Yeoksam eel restaurant for group dinners: 18 seats, valet, Unagiwa

Where do you leave your car for valet parking at Unagiwa in Yeoksam?

For valet parking at Unagiwa (우나기와), leave your car at the valet parking booth in front of the Urijip building, 25 Teheran-ro 27-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Unagiwa is also close to Yeoksam Station, so getting there on foot was easy too.

It's so hot lately and my energy was totally drained :( so I went to Unagiwa, a Yeoksam eel rice bowl spot, to recharge. It's close to Yeoksam Station, so it was easy to reach on foot, and my friend who brought a car could use the valet parking, which made it a perfect after-work dinner spot!

📍 Valet parking location: 25 Teheran-ro 27-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (the Urijip building). Just leave your car at the valet parking booth in front of the Urijip building!

Unagiwa's atmosphere, group seating and private rooms

Unagiwa in Yeoksam is clean and upscale, with wide spacing between tables, a group table for up to 18 and a room for 12. Guests kept coming in while we ate, but the tables are so far apart that we never bumped into the next table or felt it was noisy, and we could chat and eat comfortably.

📌 With a group table for up to 18 and a room for up to 12, it looked like a great place for company dinners, family gatherings or wedding invitation get-togethers.

When do you get the Ebisu draft beer coupon with a Naver reservation?

If you book dinner at Unagiwa through Naver, you get an Ebisu draft beer coupon. It's offered for dinner reservations, so if you're visiting for dinner like me, be sure to bring the Naver coupon!

It was my first time trying Ebisu draft beer, and it went down smoothly and tasted great! It's a clean taste, so it paired well with the eel! haha

Unagiwa eel rice bowl vs hitsumabushi: what's the difference?

On Unagiwa's menu, the eel rice bowl and hitsumabushi (Nagoya-style chopped eel over rice, eaten several ways) are both eel rice bowls, but when you order hitsumabushi it comes with various toppings and green tea so you can eat the bowl in several ways. And here it is, Unagiwa's neatly laid-out hitsumabushi set! I'd wondered why the menu listed them separately, and this is the difference haha

They say all of Unagiwa's eel is Japonica eel raised eco-friendly and without antibiotics at their own farm on Ganghwado! The small bones weren't tough and the flesh was tender, so I loved it. The meat is so soft it melts in your mouth 😋

The chawanmushi (savory steamed egg custard) that came with it was a big hit too ~~~ Finely chopped mushrooms on top of the soft egg gave it a better texture, and the umami was just right, a nice appetizer before the rice bowl.

How to eat hitsumabushi: split into 4 and eat it four ways

The hitsumabushi tip the Unagiwa staff gave me: divide the eel rice bowl into 4 portions and eat each one differently ☝🏻

First: just as it is

First, take a spoonful with nothing added and enjoy the eel rice bowl as is! The sweet tare sauce and the eel go so well together. The seasoning is just right, so it's delicious even eaten like this.

Second: seaweed flakes, perilla leaf, scallion and wasabi

Second, I took a little of the toppings they provide, seaweed flakes, perilla leaf, scallion and wasabi, mixed them into the rice, and put the eel on top. Personally, this was the best 😋 The aroma of the perilla leaf and the kick of the wasabi cut the richness of the eel, so I never got tired of it and kept eating.

Third: Unagiwa's special sauce

Third, a bite with Unagiwa's special sauce on top! The staff said it has a strong flavor, so I only added a little, and it suited my taste perfectly haha This one was a treat too.

Last: green tea ochazuke

Last is ochazuke (rice with tea poured over) ~~~ I normally don't like ochazuke, but at Unagiwa it felt different? haha Pouring warm green tea broth over it settled my stomach and brought out the flavor of the eel even more, so it was delicious.

Is Unagiwa in Yeoksam worth going back to?

I was so satisfied with my meal at Unagiwa! It has a clean atmosphere plus rooms and group seating, so I plan to visit again for my next gathering haha If you're looking for a good Yeoksam eel rice bowl restaurant, I recommend Unagiwa.