Group meal at Una Magok near Magongnaru, chicken mabushi with pollock

I had plans with some friends recently, so we headed to Seoul Botanic Garden in Magok. The weather's been amazing lately, hasn't it? Especially with the sky looking so pretty and a cool breeze in the shade — it's the perfect season for a loop around the garden and a picnic on the outdoor lawn!

After a healing afternoon catching up with friends, we got hungry when mealtime rolled around. Magok has so many great restaurants, but since I hadn't seen these friends in a while, I really wanted to find something delicious. I searched and searched and finally found a hidden gem~

This place specializes in hitsumabushi, the Nagoya-style eel rice bowl, but unusually, alongside the classic hitsumabushi it also has unique options like chicken mabushi (torimabushi) and merou (Patagonian toothfish) mabushi.

Una Magok's location and hours

Una Magok / 1st floor, K Square Magok Tower 2, 105-7 Magok-jungang-ro, Gangseo-gu, Seoul / Daily 11:20 – 22:00 (last order 21:00) / Break time 15:00 – 17:00

Just look for units 106 and 107 at the central plaza of the K Square Magok 2 building :)

Una Magok's modern exterior — waitlisting is done through the CatchTable kiosk in front of the store.

Inside: the atmosphere and the private rooms

Inside, it's laid out with modern wood and beige-toned tables.

If you book ahead, they'll show you to a private room~

This place lets you watch the eel being grilled over charcoal, so it's fun to look at as well as eat~~

Ordering via T-order: the chicken mabushi with pollock roe

You order through a T-order tablet. Even though it's a hitsumabushi set, the price was really reasonable, which I loved~~

I'd had hitsumabushi not long ago, so I went for Una Magok's exclusive menu item, the chicken mabushi with pollock roe (myeongnan) set.

For tsukemono (pickled side dishes)... braised konjac, mashed potato, pickled cucumber, and seasoned mushrooms came out.

It arrived as a generous full spread, which would be great for important meetings, gatherings, business meetings, or even blind dates!!

How to enjoy hitsumabushi properly

My two friends ordered the hitsumabushi set. They said it had been a while since they'd had hitsumabushi and were super excited haha

• First, try it as is, in its original flavor
• Then add various toppings and wasabi
• Next, pour in the warm broth
• Finally, finish it the way you liked best of the three

The special sauce made with over 30 herbal ingredients

Una Magok's sauce sets it apart from the start — instead of a simple soy-based sauce, it's made by simmering about 30 different herbal ingredients and spices for over 12 hours to create a deeply flavorful special sauce. The concentrated umami and subtle aroma from the long simmering pair beautifully with the eel's rich fattiness, taking the flavor to another level! There's zero fishy taste, and the sauce's explosive umami is the real highlight.

How was the chicken mabushi and pollock roe combo?

Chicken mabushi (torimabushi) is a menu item exclusive to Una Magok — chicken brushed repeatedly with their signature tare sauce and grilled over charcoal, giving it a clean yet deeply savory flavor. Paired with plump, fresh pollock roe, it tastes more incredible than any delicacy out there~ The pollock roe wasn't salty at all, so it was delicious even eaten by the handful!!

To finish, they gave us green tea ice cream for dessert, which refreshed the palate... a really clean way to end the meal^^

Una Magok isn't just a meal — it's a place to properly taste authentic Nagoya-style eel dishes. Thanks to the clean, pleasant interior, I'd fully recommend it for all kinds of gatherings: business meetings, team dinners, blind dates, date nights, or family meals. We all need to build up our stamina during this changing season, right? Eat some eel to warm up your body and restore your energy, and let's head into fall and winter healthy~~