Mapo Japanese restaurant for lunch beer and eel ochazuke: Ochaya

Where is Ochaya? Second floor by Hongdae Sangsangmadang

Today's spot was Ochaya, an ochazuke restaurant near Hongdae Station!! It's located near Hongdae Sangsangmadang and wasn't hard to find in front of the building. I got there right after a nail appointment and worried it might be break time, but luckily Ochaya doesn't have a separate break time, so I could visit without any hassle!!

Can you eat alone at Ochaya? Bar seats with phone stands

The space is on the cozy side, but there were more tables than I expected, so even at lunchtime when I visited it wasn't too crowded and I could eat at a relaxed pace! There was also a bar seat with a phone stand, which looked totally fine for solo dining!! I visited alone that day too, and it didn't feel awkward at all — nice for eating slowly and heading out.

What is ochazuke? Choosing the unagi ochazuke at Ochaya

Ochazuke is a Japanese dish where warm green tea is poured over rice with various toppings on top. The first time you hear that,

rice with,,,,,, green tea,, ??;;;

you might think that...!!!! But when you actually eat it, it's similar to how we pour water over rice here, except with the tea's aroma added, it feels much more flavorful. I wasn't sure this combination would even taste good at first, but it works surprisingly well~ Looking at the menu, everything from salmon to eel looked delicious, so I agonized for a while. Honestly I wanted to try everything on the menu..ㅠ But eel was what I was craving that day, so I went with the unagi ochazuke!

Unagi ochazuke (eel) ₩16,000 / Kirin Ichiban (330ml) ₩6,000 / Zero Coke ₩2,000

While waiting for my order, I grabbed water and an apron from the self-service bar in the back. The steps for eating ochazuke are also posted in the restaurant, so if this is your first time and you're not sure how to eat it, you can just follow along. It was easy even for a first-timer, which I liked!

Unagi ochazuke at Ochaya, 16,000 won: a whole eel on the rice

Not-so-appetizing-looking but so good,,ㅠㅠ A whole eel sits on top of the rice, and the moment it arrived I was surprised by how big the portion looked.

Since it's a solo meal today, eel and beer for myself, cheers

Pouring the broth and mashing the eel into the bowl

Before pouring the tea, I tried a bit of the rice plain first, and it was already fine on its own. Then, following the instructions, I poured the broth and lightly mashed the eel to eat with the rice — and this was where things got real, , , Compared to eating it plain, once the broth was poured in and the eel mashed, the eel's seasoning spread naturally through the rice and broth, and the savory flavor really came through. At first I worried the green tea flavor might be too strong, but instead of that, it felt more like it cleaned up the overall flavor. The salty-sweet taste of the eel mixing with the broth kept my spoon going.... And adding a tiny bit of wasabi here and there brought a slight kick too, which was also a nice touch ㅠㅠ. The rice portion was bigger than I expected and there was a whole eel in there, so as I ate I genuinely felt like I was about to burst.... but it was so good that I ended up scraping the bowl clean.

Who will enjoy lunch at Ochaya in Mapo?

With no separate break time, Ochaya was great for a simple meal in Hongdae at an awkward hour!! The portion was quite generous so it was filling, and the atmosphere felt easy for solo dining too. Ochazuke was unfamiliar to me at first, but it turned out to be more approachable than I expected, and it went really well with the eel!

If you normally like eel, I'd recommend the unagi ochazuke, and it's worth a visit whenever you want a different kind of Japanese meal. The whole method of pouring warm tea over the rice felt unique, quite different from the usual rice bowls I eat. Personally, this warm ochazuke suited me better than a plain rice bowl. Next time I want to try the other ochazuke items on the menu haha. If you're looking for somewhere to eat solo in Hongdae or a slightly different restaurant in Hongdae, I'd recommend Ochaya!!