Yeoksam eel rice bowl restaurant with weekend valet parking: Unagiwa

My husband had errands near Yeoksam Station, so since we were out in Gangnam anyway, I wanted to eat something good we can't get in Nowon, so we went to Unagiwa, a Yeoksam eel rice bowl spot..! Parking is tough around Gangnam/Yeoksam, but here we could pay ₩5,000 for valet and park easily. It's not just regular grilled eel but a Nagoya-style hitsumabushi (grilled eel over rice) place, and it was really, really good!!

Unagiwa opening hours and ₩5,000 valet parking

Unagiwa's hours are 11:00-21:00, with break time from 15:00-17:00, and last order at 20:00. Closed every Saturday and Sunday.

• Reservations ⭕️ Group use ⭕️ Corkage free ⭕️
• 📍 Search "our house" (25 Teheran-ro 27-gil) and the valet spot comes up.
• Valet parking fee is ₩5,000 for 2 hours
• It's close to Unagiwa, so you can leave your car with valet and walk over to eat.

Inside Unagiwa, near Yeoksam Station Exit 7

Unagiwa is located near Exit 7 of Yeoksam Station. The upscale exterior stands out.

The interior is full of Japanese atmosphere and feels upscale — it looks great for a date and also perfect for a company dinner.

There are Japanese-style decorations everywhere. We visited on a weekend for lunch, but apparently office workers come here a lot for lunch on weekdays too. It's plenty comfortable for solo dining as well.

Unagiwa's menu and where the eel comes from

Unagiwa recreates authentic Nagoya-style flavors and uses 100% domestic, antibiotic-free japonica rice. Rather than eel of unknown origin, they raise their own eel at a farm in Ganghwa Island. They also only use eel sized 3.5-4 chi (a Japanese sizing unit), said to have the most tender meat. Besides the various eel rice bowls, there are also fried dishes, which looked perfect for a drink or two.

Medium hitsumabushi, medium unadon, and umeboshi (pickled plum) ade. Order complete at ₩79,000 total! There's also a large size with more eel, but medium seemed like plenty, so we went with medium.

Hitsumabushi vs unadon: what's the difference?

• 🧡 Hitsumabushi is grilled over charcoal in the traditional Nagoya style, giving it a crispy outside and tender inside — the unique part is that it comes with green-tea ochazuke (tea-poured rice) on the side.
• 🧡 Unadon is the more familiar style of eel rice bowl, steamed an extra time to make it softer, which apparently takes about 10 minutes.

Medium unadon (₩38,000): how the eel tasted

Making the unadon takes over 10 minutes, so it takes a bit of time to come out. It arrives beautifully plated on a tray.

Medium unadon ₩38,000. Even though it's medium and not large, there was plenty of eel and a generous amount of rice — filling even for an adult man.

I'm not sure whether they steam first then grill or grill then steam again, but from the extra step it seemed softer, chewier, and more delicious than the eel in the hitsumabushi!! The sauce is sweet, but only sweet enough not to ruin the flavor, and salty in an addictive way..! So good!

The side dishes that come with it are all delicious too — salad, steamed egg, various banchan (side dishes), and soup.

Medium hitsumabushi (₩38,000) and the 4 ways to eat it

This is the medium hitsumabushi ₩38,000 I was curious about. It comes in a round bowl, which makes it even cuter. The difference from the unadon eel is that it's cut into smaller pieces — probably because it's meant to be eaten mixed with green tea, so smaller pieces are easier to scoop.

The side dishes are the same as with unadon, but the difference is that it comes with a rice paddle and a kettle of green tea.

The staff also explains how to eat it:

• ☑️ First, scoop out 1/4 and eat it plain
• ☑️ Add chopped scallions and wasabi
• ☑️ Pour in green tea and sprinkle seaweed flakes to make ochazuke (tea-poured rice)
• ☑️ Drizzle with the special plum sauce

It's delicious just eaten plain with rice, too.

It's even better topped with scallions, perilla leaves, and wasabi. Especially with wasabi on top, the flavor really pops. A must, must try!!!

Also, it's even better mixed into ochazuke. After trying it, hitsumabushi was better mixed, so I ended up mixing about half of it into ochazuke..!!! The plum sauce tasted a bit like gochujang (red chili paste)? That was unusual too. It's nice that you can experience so many different flavors from a single dish!

This is the umeboshi ade I ordered out of curiosity since it was cheap. It's similar to a plum ade but maybe a bit more sour? The umeboshi (pickled plum) inside tastes even better mashed up. It's only ₩3,000, so definitely order it!

Is Unagiwa worth it for a weekend lunch in Gangnam?

It had been a while since I'd been out to Yeoksam, and this was exactly the kind of upscale eel rice bowl place that's great for a trip to Gangnam. Even though it's the same eel, ordering both menus to cross-taste is a great idea — with unadon you get to taste the eel more directly, and with hitsumabushi you get to enjoy it in various ways. Highly, highly recommend both!!!!