Seolleung eel restaurant solo dinner: salt-grilled whole eel, Manmok

What is Manmok in Seolleung like?

Manmok (만목) is a Japanese-style eel restaurant about 273 m straight ahead from Exit 2 of Seolleung Station, tucked into an alley. Its motto is basically "a place where quiet hospitality lingers." The entrance has a clean, tidy wood interior!! Since I went in the evening, the lighting made the eel look even better.

Near Seolleung Station, Manmok is a Japanese restaurant that serves the true flavor of eel in a neat, refined way, with eel rice bowls as its specialty. I came for a stamina-boosting dinner of Kanto-style grilled eel.

What are the atmosphere and seating like at Manmok?

Inside, Manmok is a quiet space with classy wood interior, soft lighting and classical music playing. There's a restrained sense of empty space, and you can eat in a calm atmosphere.

There are big tables in the hall, so the flow of movement is tidy. Groups are fine, and I'd recommend it for dates, anniversaries, meals with parents and important entertaining. If you like a quiet vibe, good 👍

Wood and stone give it a calm feel overall, and the tables are spaced fairly generously. The low lighting makes it cozier and more upscale, so I found myself looking around at everything. I took a window-side seat and ordered from the menu.

What are Manmok's menu and prices, and where does the eel come from?

Manmok's signature items are the eel rice bowl, ₩26,000 for half an eel and ₩39,000 for a whole one. Evening-only items are the premium eel nabe (hot pot) for ₩69,000, premium grilled eel (seasoned or salt) for ₩55,000 and hanwoo (Korean beef) nabe for ₩63,000.

• Eel rice bowl, half eel: ₩26,000
• Eel rice bowl, whole eel: ₩39,000
• [Evening only] Premium eel nabe: ₩69,000
• [Evening only] Premium grilled eel (seasoned/salt): ₩55,000
• [Evening only] Hanwoo nabe: ₩63,000

Manmok uses only freshwater eel from Gochang, considered one of Korea's best eel regions. They say they choose only carefully managed eel from origin through selection, so it tastes clean and deep without any gamey smell.

They say they stick to the Kanto-style cooking method, which brings out the eel's texture and light taste. The eel is grilled once, steamed, brushed with a secret sauce and grilled over charcoal two more times, which cuts the grease and leaves only tenderness and depth. The menu has plenty of eel-based dishes, including eel rice bowls, eel nabe and grilled eel.

The drinks list is varied too: sparkling wine, beer, wine and champagne, so you can pair them with eel, and each wine is marked with its sweetness and body, which makes choosing easy. I had to go back to work, so I passed on alcohol! For my solo meal I ordered one whole evening-only salt-grilled premium eel!!

Is Manmok okay for dining alone?

Every seat at Manmok is separated by a partition, so even alone I didn't feel other people's eyes on me, and I loved that private space. Because I was alone, the roomy table looked even bigger 😀

What does the side dish spread for Manmok's premium grilled eel look like?

When you order the premium grilled eel, a generous spread of namul (seasoned greens), pickles, chawanmushi (savory steamed egg custard) and eel sauces is laid out before the main. And finally, the spread arrived.

• Left: bangpung-namul (a wild herb) with soybean paste, seasoned radish strips, white kimchi
• Center: special salt sauce, wasabi, pickled mushrooms, pickled sancho (Korean pepper berries), shrimp chawanmushi
• Right: acorn jelly salad, pickled young ginger and ginger, pickled cheongyang chili and onion, myeongi-namul (pickled wild garlic leaves), yuja (citron) ssambu (pickled radish wraps)

The special salt sauce, wasabi, pickled mushrooms and pickled sancho are the sauces for the eel ❤️ I love the elegant plating before the main dish even comes out. It isn't just one or two sides; there's a variety that goes well with eel, so the table feels abundant.

There's also sancho powder that you sprinkle on the eel rice bowl. I'll have to come back for the eel rice bowl next time.

The tableware and plating match the interior and look classy. The acorn jelly salad came in a generous portion, which pleased my eyes first.

The Japanese-style shrimp chawanmushi, like a wobbly pudding with shrimp in it, melts in your mouth. It's the perfect appetizer before the salt-grilled eel.

Special salt sauce / wasabi, pickled mushrooms / pickled sancho. These are accompaniments that let you enjoy eel in different ways.

How does Manmok's salt-grilled premium eel taste?

Manmok's salt-grilled premium eel is light and not greasy, with far less of the usual eel richness, and the flesh was tender. And here comes the main, the salt-grilled premium eel. Eel sauce came on the side too.

The eel is grilled once, steamed, brushed with the secret sauce and charcoal-grilled two more times, so it's low in grease and clean-tasting. For the first piece I enjoyed the natural light flavor, and for the second I had it with wasabi for a spicy kick. The eel's typical richness is much reduced, and the flesh is tender with the light taste intact.

Side dishes that go well with salt-grilled eel

The sweet-and-sour myeongi-namul whets the appetite, and the grilled eel shines even more. I felt I'd made the right call picking Manmok for a stamina meal.

The bangpung-namul is lightly seasoned with soybean paste and sesame oil, so you get the herb's aroma and nutty flavor.

The tangy white kimchi cleanses the palate. Wrap the eel in yuja ssambu for one bite and your mouth is totally full. The Gochang freshwater eel is really plump. The best 😍

Paired with the pickled mushrooms, you get the deep flavor of the salt-grilled eel.

You can see the golden-grilled look of the eel and smell the charcoal. A gentle charcoal aroma spreads. Seasoned with just salt, no sauce, it has a nutty flavor :)

You feel the thick texture of the eel, the tender flesh and the juices. If you want to really taste eel, definitely try the salt-grilled one~~

It's the premium grilled eel, so it's filling. It's stamina food that suits autumn perfectly, and I was very satisfied.

What dessert ice cream does Manmok offer?

After the meal at Manmok, you can choose either matcha or black tea ice cream for dessert. I went with black tea !!

The black tea ice cream has a fragrant tea flavor, so it was subtle and sweet. A sweet dessert capped off a satisfying evening. Eating alone was no burden at all, which I liked. From the main to the final dessert, the whole meal felt well put together. With the season changing I'd been feeling run down, and I leave properly restored with eel, the perfect autumn stamina food.

Who is Manmok in Seolleung recommended for?

Manmok has a classy interior and a quiet, atmospheric setting, so I recommend it to anyone wanting a proper full spread or looking for something different. It suits dates, meals with parents, important gatherings and company dinners.

Close to Seolleung Station, it's easy to reach, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a calm Japanese restaurant in Gangnam. Gochang freshwater eel, the cooking and the space all come together here. A quiet but memorable meal. Solo salt-grilled premium eel at Manmok: very satisfied 👍 👍 👍