabi, seaweed flakes. Side dishes: gungchae (aster greens), yuzu radish pickle, cabbage salad. All the helpers that make the eel even more delicious.

Lid off!! Aaaahh — the kind of visual that makes you squeal like a dolphin.

A whole eel, grilled to a golden brown, laid on top — the ilpum hitsumabushi nailed the look from the start ✨

The outside was grilled slightly crisp and savory, while the inside was moist and tender, melting in the mouth — the texture was great.

The sweet-savory special sauce gave the eel a glossy shine 🤤 The rice was also nicely soaked in sauce — really tasty.

The accompanying broth was deep and rich yet clean-tasting, and it paired so well with the eel — genuinely delicious.

Mentaiko hitsumabushi, ₩48,000

Mentaiko hitsumabushi

Mentaiko hitsumabushi, ₩48,000. Glossy eel topped with a whole plump mentaiko ✨ If you love both eel and mentaiko, this is a no-brainer recommendation.

Good things deserve a second and third look. From any angle, that plump whole mentaiko sitting on a sturdy bed of eel 💛 The eel alone already looks amazing, and adding a chunky mentaiko on top makes the visual completely overwhelming.

How to enjoy hitsumabushi in 3 steps

Hitsumabushi is delicious eaten plain, but adding scallion, wasabi, and seaweed toppings, then finishing by pouring warm broth over it like ochazuke, lets you enjoy a range of flavors from a single dish — that's the charm of this menu. To get the most out of it, I read up carefully on how to eat it properly.

• First — taste the eel on its own
• Second — add the toppings
• Third — mix eel and rice with toppings and broth

To the sweet, savory eel, the mentaiko added its own salty umami depth and that popping texture, making the flavor feel richer and more layered 🤤

The mentaiko was so good I could finish a whole bowl of rice with just that 😁 And adding scallion, wasabi, and seaweed gave it yet another feel entirely — one menu, several different experiences. A great One Grove eel spot for a date.

Finishing with ochazuke

To finish, pour warm broth over the last bit for an ochazuke ending! 🍵 I'd saved a little eel and mentaiko to add in, and the eel's savoriness and the mentaiko's salty umami spread naturally through the broth — really delicious. Unlike the richness of the hitsumabushi earlier, this was warm, light, and went down smoothly, making the very last spoonful a clean, satisfying close ☺️

Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa One Grove 🍱 From the pure taste of eel, to the distinctive combination with mentaiko, to a satisfying ochazuke finish — this place delivered on every stage. If you want a proper eel meal in a clean, upscale setting, I recommend Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa One Grove Branch, the Magok One Grove eel rice bowl restaurant. See you next time ♪