Gangseo Japanese restaurant eel rice bowl date: Ilpum Magok

The day we went to Magok for eel rice bowls

We headed to Magok for the eel rice bowl my boyfriend had been going on and on about for weeks, haha. It is five minutes from Balsan Station, accessible by car, and takes reservations. We booked ahead on Naver because we hate waiting; maybe because ours was the last reservation before break time, there was no queue! But why was the dining room absolutely packed???

It looked cozy, but was roomier than expected, with lots of diners and staff. Turns out Ilpum is a chain restaurant? There were also dishes picked on programs featuring actor Hwang Jung-min and comedian Lee Young-ja, and the photos instantly made my mouth water!!!

Reservation and visitor information

Ilpum Magok (일품 마곡점) uses Tableing, so you can make a visit reservation there. The huge advantage is that reservations need no deposit, and same-day reservations are possible too! Dining is limited to 90 minutes when there is a wait or another reservation, but otherwise there is no time limit.

When there is a free corkage event with a Naver reservation, you can bring one bottle free. Naver Place also has various benefits, including pregnancy-support and birthday celebration coupons, so you can reserve and use a coupon too.

An interior with window seats and an open kitchen

Inside, there are counter seats and seats facing one another. With sunny window seats too, it is a great restaurant where you can eat and relax without feeling cramped. I also loved the interior: it was noticeably neat and clean, which made this feel like an upscale Magok restaurant where the food would arrive just as tidy and refined.

Perfect for anniversaries, dates, or family gatherings. The open kitchen also lets you watch while waiting for your order, which was fun in itself!

There is space to hang your clothes behind the chairs, so you can comfortably hang up your outerwear before eating.

Join the Naver receipt-review event and you get two croquettes, so do it~~~

A wide Japanese menu, from unagi-don to sushi

Ilpum is one of Seoul's standout kaisendon (seafood rice bowl) restaurants, built around seafood dishes :) The Japanese menu is seriously varied, with unagi-don, kaisendon, yellowtail rice bowls, sushi omakase, sushi, aburi-don, and more. If you usually love seafood or Japanese food, I really want to recommend this seafood spot~~!

Because we ordered our menu when making the Naver reservation, the food came quickly and we could eat comfortably. Today's choices were the daily sushi set and unagi-don. Since we usually crave different things, choosing exactly what each of us wanted was perfect, hahaha.

Unagi-don with sweet sauce as its secret weapon

The unagi-don, an eel rice bowl picked by actor Hwang Jung-min when KBS's Baedalwa Suda aired. You get a whole Japanese eel and Japanese rolled omelet too. How delicious could Ilpum's seasoned eel rice bowl be~?

Seeing the eel cut into easy bite-size pieces made my mouth water immediately. The portion was quite generous, so it barely seemed to disappear; my boyfriend, who had been singing the eel-rice-bowl song for weeks, was happy he could eat to his heart's content.

Put eel and scallions over the rice, and it melts in your mouth. The sweet sauce is the key, and adding wasabi makes it even more heavenly, hahaha.

Steamed egg came with it too; with shrimp inside and that melt-in-your-mouth texture, it was such a healing moment! Every side dish was amazingly good as well.

A filling daily sushi set with futomaki

The flower of Japanese food is the daily sushi. There is a sushi omakase menu too, but there is also this good-value daily sushi option for an easy, satisfying meal. It even comes with futomaki (thick sushi roll), making it a wonderfully filling meal.

It was among the most elegant sushi I have had, with every piece of sashimi fresh and melting in my mouth. You could feel the skill in every single piece, so each bite felt precious.

The complimentary udon topped with karaage (Japanese fried chicken). Wow, this udon was seriously,,,, insane. Why are Ilpum's dishes all so delicious? A restaurant I genuinely keep thinking about.

Hahahahahahahahahaha, did this work as one of those trendy mood photos,,,,? I guess this photo did not make the cut.

After you finish, dessert comes out too. It was not ice cream, but it melted in the mouth. I wanted to ask for another one, hahaha. Please give me just one more,,,

A huge success for a Magok date meal

We came out to the Magok area for a date for the first time in a while, and this Magok restaurant was a huge success! It has a lovely atmosphere and feels quiet and upscale, so I think it would be great to reserve for an anniversary. A perfect kaisendon and unagi-don spot to visit with family too. I recommend Ilpum Magok, and I want to return :::)))