Magok One Grove Mall eel rice bowl for a business lunch: Una Magok

I had to treat a friend today, so we went to Una Magok, a hitsumabushi specialty restaurant. I had no idea what hitsumabushi was, so I looked it up — turns out it's a Nagoya-style eel rice bowl.

Hours 11:20–22:00 / Break time 15:00–17:00 / Last order 21:00 / 1.5 hours free parking, paid corkage, high chairs available

Where is Una Magok and how do you get there?

Una Magok sits between Magongnaru Station and Magok Station, and connects underground to One Grove Mall, so it was easy and convenient to find. I walked over from work. Outside, there was a Catch Table waitlist pad, which usually only shows up at popular restaurants, so I got a little excited.

Inside Una Magok: partitions and private rooms

Una Magok uses dark wood and lighting throughout, giving off a polished, upscale mood. The clean, calm atmosphere made me feel like I'd walked into a proper fine-dining spot, which put me in an even better mood.

The partitions between tables were high, so even the regular seats felt private, not just the actual private rooms — of which there were a few, making the place great for gatherings or business meetings. Maybe because it was lunchtime, there were a lot of office workers still wearing their ID badges. A few couples were on dates too.

Una Magok menu and what we ordered

Una Magok has several menu options — eel rice bowl, charcoal-grilled chicken rice bowl, grilled Patagonian toothfish rice bowl, pollock roe eel rice bowl — so even people who can't eat eel can enjoy it. There are also single-dish items and a kids' menu. They're running a review event too, so it might be worth joining.

The drinks menu was also pretty varied. I wanted a highball, but held off since I had to go back to work. We ordered two small hitsumabushi (Nagoya-style eel rice bowl) at ₩32,000 each.

How do you eat hitsumabushi properly?

Una Magok has a card explaining how to eat it properly, so my friend and I read it closely before the food arrived, haha. First you eat it plain, then add toppings, and finally eat it like ochazuke (rice with broth poured over it). Rice, side dishes, toppings, and soup are all refillable, for reference.

We chatted for a bit, and the food came out faster than expected. The staff member opened the lunch box for us and walked us through it. It had a cute, dainty presentation that felt charming.

Side dishes and toppings served with the eel rice bowl

Side dishes included potato salad, braised konjac in soy sauce, cucumber, mushrooms, sansam namul (wild mountain herb), and various pickles. Alongside that came perilla leaves, scallions, furikake, wasabi, a clear soup, and warm broth for making ochazuke.

How big is the small hitsumabushi, and how does it taste?

Looking at it again still makes my mouth water... Half an eel is actually quite a lot, so the small size should be plenty for most women. The rice was drizzled with a savory sauce similar to tare, and the egg on top made it filling.

Putting a little wasabi on the eel made it insanely good... Eel can have a fishy taste even when cooked well, but there was zero fishiness here — it was soft, perfectly seasoned, and just delicious. Grilled the traditional way with tare sauce, it had that crisp-outside, tender-inside texture that told me this eel was really well grilled.

Since eel is pretty fatty, once it started feeling rich, eating it with the sansam namul and pickles cut through the richness and refreshed the palate. Adding perilla leaves, furikake, or scallions as toppings along the way gave it a different feel each time, so it was fun hunting for the best combination.

Finishing the bowl as chicken broth ochazuke

To finish, I poured the broth over the rice to make ochazuke, and it honestly felt like eating a whole new dish. The broth, made from chicken, tasted clean yet deep, and since it was already seasoned, it had that flavor that could bring back even a lost appetite (?).

Dessert at Una Magok: matcha ice cream

For dessert, we got matcha ice cream, which you just request through the Catch Table pad, haha. It had a sherbet-like texture, sweet and slightly bitter, which made for a refreshing finish.

Is Una Magok worth it for a lunch in Magok?

• An upscale restaurant in Magok with private rooms, great for treating guests
• A hitsumabushi specialty spot known for delicious eel rice bowls

I'd recommend Una Magok〰️